Joseph Stillman Blake (1835-1898), Architect
DBA: J. S. Blake; Blake & Company; and others
J. S. Blake was born September 3, 1835 Vermont, where he began his career as a carpenter and builder, after which he studied architecture in New York.[2][7] His first office was in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and then in 1868 he moved to Des Moines, Iowa. Blake practiced in Des Moines, where he was a member of the Architectural Association of Iowa, for nineteen years before opening his office in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1887.[1][2][3] He formed a short-lived partnership with O. M. Zander in Omaha on November 13, 1890.[2] After the dissolution of the partnership with Zander, Blake remained in practice until his death in Omaha, on July 1, 1898.[7]
Blake was a member of Crocker Post No. 12, G. A. R.[1] He was married in Vermont to Mary Louise Blake, who died in 1887. They had five children.[8][9]
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
Omaha, Nebraska, 1888-1890, 1896-1898
Educational & Professional Associations
1861-1862: soldier and Sergeant Major, Company B, Wisconsin 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Civil War.[6]
____-1868: architect, La Crosse, Wisconsin.[1][2]
1868-1887: architect, Des Moines, Iowa.[1][2][5]
1887: architect, Blake, Miller & Company, Architects, Omaha, Nebraska.
1888-1890: architect, Blake & Company, Architects, Omaha, Nebraska.
1890-1895: architect and partner, Blake & Zander, Omaha, Nebraska.[2]
1895-1898: architect, Omaha, Nebraska.[c][d]
1897: elected founding president, Omaha Society of Architects.[11][f]
Buildings & Projects
Dated
Building (1888), 2564-66 Marcy, Omaha, Nebraska.[4][a] (DO09:0205-107)
Women’s Industrial Home (1888), Milford, Nebraska.[2][10]
Undated
Murray Hotel (n.d.), Omaha, Nebraska.[2]
Boyd’s New Opera House (n.d.), Omaha, Nebraska.[2][e]
Baptist State University (n. d.), Des Moines, Iowa.[1][b]
Court House (n. d.), Guthrie, Iowa.[1][b]
Soldiers Home (n. d.), Marshaltown, Iowa.[1][b]
Notes
a. Architect on permit, Blake & Company, Omaha.
b. Presumed to be commissions belonging to Blake prior to locating in Omaha. Cf. the conflicts and confusion in different listings.[1][2]
c. Last directory listing in Omaha, Nebraska, 1898.
d. Directories between 1893 and 1896 are not available, and between those years is when he splits from Zander.
e. Superintendent of construction.[2]
f. Omaha World-Herald reported in 1897 "The Omaha Society of Architects, the first of its kind in Omaha, was organized yesterday afternoon in O. E. Zander's office in the Ramge building. There was a large attendance of the architects of the city...The object of the society is the discussion of subjects of interest to the architects and for mutual benefit." Blake was chosen as president, with H. Lawrie as vice-president, John McDonald as secretary/treasurer, and J. E. Dietrick and W. E. Findlay as board members.[11]
References
1. “Blake & Zander,” Pen and Sunlight Sketches of Omaha and Environs (Chicago: Phoenix Publishing Co., 1892), 135.
2. “Blake & Zander,” John Lethem, Historical and Descriptive Review of Omaha (Omaha: John Lethem, [1892?]), 112.
3. “Societies,” American Architect & Building News 19:528 (January 2, 1886), 9. Accessed August 7, 2013. Google Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=_wFaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=%22j+s+blake%22+architect&source=bl&ots=EgB4zqACzW&sig=nEWmXONiETmyFZR9AzRI3Q9gnq4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lawCUprTIeSMyAG6oIDoBg&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22j%20s%20blake%22%20architect&f=false
4. City of Omaha Planning Department, Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, Database, Query on Architects, May 20, 2002; courtesy of Lynn Meyer, Preservation Planner.
5. 1870 United States Census, s.v. “Joseph S. Blake,” Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. Accessed April 19, 2016, through Ancestry.com.
6. Historical Data Systems, comp., "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865" [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
7. “Died,” "Omaha World-Herald" (July 2, 1898): 8.
8. 1880 United States Census, s.v. “Joseph S. Blake,” Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. Accessed April 19, 2016, through Ancestry.com.
9. “Schroeder Family Tree.” Accessed April 19, 2016. Ancestry.com.
10. "State House Notes...the industrial home at Milford...to be completed per the plans and specifications furnished by Black & Co., architects, Omaha...," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (January 5, 1888), 5.
11. "Architects Organize," Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald (April 11, 1897), 8.
Acknowledgements
Compilation of this page benefited from substantial research contributed by Patrick Thompson, architectural historian, Restoration Exchange Omaha, May 16, 2016.
Page Citation
D. Murphy & E. F. Zimmer “Joseph Stillman Blake (1835-1898), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, May 28, 2016, updated June 28, 2024. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
