Difference between revisions of "Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis, Architects"

Revision as of 12:36, 30 April 2019

Partners:

Ferdinand Comstock Fiske (1856-1930), Architect

Charles A. Dieman (ca. 1873-1937), Architect

Harry Winfield Meginnis (1877-1943), Architect

The partnership of Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis, Architects was a reconfiguration of the personnel in the decade-long firm of F. C. Fiske and Charles A. Dieman, which operated between 1900 and 1910 from offices in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska. When the partnership of Dieman & Fiske began in Cedar Rapids in 1900, Harry W. Meginnis was a young draftsman in the office. Within a year, Fiske relocated back to Lincoln, where he previously had practiced from 1887 to 1895.[13][d] Shortly after, Meginnis also moved to Lincoln where an announcement in Lincoln Trade Review of 1903 said he was to head the Lincoln office.[6] Lincoln Star noted in 1903 that Meginnis "has been in the employ of Fiske & Dieman, architects, for a number of years" and now "has become a member of the firm, and it will hereafter be Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis, architects."[12] Several projects in 1902-1904 listed the firm as Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis, even though the Lincoln city directories of 1903-1906 continued to list him as a draftsman for Fiske & Dieman. From 1907 to 1910, Meginnis was identified as an architect with Fiske & Dieman. It was not until 1915, after a hiatus in Indianapolis, that Meginnis returned to Lincoln and was again acknowledged as a partner in Fiske & Meginnis. This page lists the projects published in 1902-1904 as the works of Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis.

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

Educational & Professional Associations

1888-1889: Fiske & Peters, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1900-1910: Dieman & Fiske, Architects, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

1901-1904: Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][a]

1901-1910: Fiske & Dieman, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1913-1914: Fiske & Miller, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1915-1924: Fiske & Meginnis, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1925: Fiske, Meginnis & Schaumberg, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1926-1951: Meginnis & Schaumberg, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Buildings & Projects

Dated

Ferdinand C. Fiske house (1902-1903), 20th & Washington (1534 South 20th Street), Lincoln, Nebraska.[3][14][15][e]

Harpham Brothers Company Wholesale Warehouse (1903), 8th & P Sts, Lincoln, Nebraska.[4]

John T. Dorgern house (1903), 17th & F Sts, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1]

Charles Seifert Store (1903), remodel, 133 S 9th, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1]

Wing for conservatory of music building, Nebraska Wesleyan University (1903), University Place (now Lincoln), Nebraska.[9][b]

Daily Telegram Building (1903), Eau Claire, Wisconsin.[5]

Agricultural School Building (1904) East Campus, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.[2][7][8][10][c] (LC13:E11-174)

Notes

a. According to Lincoln Trade Review, H. W. Meginnis joined the firm in 1903; firm now to be known as Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis; announced March 7, 1903; Meginnis to head the Lincoln office.[6] Earlier, Meginnis was associated with the firm as a draftsman in the Cedar Rapids office.

b. According to Improvement Bulletin of August 29, 1903, in "Lincoln, Neb.--The executive committee of the trustees of Nebraska Wesleyan university has arranged for the erection of a wing for the conservatory of music building. It will be of Coffeyville pressed brick. Fiske, Dieman & McGinnis [sic], architects." The cost of the contract with Lewis Jansen to construct "one wing of the proposed new building for Wesleyan university" was $12,700.[9]

c. Improvement Bulletin of April 23, 1904 reported: "Lincoln, Neb.--The Capital City Brick & Pipe Co., of Des Moines, Ia., secured the contract for the agricultural building at the state farm at $52,975, and for the physics building at "$58,750. Fiske, Dieman & McGinnis, architects.[10] While this reference implies Fiske, Dieman and McGinnis designed "the physics building," UNL's Brace Laboratory of Physics was built by Capital City Brick, but designed by Mendelssohn, Fisher & Lawrie, Architects.[11]

d. Nebraska State Journal of June 7, 1901 reported that "F. C. Fiske of Dilman [sic] & Fiske, architects of Cedar Rapids, Ia., has decided to return to Lincoln to open an office. He will be here in a short time to carry out this intention. Mr. Fiske and his family are well known in Lincoln. They removed from here to St. Louis about seven years ago." That "short time" was brief indeed, as the Lincoln newspaper reported in August 1901 that F. C.'s brother Aias W. Fiske of Eau Claire, Wisconsin was visiting him in Lincoln, and later that month that "F. C. Fiske has gone to Clear Lake, Ia., for a short vacation."[13]

e. In 1902 Fiske advertised "WANTED--To rent nicely furnished room with or without board, in privae [sic] family; must have modern conveniences." Fiske was listed in the Lincoln City directory of 1903 as "rm" [rooming] at the Richards Block, Room 516, the same downtown address as his architectural office. In 1903 Katherine Fiske bought a house lot on South 20th Street in Lincoln, then in May 1903 Nebraska State Journal noted "F. C. Fiske has gone to Cedar Rapids, Ia., to complete arrangements for the removal of his family to Lincoln. He will store his household goods for a time and while Mrs. Fiske is visiting in Chicago and elsewhere he will devote his attention to building a new home on South Twentieth street, between Washington and Garfield. The house will be commenced at once and finished as soon as practicable." By September, the newspaper noted that Mrs. Fiske and her daughter had returned from Okoboji to South Twentieth.[14][15]

References

1. Lincoln Trade Review 1:47 (1903), 3.

2. Lincoln Trade Review 1:50 (1903), 12. (contract changed to Ag School from Campus Admin. Bldg.)

3. Lincoln Trade Review 1:3 (1902), 3.

4. Lincoln Trade Review 2:4 (1903), cover.

5. Lincoln Trade Review 2:4 (1903), 3. (pressed brick & stone)

6. Lincoln Trade Review 1:40 (1903), 4.

7. Lincoln Trade Review 1:48, (1902), 9.

8. "Agriculture Hall" in "Tour East Campus," in An Architectural Tour of Historic University of Nebraska-Lincoln, on-line at http://historicbuildings.unl.edu/building.php?b=42 Accessed April 10, 2017.

9. Improvement Bulletin (April 23, 1904), 20.

10. Improvement Bulletin (August 29, 1903), 19; (October 17, 1903), 21.

11. "Brace Laboratory of Physics" in "Tour City Campus," in An Architectural Tour of Historic University of Nebraska-Lincoln, on-line at http://historicbuildings.unl.edu/building.php?b=13 Accessed April 10, 2017.http://historicbuildings.unl.edu/building.php?b=13

12. "Here in Lincoln," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (March 4, 1903), 2.

13. Nebraska State Journal (June 7, 1901), 8; (August 21, 1901), 6; (August 25, 1901), 6.

14. Lancaster County Deeds, Warranty Deed 116-23, 1903.

15. Nebraska State Journal (August 31, 1902), 8; (May 27, 1903), 8; (September 13, 1903), 14.

Page Citation

E. F. Zimmer and D. Murphy, “Fiske, Dieman & Meginnis, Architects,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, April 20, 2019. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 20, 2024.

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