Harry Winfield Meginnis (1877-1943), Architect
Harry Winfield Meginnis was born September 23, 1877 in Maquoketa, Iowa, where his early employer and eventual partner, F. C. Fiske, was raised and attended school a generation earlier. Meginnis worked in Iowa, Nebraska, and Indiana early in his career, before settling in Lincoln in 1915 where he was involved in long partnerships. He was married to Edith Wright on June 20, 1917, and he died February 22, 1943.[2][4][5][6]
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.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Lincoln, Nebraska, 1904-1910, 1915-1942
Educational & Professional Associations
1884-1895: Grammar and High School, Maquoketa, Iowa.[5][6]
1895-1896: Steinman’s Institute, Dixon, Illinois.[5][6]
__-__: European travel and study, Atelier work, various studies in art institute, Art studies with private teachers, etc. while engaged in various offices.[5]
1900: architectural draftsman, Josiah L. Rice, Clinton, Iowa.[5]
1901-1902: architectural draftsman, Dieman & Fiske, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[5][6]
1902-1906: architectural draftsman, Fiske & Dieman, Lincoln, Nebraska.[5][f]
1907-1910: architect, Fiske & Dieman, Lincoln, Nebraska.[7][f]
1907-1908: architectural draftsman, Dupont & Hunter, Indianapolis, Indiana.[5][6][7][8][9][f]
1910-1913: chief draftsman, H.L. Bass & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana.[5][6][f]
1914: architect with H. L. Bass & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana.[8][f]
1914-1915: partner, Brookie (True L.) & Meginnis, Indianapolis, Indiana.[5]
1915-1924: partner, Fiske & Meginnis, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[5][6][7]
1924: architect and partner, Fiske, Meginnis & Schaumberg, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6]
1926-1942: architect and partner, Meginnis & Schaumberg, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6]
1938: Registered Professional Architect, Nebraska, March 8, 1938; A-51.[5]
Buildings & Projects
1900-1910 (Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska)
Meginnis worked as a draftsman in both the Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska offices of architects Charles Dieman and F. C. Fiske, beginning around 1900 in Iowa and then spending most of the decade in Lincoln. The Lincoln city directories began listing him as an architect with that firm by 1907. Individual projects associated with the partnership can be found on the pages for Dieman & Fiske (the Iowa office) and Fiske & Dieman (the Lincoln office).
1914 (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Meginnis partnered briefly in 1914 with True L. Brookie (1883-1958), an Indianapolis architect, after working a few years in the office of H. L. Bass & Co. in Indianapolis, first as a draftsman and then as an architect. The partners were credited with libraries in Rockville and Kinklin, and Brookie designed several Carnegie libraries for other Indiana communities.[13][14]
Residence for Mrs. Julia Dillin (1914), Frankfort, Indiana.[12][g]
Four flats for W. T. Smith (1914), on Runklet between 32nd and 33rd, Indianapolis, Indiana.[12][g]
Residence for Ben Melfeld (1914), Frankfort, Indiana.[10][g]
Carnegie Library (1914), Rockville, Indiana.[11][g]
Carnegie Library (1914), Kinklin, Indiana.[11][g]
1915-1924 (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Meginnis returned to Lincoln in 1915 and resumed his work with F. C. Fiske, but as a partner, not an employee. Fiske & Meginnis had a very productive decade producing a wide range of projects including residences, public schools, and commercial buildings in Lincoln and throughout the region. See the page on Fiske & Meginnis for a listing of their buildings, many of which are still in daily use.
W.E. Hardy House (1917) at Calvert Place, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Emory C. Hardy House (1917) at Calvert & Sheridan, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Auld Library (1917), Red Cloud, Webster County, Nebraska.[6][b]
Willard School (1918), 1245 Folsom, Lincoln, Nebraska.[b] (LC13:B07-063)
Capitol School (ca. 1918), 16th & G St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Remodel of Bryan School (1918), 18th & Q St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Remodel of Swallow-Alexander House (1918), 1848 C St., Lincoln, Nebraska. [6][b]
Hartley Elementary School (1919), 33rd & Vine St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Remodel of Gillen House (1919), 2245 A St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Lincoln Drug Company (Apothecary) (1919), 8th & P St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Prescott School (1920), 2024 S. 20th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Dr. Slattery House (ca. 1921), 4900 N. 14th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Edwin Steckley House (1921), 1946 D St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Tobin House (1921), 2975 S. 20th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Dorgan House (1921), 2710 Woodscrest., [6][b]
Elliot Elementary School (1921), 24th & N Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Municipal Lighting and Water Works Plant (1921-1922), 2901 A St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][c]
Lincoln Fixture Building (1922), 826 P St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Lincoln Country Club House (1922-1923), Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Whittier Junior High School (1923), 2240 Vine St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Fairbury Junior/Senior High School (1923), between J, K, 7th, and 8th Streets, Fairbury, Nebraska.[6][b]
Modification of Wagner & Walt Store & apartments (1923), 901 S. 13th St. (at F St.), Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][b]
Antelope Grocery (1924), 24th & J St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][c]
Remodel of Gillen & Boney Building (1924), Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][c]
Smith-Cornell House addition (1924), 1910 S. 26th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][c]
Dr. David Hinton House (1924), 2500 Woodscrest St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][c]
F St. Fire Station (1924), near 13th and F St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][c][d]
1925 (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Falls City High School (1925), Falls City, Nebraska.[6][e]
1926-1943 (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Federal Trust Building (1926), 134 S. 13th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
Activities Building on UNL East Campus (1926), Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
Irving Middle School (1926), 2745 S. 22nd St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
Edna Barkley House (1927), 2829 S. 24th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity House (1928), 5305 Huntington St. (NWU), Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
J. Leslie Grainger House (1929), 2310 Woodsdale Blvd., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
Strang School District #36 (1930), Strang, Nebraska.[3][e] (FM11-008) NRHP form and photos
YWCA Building (1932), 1432 N St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
Masonic Temple (1934), 1635 L St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
Little Building remodel (1936), 113 N 11th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
C.E. Swanson House (1937), 2633 S. 24th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][e]
Notes
a. Last registered 1943.[5]
b. Projects from 1915-1924 were done on behalf of the partnership Fiske & Meginnis
c. Projects in 1924 were done on behalf of the partnership Fiske, Meginnis & Schaumberg
d. Plans prepared by city engineering department, with assistance from Fiske & Meginnis.
e. Projects from 1926-1942 were done on behalf of the partnership Meginnis & Schaumberg
f. Meginnis is listed continuously in the Lincoln city directories from 1903-1910, advancing from draftsman to architect in the office of Fiske & Dieman. Yet Who's Who in Lincoln of 1940 states Meginnis was working with the Indianapolis firm of DuPont & Hunter in 1907-1909, then was employed by H. L. Bass & Co., Indianapolis architects, from 1909-1914. Indianapolis city directories do not list Meginnis until 1911. From 1911-1913 he was identified as a draftsman for Bass & Co., then in 1914 he as listed as an architect with that firm, and in 1915 he was again listed as an architect, but without a stated affiliation. An advertisement in the Lincoln Daily News of January 4, 1915 announced the partnership of Fiske & Meginnis in Lincoln, and described Meginnis as "not a stranger to Lincoln, having lived here four or five years prior to 1910." It goes on: "The past five years he has been in the east, most of the time in Indianapolis, where he has been practicing his profession."[7][8][9]
g. Construction News lists several residences and libraries in 1914 by "Brookie & Meginnis" of 541 Lemke Annex, Indianapolis. The partnership apparently commenced at mid-year as Brookie was consistently listed separately as late as April 1914, at that same address. Their association only lasted a few months, as Brookie again was listed separately on numerous projects in 1915.[10][11][12]
References
1. Obituary, Lincoln Star (February 23, 1943), 14.
2. "Harry Meginnis Dies while attending SAR Meeting," Lincoln Star (February 23, 1943), 1.
3. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
4. AIA Historical Directory of American Architects: A Resource Guide to Finding Information About Past Architects, accessed May 25, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/ahd1029932.aspx
5. Application for Registration to Practice Professional Engineering and Architecture, Nebraska State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects, December 20, 1937. Nebraska State Historical Society RG081 SG2.
6. Zimmer, Ed., Harry Meginnis Biography (Lincoln: City of Lincoln, 2006).
7. Lincoln city directories, 1903-1910, 1915-1942.
8. Indianapolis city directories, 1911-1915.
9. "New Firm," (announcement of Fiske & Meginnis partnership), Lincoln Daily News (January 4, 1915), 2.
10. Construction News (July 4, 1914), 15.
11. Construction News (October 10, 1914), 17.
12. Construction News (May 2, 1914), 17.
13. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
14. Ancestry.com. Florida Death Index, 1877-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. S.V. "True Livingston Brookie."
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer and D. Murphy, “Harry Winfield Meginnis (1877-1943), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, April 4, 2017. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
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