Edwin B. Clarke (1868-1948), Architect
Edwin B. Clarke was born in New York City in 1868 to Edwin A. and Leoline (nee Basancon) Clarke. The family resided in Quincy, Illinois by 1880, where Edwin and his younger brother Frederick were both listed as students in 1889 and as architects from the early through mid-1890s. In 1897 Edwin was referred to as an architect in the Holabird & Roche office.[1][b] He married Louise Forstall in Chicago in 1898.[3 The U. S. Census of 1900 listed both brothers as architects, Edwin in Chicago and Frederick in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1903 both were back in Quincy, Illinois, but apparently this stay was brief, with Frederick returning to Omaha and Edwin to Chicago. Edwin was again listed as an architect (in Chicago) in the 1910 census. The brothers entered into a joint practice in Omaha in 1915 which continued until around 1926, producing several major buildings, including the Hotel McCloud in York, Nebraska, and Omaha Technical High School. Edwin relocated to Beverly Hills in the late 1920s and then to Albuquerque by 1932 where he died in 1948.[7][8][9] The projects of the brothers in partnership are listed on their page Fred W. Clark & Edwin B. Clark. Other specific projects by Edwin have now yet been identified.
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
[hide]Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Omaha, Nebraska, 1904, 1915-1926
Educational & Professional Associations
1890-1896: architect, Quincy, Illinois.[a]
1897: architect with Holabird & Roche, Chicago, Illinois.[1][b]
1900: architect in Chicago, Illinois.[a]
1903: architect, Quincy, Illinois.[a]
1904: architect, Omaha, Nebraska.[a]
1910:architect in Chicago, Illinois.[a]
1915-1926: architect and partner, Fred W. Clarke & Edwin B. Clarke, Architects, Omaha, Nebraska.[6][10]
1930: architect in Beverly Hills, California.[7]
1932-1948: architect in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[8]
Other Associations
Buildings & Projects
Projects in Omaha between 1915 and 1926 by the partnership Fred W. Clarke & Edwin B. Clarke, Architects are listed on their own page.
Notes
a. Edwin B. Clarke and his younger brother Frederick W. Clarke were listed as architects (living with their father) in Quincy, Illinois city directories from 1891-1896 and again in 1903. 1901 is the first listing for F. W. Clark in the Omaha city directories; then both brothers appear in the Omaha directory of 1904. From 1905-1915 F. W. was in Omaha; E. B. did not return until 1915. Edwin was listed as an architect in Chicago, with wife Louise, in both the 1900 and 1910 censuses.[4][5]
b. A long and colorful article in the Chicago Tribune of 1897 provided an account (courtesy of his brother Edwin) of Frederick's adventures in France. While walking and sketching in the town of Besancon, Fred was detained near a fortress, searched, and questioned by French troops as a suspected Prussian spy. He was released after a long day "...mentally resolving, he says, not to sketch again in the vicinity of a French Fort."[1] Frederick and Edwin's mother's maiden name (and Edwin's middle name) was "Besancon," perhaps a reason for Fred's stopover in that particular town, which still retains an extensive system of ancient fortifications.[2]
References
1. "Clarke in Gallic Toils. Chicago Architect Captured by French Soldiery," Chicago Tribune (July 19, 1897), 12.
2. "Besancon," in Wikipedia--the Free Encyclopedia, accessed on-line December 21, 2022.
3. Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, U.S., Marriages Index, 1871-1920, s.v. "Edwin B. Clarke," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
4. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census (in Chicago), s.v. "Edwin B. Clarke," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
5. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census (in Chicago), s.v. "Edwin B. Clarke," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
6. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census (in Omaha), s.v. "Edwin B. Clarke," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
7. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census (in Beverly Hills, California), s.v. "Edwin B. Clarke," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
8. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census (in Albuquerque, New Mexico), s.v. "Edwin B. Clarke," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
9. "CLARKE" (E. B. Clarke, obituary), Albuquerque (New Mexico) Journal (December 7, 1948), 17.
10. "Clarke Associated with Brother," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (March 10, 1916), 7.
Page Citation
D. Murphy & E. F. Zimmer, “Edwin B. Clarke (1868-1948), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 22, 2022. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, May 24, 2017.
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