Federal Building and Investment Company, Real Estate Developers
Federal Building & Investment Company (FBIC) was incorporated in 1918 by W. Bruce Shurtleff as president, Herbert C. Jennings as secretary/treasurer, and C. C. Flansburg as counsel. Their advertisements emphasized that in forming FBIC they were "not introducing a new company," but rather reorganizing "a well known company, on broader and more comprehensive lines." Jennings' previous company incorporated in 1916 as "Jen-Lan Company...a general Real Estate business" for "the buying and selling and improvement of the same." Both Shurtleff and Jennings had been active builders of single-family and apartment residences in Lincoln for several years, and in promoting FBIC they drew heavily on their previous separate projects as well as publishing letters of recommendation from leading businessmen, bankers and political figure in Lincoln and elsewhere in Nebraska.[1][2] Unfortunately for their investors, this venture suffered the fate of similar businesses such as Bankers Realty of Omaha and Nebraska Building & Investment of Lincoln which failed shortly after World War One, when wartime scarcity of capital and building materials slowed construction. FBIC built a few projects in 1918 but partner (and secretary-treasurer) H. C. Jennings died of influenza at age 36 in December of 1918.[4] By June of 1919 FBIC was in the process of liquidation, although articles in August of that year still echoed FBIC's original optimistic announcements.[8][9] By 1920 the company was beset by lawsuits pressed by disillusioned stockholders.[10][11] Six judgments totaling over $40,000 were levied in 1922 when FBIC failed to appear at a trial alleging their stock's earning power and value had been misrepresented.[12]
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
Lincoln, Nebraska,
Educational & Professional Associations
Herbert C. Jennings (1882-1918) (Harry W. Lansing)
W. Bruce Shurtleff (1887-1951) NSNA v. 2, 24-25; v. 3, 105
William Madgett (1875-1951), Hastings
C. C. Flansburg (1857-1934), NSNA v. 2, 92-93
Buildings & Projects
Dated Projects by FBIC partners prior to incorporation
Jen-Lan Building designed by J. B. Miller for H. C. Jennings & William Lansing (1915-1916), 305-307 South 11th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.[2][13]
The 9-story Metropolitan Apartments designed by Clarence H. Larsen for W. B. Shurtleff (1917), southeast corner of 12th & K Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska.[]
1919 FBIC Projects
"Lincolndale" apartment house (1919), 14th & D Streets (south 72' of Lot 12, Block 187), Lincoln, Nebraska.[3][6]
One-story garage (1919-1920), 1822 N Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.[5][6]
Two-story addition to two-story apartment house (1919), 1317-1923 L Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][7][b] LC13:C08-0269
Notes
a. "The company decided to begin the liquidation of its property at the annual meeting held on Mary 2, 1920, it is said. Stockholders were agreed at that time that the function for which the company was organized, namely, to carry on large and extensive building operations, has been defeated because of the high cost of building materials."[10]
b. Attorney E. E. Brown had a two-story "brick flat" constructed at 1317-1323 L Street in 1907 for an estimated $12,000, designed by Fiske & Dieman. Federal Building & Investment added two more stories in 1919 for $17,000, although a Lincoln newspaper earlier that year said that Shurtleff "...is building an additional story..." providing eight apartments. [6][7] The enlarged building, called Cornhusker Apartments, was demolished in the late 2010s.(EFZ)
References
1. "The Federal Building & Investment Company" (advertisement), Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (February 10, 1918), 24.
2. Federal Building and Investment Company...7% Investments, ca. 1918, Lincoln, Nebraska (32 page brochure, Lincoln Planning Dept.).
3. "Lincolndale is Sold For $50,000," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (April 27, 1924), 1.
4. "Herbert Jennings Yields to the Flu," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (December 21, 1918), 2.
5. City of Lincoln Building Permit #8309, issued December 20, 1919.
6. "Mere Mention" (2nd column, "Work on the foundation of the one-story garage...being built by the Federal Building and Investment company..." Evening State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) (July 16, 1919), 8.
7. City of Lincoln Building Permit #8313, issued December 22, 1919.
8. "Many Apartments Erected in City--Shurtleff Gives Lincoln a Real Metropolitan Air with His Tall Buildings. Federal Building and Investment Co. Aids Individuals in Building Homes," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (August 3, 1919), 85.
9. "Stockholders Go to Court--Demand That a Receiver be Placed in Charge," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (October 31, 1920), 3.
10. "Court Is Asked to Wind Up Affairs--Trustees of Federal Building Corporation Report No Settlement," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (November 11, 1920), 1.
11."Mere Mention" (column 2: "Argument was heard in supreme court...), Evening State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) (May 31, 1921), 10.
12. "Big Judgment on Default--Court Orders Federal Building & Investment Company to Pay a Total of $40,725" Evening State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska (September 20, 1922), 1.
13. American Contractor (October 23, 1915), 68 (projecting 3-story building); City of Lincoln Building Permit #6396, issued February 14, 1916 (2-stories, as built).
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer “Federal Building and Investment Company, Real Estate Developers,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, February 17, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, July 4, 2025.
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