Difference between revisions of "Martin Inglis Aitken (1907-1974), Architect"

Revision as of 15:10, 1 December 2017

DBA: Martin I. Aitken

Martin Inglis Aitken was born November 26, 1907 in Lincoln, Nebraska to Martin I. and Clara Aitken. His father was a banker and had been the Lincoln city treasurer. His grandfather James Aitken, a tailor in Lincoln in the 1880s and 1890s, immigrated from Scotland. Martin (Jr.) received his B.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1929, after which he became a draftsman for the firm Davis & Wilson. Aitken received his B.F.A. in Architecture from Yale University in 1933, and worked the next year in the Engineering Department of Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph Company (LT&T).[b] Martin Aitken began his own private practice in Lincoln in 1935. He was a principal involved in several related partnerships during the last few years of his life. Aitken died on July 14, 1974, and was survived by his wife and two children. He was a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Nebraska Architects Association.[1][5][6][7][8][9][13]

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.

Phi Delta Theta, (1937) (D. Murphy)

Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings

Lincoln, Nebraska, 1929-1972

Educational & Professional Associations

1929-1934: student, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1930: draftsman, Davis & Wilson, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1]

1934-1935: draftsman, Engineering Department, Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph Co., Lincoln, Nebraska.[1]

1935-1970: architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6]

1938: Registered Professional Architect, Nebraska; A-75.[1]

1970-1971: partner, Aitken, Graf, Hazen, Hoffman & Hull, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska. [8]

1971: partner, Aitken, Graf & Hazen, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1972-1973: partner, Aitken, Hazen, Hoffman & Hull, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1973-1974: partner, Aitken, Hazen, Hoffman & Miller, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Architectural Study Travel

France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, England.[6]

Buildings, Projects & Principal Works

Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph, Telephone Equipment Building, 1950-1953 (D. Murphy)

Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House, (1937), 1545 R St, Lincoln, Nebraska.[2][4] (LC13:D09-511)

KFOR Transmitter House (1940), 48th & Vine, Lincoln, Nebraska.[10]

Telephone Exchange Building (1942), Plattsmouth, Nebraska.[6]

Jefferson D. Martin House (1948), 900 Fall Creek Road, Lincoln, Nebraska.[3][18]

R. W. Smith House (1951), 916 Fall Creek Road, Lincoln, Nebraska.[3][17]

Car Park Building (1952), 13th & M SE, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][a]

Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph, Telephone Equipment Building (1950-1953), Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][11]

Telephone Exchange Building (1954), Falls City, Nebraska.[6]

Sheridan Elementary School Addition (1954), Lincoln, Nebraska.[6]

Remodeling of Hardy's Furniture Building (1954), 1314 O, Lincoln, Nebraska.[2][10][16]

House at 2635 Woodscrest Ave (1954), Lincoln, Nebraska (LC13:D05-490)

House at 2490 Garden Road (1954), Lincoln, Nebraska (LC13:D05-484)

Sacred Heart Church (1955), 3218 S St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[6]

Hardy Furniture Company Remodel (1955), Lincoln, Nebraska.[7]

Thomas Pansing House (1956), 2033 S 33rd, Lincoln, Nebraska.[3][19]

House at 2470 Garden Road (1956), Lincoln, Nebraska (LC13:D05-483)

House at 2541 Woodleigh Lane (1956), Lincoln, Nebraska (LC13:D05-476)

National Guard Readiness Center (1956), 817 S 1st Ave, York, Nebraska. (YK11-555)

"Y" Building, Beatrice State Home (1956), Beatrice, Nebraska.[7]

Addition and remodel (1957), Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska. [10]

House at 2601 Woodleigh Lane (1959), Lincoln, Nebraska (LC13:D05-475)

National Bank of Commerce Remodel (1960), 13th & O, Lincoln, Nebraska.[7]

Sacred Heart Convent (1960), Lincoln, Nebraska.[7]

"Y" Building Addition, Beatrice State Home (1961), Beatrice, Nebraska.[7]

Sacred Heart Rectory (1964), 500 N 31st St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[8][12]

White Electric Supply Company Building (1966), Lincoln, Nebraska.[8]

First National Bank (1967), O'Neill, Nebraska.[8]

National Bank of Commerce, remodel (1968), 13th & O, Lincoln, Nebraska.[8]

White Electric Supply Addition (1969), Lincoln, Nebraska.[8]

Notes

a. In association with Clark & Enersen, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6]

b. Martin's older brother William I. Aitken was a founder of Woods, Woods & Aitken law firm in Lincoln (now Woods & Aitken), along with Frank Woods and his son Thomas C. Frank Woods was also president of LT&T.[14][15]

c. The Lincoln Building permit [19] confirms the date of construction, but Aitken is not listed on either the building permit nor the application for the permit. The attribution is based on [3].

References

1. “From the Files: Martin Inglis Aitken, A-75,” The Nebraska Professional (May 2001), 5.

2. Personal conversation with Robert C. Ripley, Architect, Lincoln, Nebraska, February 20, 2008.

3. Kay Logan-Peters, email to D. Murphy, February 20, 2008.

4. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

5. AIA Historical Directory of American Architects: A Resource Guide to Finding Information About Past Architects, accessed April 5, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/ahd1000341.aspx

6. American Institute of Architects, comp., American Architects Directory, first ed. (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1956), 5, accessed March 3, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/1956%20American%20Architects%20Directory.aspx

7. American Institute of Architects, comp., American Architects Directory, second ed. (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1962), 6, accessed April 4, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/1962%20American%20Architects%20Directory.aspx

8. American Institute of Architects, comp., American Architects Directory, third ed. (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1970), 8, accessed April 4, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/1970%20American%20Architects%20Directory.aspx

9. “Aitken [obituary],” Lincoln Star (July 15, 1974), 13:2.

10. Tom Kaspar, comp. Inventory of architectural records in the archives of Davis Fenton Stange Darling, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1996. Nebraska State Historical Society, RG3748, Box 16.

11. Martin I. Aitken, architect of the original 1950 building (first three stories of the west part of the whole, and a single-bay four story section along the east). See City of Lincoln Building Permit 54003, November 13, 1950, Olson Construction Company, Contractors. The 1958 additions, though credited to the LT&T Building Design Division, follow Aitken's design, materials and detailing. See City of Lincoln Building Permit 72669, May 27, 1958, particularly the south elevation drawing. Assenmacher Construction Company, Contractors.

12. City of Lincoln Building Permit #60925.

13. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

14. “People You Know: James Aitken,” Nebraska State Journal (February 16, 1901), 6:2; and Lincoln city directories 1880-1901.

15. Woods & Aitken LLP, History, https://www.woodsaitken.com/our-firm/history/ Accessed November 30, 2017.

16. City of Lincoln Building Permit #64372, issued October 18, 1954; $50,000 estimated cost.

17. City of Lincoln Building Permit #55177, issued June 5, 1951; $11,600 estimated cost.

18. City of Lincoln Building Permit #47973, issued June 22, 1948; $21,500 estimated cost.

19. City of Lincoln Building Permit #68588, issued April 13, 1956; $28,000 estimated cost.

Page Citation

D. Murphy & E. Zimmer, “Martin Inglis Aitken (1907-1974), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 1, 2017. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, October 31, 2024.

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