Difference between revisions of "William N. Bowman Company, Architects"

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DBA: W. N. Bowman, William N. Bowman Company

William Norman Bowman was born March 12, 1869 at Carthage, New York. His formal schooling was cut short at age 11 when he went to work in a woolen mill to help support his family. As a youth he worked in the office of E. E. Myers in Detroit as well as apprenticing with a carpenter. He worked for other architects in Detroit and Indianapolis, then married Alice May Kniffen in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1899.[1] He was listed as an architect in Grand Rapids in 1900.[2] He founded a building and architecture firm in Indianapolis, then took a position with an iron works in Cincinnati from 1902-1908. With Alice he moved to Denver and founded William N. Bowman Company, an architecture firm, by 1910. Bowman's practice became a leading Denver firm, with a focus on public buildings, in Colorado and surrounding states including Nebraska.[1] Alice died in 1943 and William in 1944. Both were interred at Fairmount Cemetery died in Denver.[3]

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

Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings

None.

Educational & Professional Associations

"Entry-level" employee at architectural office of E. E. Myers, Detroit, Michigan.[1]

Employee, Mortimer L. Smith & Son, architects, Detroit, Michigan.[1]

Employee, Thurtle & Fleming, architects, Indianapolis.[1]

Partner, Rush, Bowman & Rush, builders, Indianapolis, Indiana & Grand Rapids, Michigan.[1]

1900: architect, Grand Rapids, Michigan.[2]

ca. 1901-1902: architect, Indianapolis, Indiana.[1]

1902-1908: agent for Stewart Iron Works, Cincinnati, Ohio.[1]

1910: architect, Denver, Colorado.[5]

1911: architect and partner, Bowman & Berk, Architects, Denver, Colorado.[4][5][a]

1912-1944: architect and principal, William N. Bowman Company, Denver, Colorado.[1][5]

Buildings & Projects

As agent for Stewart Iron Works, jail fixtures for Cheyenne County (1912), Sidney, Nebraska.[6][b]

On county commissioners' "short list" (but not chosen) for Box Butte County Courthouse (1913), Alliance, Nebraska.[7][c]

Scotts Bluff County Courthouse (1919-1921), Gering, Nebraska.[8]

McCook Y. M. C. A. (1925-1926), 424 Norris Avenue, McCook, Nebraska.[1][9]

Notes

a. Denver City Directory of 1911 lists Bowman & Berk as W. N. Bowman and H. A. Gustav Berk, architects.[2][4]

References

1. Carl McWilliams, Cultural Resources Historians, "McCook Y.M.C.A." nomination to the National Register of Historic Places (1999), accessed June 19, 2021, https://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/nebraska/redwillow/RW05-015_YMCA_Bldg.pdf

2. Joan Palmer and Ilene Bergsmann, comps. Architects of Colorado: Database of State Business Directory Listings, 1875-1950 (Denver: Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, Colorado Historical Society, October, 2006), 4, accessed June 17, 2021, https://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/media/document/2017/Architects_Colorado_Database.pdf

3. Denver City Directory (1911), 228.

4. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line], s.v. "William N. Bowman." Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

Other General Sources

Page Citation

E. F. Zimmer, “William N. Bowman Company, Architects,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, June 19, 2021. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, June 20, 2025.

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