Theodore Peter Bialles (1889-1945), Architect
Theodore Peter Bialles was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1889 to Anna and Peter Bialles. Peter, a German-born designer of ecclesiastical furniture, was widowed by 1910 and living with his son in Chicago, when Theodore was a draftsman in an architectural office.[1] Theodore married Elsie Anna Mueller in Chicago in 1913.[2] Elsie, Theodore, and his father Peter moved to Omaha in 1916, where Theodore joined the staff of Bankers Realty Investment Company (BRIC).[3][4] BRIC was a vertically integrated real estate and construction firm engaged in building hotels, commercial buildings, and apartments before it collapsed in the wartime economic of 1919 and was bankrupt by 1920. Bialles apparently continued an independent architectural practice in Omaha until 1920.[5][14][b] By 1930 he was a draftsman in Dayton for an architectural company, then by 1939 was in Washington, D.C. where he worked as a draftsman for various federal agencies.[6] T. P. Bialles married for a second time in Washington in 1942 to Nina Christine Leslie. He died in Washington in 1945.[][]
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, 1917-1920
Educational & Professional Associations
"Studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and architectural engineering at the Chicago Technical college."[3][a]
1910: draftsman, Chicago, Illinois.[1]
1916-1918: draftsman and architect for BRIC, Omaha, Nebraska.[3][4]
1920: architect, Omaha, Nebraska.[5]
1930: draftsman, Dayton, Ohio.[6]
1939-1945: draftsman for federal agencies, Washington, D.C.[6]
Buildings & Projects
1916-1918
On staff, Architectural Department, Bankers Realty Investment Company (BRIC), Omaha, Nebraska (1917-1919). BRIC was a vertically integrated construction and investment firm organized around 1910 in Omaha which offered architectural, financial, and construction services. North American Hotel Company was a closely affiliated subsidiary announced as the operational arm for the enterprise's hotels. Bailles just a month after P. P. Lewis joined the firm early in 1922.[a] A full list of the firm's known projects is included on the BRIC page.
Notes
a. Chicago Technical College operated from 1904 to 1977, offering a wide range of instruction in architecture, engineering, and construction, with day and evening programs and many certification and diploma options. [12][13] The 1916 announcement of Bialles' hiring by BRIC also stated that he "has many years of experience in large building designs. He has worked in educational building and other public building designing in some of the country's largest and most prominent architectural offices....Among the best known buildings upon which he has been engaged were the La Salle hotel of Chicago and the Palace theater of New York City. He has also had much ecclesiastical building design experience."[3] The La Salle Hotel at La Salle and Madison Streets was designed by Chicago architects Holabird & Roche and built in 1908-1909. The 1913/1914 catalog of Chicago Technical College includes a photograph of La Salle Hotel in the course of construction. [9][10][13] The Palace Theater at 1564 Broadway was designed by Milwaukee architects Kirchoff & Rose and opened in 1913.[11]
b. In 1920, Elsie Bialles won a contest sponsored by an Omaha newspaper to describe an ideal household budget. She probably brought special expertise to the effort as Omaha directories described her as a "bookkeeper." Of her budget, she said "It works...My husband and I have lived this budget ever since we were married six years ago. At that time my husband, who is an architect, made just $100 per month. We apportioned his salary on this budget and we stuck to it. As is income increased we increased our expenditures but we maintained this same percentage of expenditures....On this percentage we have bought a home and are paying for it."[14]
References
1. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census & 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line], s.v. (both) "Theodore P. Bialles." Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
2. Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, U.S., Marriages Index, 1871-1920 [database on-line], s.v. "Theodore P. Bialles." Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
3. "Another Eastern Architect Comes to Omaha," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (March 26, 1916), 40.
4. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line], s.v. "Theodore P. Bialles." Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
5. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line], s.v. "Theodore P. Bialles." Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
6. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002; and Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012; both s.v. "Theodore P. Bialles."
7. Ancestry.com. Washington, D.C., U.S., Marriage Records, 1810-1953 [database on-line], s.v. "Theodore P. Bialles." Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
8. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current; [database on-line], s.v. “Theodore Peter Bialles.” Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
9. "Two Drop From a Building. First Accidents Occur Erecting New La Salle Hotel," The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois) (September 19, 1908), 1.
10. "La Salle Hotel," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, website accessed December 12, 2022, on-line at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Salle_Hotel
11. "Palace Theatre (New York City)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, website accessed December 12, 2022, on-line at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_Theatre_(New_York_City)
12. "Chicago Technical College," in Paul Batesel, America's Lost Colleges, website accessed December 13, 2022, on-line at https://www.lostcolleges.com/chicago-technical-college
13. Chicago Technical College (catalog, 1913/1914), digitized from University of Illinois-Urbana, accessed on-line December 13, 2022, at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112114006502&view=1up&seq=1
14. "Woman Wins Budget Prize Against 100--Mrs. Theodore P. Bialles Gets $15 for Best Plan of Expenditures," Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald (January 25, 1920), 11.
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer, “Theodore Peter Bialles (1889-1945), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 13, 2022. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
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