Harold Van Buren Magonigle (1867-1935), Architect
dba: H. Van Buren Magonigle
Harold Van Buren Magonigle was born in Bergen, New Jersey on October 17, 1867 to John and Catherin Magonigle. His father was a bookkeeper. Harold married Elizabeth Marion Day in 1900 in Manhattan. He died in Vermont on August 29, 1935.[1][2][4][5]
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
Educational & Professional Associations
1898: 1st Lieutenant, 109th Infantry, U. S. Army.[6]
1926-1927: draftsman, Robert William McLaughlin, Jr.[1]
Architectural Study Travel
Rotch Traveling Scholarship to England, France, Italy and Greece, 1894-1896.[3][10][11]
British Isles, France, Italy and Spain, 1921.[3][a]
Buildings & Projects
The Maine Monument (1900-1913), New York City, New York.[13][]
General U.S. Grant Memorial competition (1902).[15][e]
General George B. McClellan memorial competition (1902).[16][e]
McKinley Memorial (1904-1907), Canton, Ohio.[7]
Invited participant in design competition for Nebraska State Capitol (1920), Lincoln, Nebraska.[9]
First Plymouth Congregational Church (1929-1931), Lincoln, Nebraska.[8] (LC13: D07-045)
Notes
a. Magonigle's passport application of 1921 specifically cited "Architectural Study" as the purpose of his planned European trip. That application also includes a photo portrait of Magonigle.[3]
b. Lincoln Star of May 27, 1927 announced a half-million dollar campaign to fund the construction of a new First-Plymouth Church. Magonigle was named as the architect, "Associated with...Robert W. McLaughlin, Jr." Rev. B. F. Wyman noted: "The longing of our people has not been for a colonial or Gothic church, one the product of New England and the other of old Europe...but for an original type that would fit the pioneer spirit of the west and of our Pilgrim faith and yet be rooted deep in church traditions."[7]
c. The Indianapolis Journal in early 1894 reported: "A nephew of Edwin Booth, Harold Van Buren Magonigle, has won the traveling scholarship in architecture offered annually by Mr. Rotch, of Boston. This prize entitles him to $1,000 a year for two years, during which time he must travel aboard and study architecture."[10] An exhibition of works by students at the American Academy in Rome opened at the Art Institute of Chicago March 2, 1897, including "plans, elevations, perspective drawings, and sketches by Harold Van Buren Magonigle" and other architects and arts who were recipients of various traveling scholarships.11][12]
d. The team of Magonigle and sculptor O. Piccirilli were chosen among the three finalists for the monument design.[13]
e. The team of Wilkinson & Magonigle were among 29 competitors for the commission for a memorial or statue of General U.S. Grant. The plaster maquettes were displayed at the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, D.C. in April, 1902. The same team competed among thirty artists for the General McClellan monument, later that same month.[15][16]
References
1. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line], s.v. "Harold Magonigle." Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
2. "Harold VanBuren Magonigle" on Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138811762, s.v. "Harold VanBuren Magonigle," on-line resource access December 31, 2018.
3. Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line], s.v. "H. Van Buren Magonigle," Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. 1894 and 1921 passport applications.
4. Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
5. Ancestry.com. Vermont, Death Records, 1909-2008 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
6. Ancestry.com. New York, Military Service Cards, 1816-1979 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
7. "M'Kinley Memorial Architect," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (October 21, 1904), 3; "Work on M'Kinley Monument," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (May 19, 1905), 8.
8. "Impressive Carillon Tower and Cloister Court Will Distinguish New First-Plymouth Church," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (May 27, 1928), D-2.
9. In "Mere Mention," Evening State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) (January 9, 1920), A-6.
10. "About People and Things," Indianapolis (Indiana) Journal (January 4, 1894), 4.
11. "Guide to the Rotch Travelling Scholarship Records, 1882-1996," MIT, Institute Archives & Special Collections: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1999, 2002, 2010. Magonigle listed on page 5 of pdf available on-line at https://libraries.mit.edu/archives/research/collections/collections-mc/pdf/mc520.pdf Accessed January 2, 2019.
12. Chicago Tribune (February 28, 1897), 31.
13. "Maine Monument Designs. Selections Made in the New York Competition," (Washington, D. C.) Evening Times (November 9, 1900), 4.
14. "U.S.S. Maine National Monument," in Central Park on website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, on-line at https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/966 Accessed January 2, 2019.
15. "Grant Memorial. Competition of Artists," Los Angeles Times (April 2, 1902), 4.
16. "M'Clellan's Statue--Public Exhibition of Models Tomorrow at Corcoran Gallery," (Washington DC) Evening Star (April 30, 1902), 1.
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer, “Harold Van Buren Magonigle (1867-1935), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, January 2, 2019. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, December 5, 2025.
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