Richard W. Grant (1862-1939), Architect

Beatrice, Nebraska, 1888-1939

Richard W. Grant, 1938

Richard Grant was born January 5, 1862, in Sangamon County, Illinois to an American father and an English mother. He attended Beatrice Public Schools, in Nebraska, and the University of Illinois, although he claims to have trained himself as an architect. He married Ida M. Schell in 1887. Grant practiced architecture in Beatrice from 1888 until his death in 1939, with a specific focus on public buildings and public schools in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and South Dakota.[1][4]

This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.

Wymore Carnegie Library, 1914-1919. (NeSHPO)

Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings

Beatrice, Nebraska, 1890-1938

Lincoln, Nebraska, 1899

Educational & Professional Associations

1870s: High School, Beatrice, Nebraska.[4]

ca. 1884: special engineering student, University of Illinois.[4][b]

1885-1888: with N. S. Spencer, Architect, Beatrice, Nebraska.[4][a]

1888-1900: architect, 104 S 6th, Beatrice, Nebraska.[4][a]

1899: architect and partner, Grant & Somers, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[9][c]

1900-1902: architect and partner, Berlinghof & Grant, Architects, Beatrice, Nebraska.[6][d]

1904-1939: architect, Beatrice, Nebraska.

1938: Registered Professional Architect September 28, 1938, A-82.[4]

Buildings & Projects

Dated

North Platte High School (1899-1900), North Platte, Nebraska.[2][8] (LN06-027)

Masonic Hall (1901), North Platte, Nebraska.[7]

Samuel D. Kilpatrick house (1904-1905), 701 N. 7th, Beatrice, Nebraska.[3] (GA03-166) National Register narrative

Geneva Carnegie Library (1911-1913) 1043 G, Geneva, Nebraska.[5] (FM05-046)

Fairfield Carnegie Library (1913), SW Corner 5th & D, Fairfield, Nebraska.[3][5] (CY05-004)

Tekamah Carnegie Library (1914), SW Corner 13th & L, Tekamah, Nebraska.[3][5] (BT06-043)

Wymore Carnegie Library (1914-1919), 1021 W B, Wymore, Nebraska. (GA15-011)

Undated

Hanover Lutheran Church (n.d.), rural Gage County.[1]

Notes

a. In 1888 Grant purchased the firm of N. S. Spencer and began practicing for himself.[4] The 1888 city directory also lists him this year as a contractor and builder.

b. Grant states in his application to practice architecture, 1938, that he worked under Professor Riecker while at the University of Illinois.[4]

c. The Lincoln city directory of 1899 lists "Grant & Somers, (R. W. Grant & E. S. Somers), archts, 311 Farmers & Mer. Ins. Building." Elbert S. Somers (1868-1933) was listed in the 1898 Omaha directory as a draftsman for "Expo." By the time of the 1900 Census, Somers' residence was Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife Mary E. and infant son Rolland; his occupation was architect.

d. Improvement Bulletin, a trade publication, noted in 1900 that "R. W. Grant, of Lincoln, and G. A. Berlinghof, of Beatrice, have formed a partnership, and will maintain offices at both places."[6] The Lincoln office may have been established only briefly as both men remained residents of Beatrice and the Lincoln city directories do not reflect the partnership. A few projects cited in Improvement Bulletin in 1899 and 1900 refer to Grant as "of Lincoln." See Berlinghof & Grant, Architects.

References

1. Hugh J. Dobbs, History of Gage County, Nebraska (Lincoln: Western Publishing & Engraving Co., 1918), 578-79.

2. North Platte Evening Telegraph (August 1, 1900), 1:2.

3. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

4. Application for Registration to Practice Professional Engineering and Architecture, Nebraska State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects, August 4, 1938. Nebraska State Historical Society RG081 SG2.

5. State Library Commission files.

6. "Among the Architects," Improvement Bulletin (March 17, 1900), 11.

7. Improvement Bulletin (October 19, 1901), 20.

8. Improvement Bulletin (June 3, 1899), 26, referring to Grant as "architect, of Lincoln"; (February 3, 1900), 15, referring to Grant as "architect, of Lincoln"; (April 28, 1900), 14, referring to Grant as "architect, of Lincoln and Beatrice."

9. Lincoln City Directory (1899), 240, 491.

Page Citation

D. Murphy, “Richard W. Grant (1862-1939), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, February 3, 2013. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, October 31, 2024.

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