Difference between revisions of "Frederick Woodruff Clarke (1869-1960), Architect"

Latest revision as of 15:53, 9 January 2023

Frederick Woodruff Clarke was born December 12, 1869 in New Orleans to Edwin and Leoline (nee Basancon) Clarke. The family resided in Quincy, Illinois by 1880, where Frederick and his older brother Edwin were both listed as students in 1889 and as architects from the early through mid-1890s. In 1897 Frederick was referred to as "a Chicago architect, recently in the employ of Henry Ives Cobb," while his brother Edwin B. Clarke was an architect in the Holabird & Roche office.[1][a][b] Frederick was an architect in Omaha, Nebraska in 1901 when he married Mrs. Olive (nee Weller) Davenport.[12] In Nebraska, he was involved in numerous architectural projects around Omaha--especially public schools--and in York. For roughly a decade the Clarke brothers practiced together in Omaha. F. W. Clarke relocated to Santa Monica, California in the mid-1930s and died there in 1960.[6][7][11]

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.

Rosewater School, 1909-1910 (D. Murphy)

Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings

Omaha, Nebraska, 1901-1917, 1931-1934

Educational & Professional Associations

1890-1896: architect, Quincy, Illinois (in partnership with Ernest M. Wood in 1894).[a]

1897: architect, Chicago, Illinois ("recently in the employ of Henry Ives Cobb").[1][b]

1900-1915: architect, Omaha, Nebraska.[29][a]

1912: founding board member, Nebraska State Association of Architects.[23][f]

1915-1926: architect and partner, Fred W. Clarke & Edwin B. Clarke, Architects, Omaha, Nebraska.[28]

1919: appointed by Douglas County Commissioners to committee to review John Latenser's estimates for repair of Douglas County Courthouse following the fire.[26]

1927-1934: architect, Omaha, Nebraska.

Other Associations

1907: employed M. R. Nippell, architect.

1914: employed William M. Nevotti, draftsman.

Buildings & Projects

1900-1916 (Omaha, Nebraska)

Isaac R. Andrews house (1901), Bemis Park, Omaha, Nebraska.[29]

F. W. Clarke house (1903), 2120 Wirt, Omaha, Nebraska.[3:179][5][24] (DO09:0140-049)

Building (1904), 3524 Lafayette Ave, Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0218-014)

House (1904), 2204 Wirt St, Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0140-047)

Hygria-Farmers-Harding Creamery Bldg (1904, 1915, 1925-1926), 802-12 Harney, Omaha, Nebraska.[4][25] (D009:0068-006)

D. C. Eldridge house (1905), 1709 Park Ave, Omaha, Nebraska.[3:160][5] (DO09:0201-011)

Apartment (1906), 817 Park Ave., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0205-101)

Building (1906), 821-823 Park Ave., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0205-102)

House (1906), 3648 Lafayette Ave., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0327-006)

Fairmont Creamery Building (1906), 1201 Jones St., Omaha, Nebraska.[5][15] (DO09:0121-074)

Vinton School (1906-1908), 2120 Deer Park Blvd, Omaha, Nebraska.[5][14] (DO09:0108-009)

UPRR Division Office & Commissary Bldg (1907), Omaha, Nebraska.[2]

Building (1907), 3419-23 Dewey Ave., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0208-040)

Marion E. Carpenter house (1907), 502 N. 38th St., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0323-010)

Two-story double brick dwelling for T. J. O'Brien (1907), 16th & Harney, Omaha, Nebraska.[16]

Flat (1908), 314 S. 27th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0209-025)

Flat (1908), 318 S. 27th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0209-026)

Rosehill Elementary School (1908), 5605 Corby St., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0446-005)

First Church of Christ Scientist (1909), 565 S. 24th St., Omaha, Nebraska.[3:171][5] (DO09:0122-003)

Rosewater School (1908-1910), 3810 S 13th, Omaha, Nebraska.[5][17][19][20][21][22][e] (DO09:0105-001)

Brick residence for F. Christian (1910), 40th & California, Omaha, Nebraska.[18]

Richardson (New Idea) Building (1910), 908 Jackson St., Omaha, Nebraska.[4][5] (DO09:0121-063)

High School (1912), Oakland, Iowa.[27]

C. Van Alstine house (1913), 3511 Woolworth Ave, Omaha, Nebraska.[3:182][5] (DO09:0202-032)

1915-1926 (Clarke brothers partnership)

Projects in Omaha between 1915 and 1926 by the partnership Fred W. Clarke & Edwin B. Clarke, Architects are listed on their own page.

1927-1934 (Later Omaha Work)

House (1929), 5415 Nicholas St., Omaha, Nebraska.[5] (DO09:0438-183)

Notes

a. F. W. Clarke and his older brother Edwin B. Clarke were listed as architects (living with their father) in Quincy, Illinois city directories from 1891-1896 and again in 1903. 1901 is the first listing for F. W. Clark in the Omaha city directories; then both brothers appear in the Omaha directory of 1904. From 1905-1915 F. W. was in Omaha; E. B. did not return until 1915.

b. A long and colorful article in the Chicago Tribune of 1897 provided an account (courtesy of his brother Edwin) of Frederick's adventures in France. While walking and sketching in the town of Besancon, Fred was detained near a fortress, searched, and questioned by French troops as a suspected Prussian spy. He was released after a long day "...mentally resolving, he says, not to sketch again in the vicinity of a French Fort."[1] Frederick and Edwin's mother's maiden name (and Edwin's middle name) was "Besancon," perhaps a reason for Fred's stopover in that particular town, which still retains an extensive system of ancient fortifications.[13]

c. Another source ([8]) states that this was a kitchen addition, 1918.

d. An Omaha Bee article of 1910 praised a greater variety in brick colors, textures, and jointing. Among the architects whose residences are mentioned are Thomas R. Kimball, F. A. Henninger, Fisher & Lawrie, John McDonald, and Lloyd D. Willis, along with F. W. Clarke.[18]

e. A dispute within the Omaha school board regarding concrete construction and architects' expertise in this structural type spilled over into the city's permitting system, with the City Building Inspector denying a permit for Clarke's plans for Forest (a.k.a Rosewater) School "unless an expert in concrete and steel construction will certify that that a building erected on the plans drawn will be perfectly safe." The matter was apparently resolved as Clarke's design was under construction in 1910.[17][21]22

f. At a 1912 meeting in Omaha, the "Nebraska State Association of Architects was organized and officers and directors elected...," namely H. Lawrie (president), G. B. Prinz (VP), A. F. Henninger [sic, should be F. A.] (secretary-treasurer); and directors O. K. Kischke [sic, should be O. R. Kirschke] of Grand Island, M. N. Blair [sic, should be Bair] of Hastings, and F. W. Clarke and John McDonald of Omaha.[23]

g. The November 23, 1901 issue of The Excelsior (Omaha, Nebraska) devoted the front page to a rendering of Judge Isaac R. Andrews' house, then under construction at 35th & Hawthorne in the Bemis Park subdivision of Omaha. An accompanying paragraph described "the beautiful new residence" as giving "a fair idea of the up-to-datenss of the houses being erected in beautiful Bemis park...Judge Andrews' residence was designed by Mr. Fred W. Clarke, a recent addition to Omaha architects, who will make a mark for himself on this place alone."[29]

References

1. "Clarke in Gallic Toils. Chicago Architect Captured by French Soldiery," Chicago Tribune (July 19, 1897), 12.

2. March 1, 1907; Drawings on file at Nebraska State Historical Society.

3. Landmarks, Inc., An Inventory of Historic Omaha Buildings (Omaha: City of Omaha, and Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, 1980).

4. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

5. City of Omaha Planning Department, Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, Database, Query on Architects, May 20, 2002; courtesy of Lynn Meyer, Preservation Planner.

6. 1910 United States Census, s.v. “Frederick Clarke,” Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, accessed through HeritageQuestOnline.com.

7. 1920 United States Census, s.v. “Frederick W. Clarke,” Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, accessed through HeritageQuestOnline.com.

8. Catherine Westergaard, email to Nebraska State Historical Society reference services, January 11, 2012, mentions a High School of Commerce [probably Omaha Technical High School] (1919), a kitchen addition to the York Hotel (1918), and the Nampa Depot in Idaho as buildings attributed to Clarke.

9. "The American Contractor" (March 23, 1918), 60. (This is a fireproof building of brick, terracotta, and concrete; four stories with a basement, measuring 89 by 139 feet.), accessed through Google Books on January 12, 2012, http://books.google.com/books?id=UCJYAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA10-PA64&lpg=RA10-PA64&dq=f+w+clarke,+architect,+york+hotel,+nebraska&source=bl&ots=-QV--qNAlx&sig=yQZ--Gvu9ph8VGJ7unfHB-6P9QU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=whYPT97eOov9iQLF9M3fDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=f%20w%20clarke%2C%20architect%2C%20york%20hotel%2C%20nebraska&f=false

10. Original drawings in possession of DEVCO, Nancy Arter Gade, Lincoln, Nebraska.

11. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "Frederick W. Clarke," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

12. Ancestry.com. Nebraska, U.S., Select County Marriage Records, 1855-1908, s.v. "Frederick W. Clarke," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.

13. "Besancon," in Wikipedia--the Free Encyclopedia, accessed on-line December 21, 2022.

14. "Vinton, the Model School--New Building is to Be Pattern in Point of Mechanical Construction," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (July 3, 1906), 5.

15. "Latenser Has Two Temples--Chosen Architect for the Masons and Jewish Synagogue New Buildings," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (February 24, 1906), 11.

16. "O'Brien to Build," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily News (June 2, 1907), 21.

17. "Mixup Over School Work--Concrete Architect Hired After Regulars Are Employed," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (July 16, 1908), 2.'

18. "Artistic Brick in Vogue--Change in Style is Now Being Used by the Architects in Handsome Residences," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (May 8, 1910), 39.

19. "Selects Architects--Plans Will Be Drawn for New School Building," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily News (April 8, 1908), 6.

20. "Legal Notices--Notice to Contractors," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (April 11, 1909), 33.

21. "Withnell Declines to Give Permit for Forest School--Says Present Plans Do Not Provide for Perfect Safety of the Building," Omaha (Nebraska) Evening Bee (June 17, 1909), 2.

22. "Forest School Criticised. Board Members Say Inspection Work Has Been Neglected," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (June 22, 1910), 5.

23. The Omaha (Nebraska) Excelsior (January 6, 1912), 2.

24. "Real Estate. City Property for Sale...2120 Wirt--The home of Architect F. W. Clarke...," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (April 20, 1913), 27; "2120 Wirt Street" (advertisement for sale, illustrated with photo), Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (February 25, 1917), 26.

25. "Will Build $35,000 Creamery Warehouse," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily News (May 12, 1915), 9.

26. "Ask More Time to Estimate Repair to Court House," Omaha (Nebraska) Evening Bee (November 3, 1919), 2.

27. "New High School at Oakland," Omaha (Nebraska) Evening Bee (March 16, 1912), 5.

28. "Clarke Associated with Brother," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (March 10, 1916), 7.

29. "Our Card Basket," The Excelsior (Omaha, Nebraska) (November 23, 1901), 15 (with "Residence of Isaac R. Andrews," illustration on page 1).

Page Citation

D. Murphy & E. F. Zimmer, “Frederick Woodruff Clarke (1869-1960), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 22, 2022. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, May 24, 2017.

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