Dieman & Fiske, Architects
Partners:
Charles A. Dieman, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Ferdinand Comstock Fiske, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1898-1902); Lincoln, Nebraska (1902-1910)
Dieman & Fiske was one in a series of partnership involving Lincoln architect Ferdinand Comstock Fiske. This partnership began in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1900 but expanded around 1902 to also operate a Lincoln office as Fiske & Dieman.
Charles Dieman was born in Wisconsin around 1872 to Charles Diemann, a Prussian-born carpenter. The family was in Milwaukee at the time of the 1880 U. S. Federal Census. By the time of the 1900 U. S. Federal Census, Charles and his wife Mabel were residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Charles had been advertising as an architect at least since 1898.[6] Mabel Dieman died in Cedar Rapids in 1914.[8]
Fiske initially also practiced independently in Cedar Rapids.[7] The architects were practicing together as Dieman and Fiske in Cedar Rapids as early as 1900. The partnership continued when Fiske moved back to Lincoln around 1902, with the Iowa office referred to as Dieman & Fiske and Nebraska commissions carried out under the name Fiske & Dieman.
After the partnership dissolved, Charles A. Dieman operated as C. A. Dieman & Co. in Cedar Rapids until 1922, when he closed that firm and moved to Denver, forming the firm Gardner-Perry-Dieman.[4][b] His second wife, Clara Barth Leonard Sorensen Dieman (1877-1959) was a noted artist, sculptor, and educator.[5][c]
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
Lincoln, Nebraska, 1902-1910
Lineage of the Firm
Dieman & Fiske, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska
Fiske & Dieman, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska
Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska
Buildings & Projects
1898-1900 (independent projects by Dieman preceding partnership)
Project for Auditorium (1899), Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[9]
1900-1910 (partnership projects)
Hotel Columbia (1900), Grundy Center, Iowa.[11]
Jim Block (1900-1901), Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[10]
Marion Carnegie Library (1904-1905), Marion, Iowa.[3][a]
Orlo Flats (ca. 1905), 505 S 14th, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][d] (LC13:C08-023)
F.A. Saffold/C.D. Traphagan House (1908), 1908 C, Lincoln, Nebraska.[13] (LC13:D07-0511)
Frank M. Spalding House (1909), 2221 Sheridan Blvd, Lincoln, Nebraska.(LC13:D05-463) See National Register narrative.
Ferdinand C. Fiske House (1909), 1600 S. 21st, Lincoln, Nebraska. (LC13:D06-0667)
Arthur C. Ziemer House (1909-1910), 2030 Euclid, Lincoln, Nebraska.[14] (LC13:D06-0002) See National Register narrative.
Undated
C. I. Jones house (n.d.), 17th & B, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1] (2s fr, $5,000)
F. B. Bobinson house (n.d.), Lincoln, Nebraska.[1] (2s fr., $2,000)
Prof. Brace house (n.d.), Lincoln, Nebraska.[1] (2s fr., $4,000)
Kirke house (n.d.), Mason City, Iowa.[1] (4s br. flat, $55,000)
W. R. Kimball house (n.d.), Lincoln, Nebraska.[1] (2s fr., $4,600)
York College Conservatory of Music (n.d.), York, Nebraska.[2]
Notes
a. This was near the Cedar Rapids office of the firm.
b. American Architect [and] Architectural Review (1922) reported "Charles A. Dieman, one of the pioneer architects in Iowa, has closed the business of C. A. Dieman and Company, in Cedar Rapids, and has gone to Denver, Col., where he has become affiliated with the firm of Gardner-Perry-Dieman. Mr. Gardner was at one time associated with Mr. Dieman in Cedar Rapids."[4]
c. Dieman's wife Clara "specialized in coordinating sculpture with building design...In Colorado she designed the exterior sculpture at the Colorado Business Bank that included the lobby coin ceiling and the terracotta tiles flanking the bronze entry doors. She also created the eagle forming the keystone above the entrance, as well as the decorative heads with images of people, birds and flowers for the two-story scagliola-finished metal quatrefoil columns circling the bank lobby."[5
d. In 1906, Lincoln Evening News reported a number of projects by "Fiske [sic] and Dieman" including the Orlo Apartments, listing the estimated cost at $45,000 and stating: "The walls are now being laid for the A. J. Sawyer apartment house at Fourteenth and K street."[12]
References
1. Lincoln Trade Review 1:11 (1902), 4.
2. Lincoln Trade Review 1:13 (1902), 8. (2 story w/basement, 36x80, brick and stone).
3. An Architectural and Historical Survey of Public Libraries in Iowa, 1870-1940 MS (Iowa State Historic Preservation Office, 1980).
4. American Architect--Architectural Review (September 27,1922) v.122:1, 12.
5. Stan Cuba, The Denver Artists Guild, University Press of Colorado, 2015.
6. "Chas. A. Dieman, Architect," Cedar Rapids Republican (July 10, 1898), 7.
7. Improvement Bulletin (May 28, 1898), XVII:25, 16, listing Fiske's commission for three houses in Iowa.
8. "Mrs. Dieman Dies After Long Illness: Wife of Well Known Architect Passes Early Saturday Morning," Cedar Rapids Republican (November 22, 1914), 3.
9. "Design for Auditorium, Cedar Rapids, Ia. Chas. A. Dieman, Architect," Cedar Rapids Republican (March 26, 1899), 9.
10. "Prospectus of the Jim Block," Cedar Rapids Republican (December 1, 1900), 13.
11. Improvement Bulletin (June 2, 1900), 22:1, 24.
12. "Some Fine Buildings Going Up or Planned," Lincoln Evening News (July 24, 1906), 3.
13. City of Lincoln Building Permit #2687, issued September 28, 1908, estimated cost $5,000.
14. City of Lincoln Building Permit #3486, issued November 15, 1909, estimated cost $20,000.
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer and D. Murphy, “Dieman & Fiske, Architects,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, January 16, 2017. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 19, 2024.
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