Henry Bacon (1866-1924), Architect

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New York, New York

Henry Bacon was one of the distinguished American architects of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. A native of Watseka, Illinois, Bacon began his career with Chamberlin & Whidden, Architects, in Boston, then worked with McKim, Mead & White there, where he returned after completing his Rotch Traveling Scholarship to Europe. In 1897 he became a partner in the firm of Brite & Bacon, then established an independent practice in 1902.[8]

Bacon was particularly interested in architectural monuments, and designed many pedestals and architectural settings for sculpture, working in collaboration with such figures as Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French. He is perhaps best known for his design of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., which houses French’s seated Lincoln. He also designed the pedestal for Daniel Chester French’s standing Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, located at the west entrance to the State Capitol.[8][9][10] He was a member and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and recipient of the AIA Gold Metal in 1923.[7]

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.

Buildings & Projects

Lincoln Memorial (1908-1912), Nebraska State Capitol, 14th & J, Lincoln, Nebraska.[6][10][a] (LC13:D08-001)

West Lawn Mausoleum (1913-1915), 5701 Center, Omaha, Nebraska. [13] (DO09:0420-001)

Notes

a. Sculptor, Daniel Chester French.

References

1. "American Architect" 148 (January 1936).

2. “Henry Bacon (Master Draftsman Series No. 5),” Pencil Points 5.

3. “The Lincoln Memorial in Washington,” American Architect 118 (1920), 489, 523.

4. Ralph Adams Cram, “The Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D. C., Henry Bacon, Architect,” Architectural Record 53 (June, 1923), 478-508.

5. “Henry Bacon, 1866-1924,” American Architect 125 (1924), 195-96.

6. “Architects in Nebraska to be Covered in Our Survey,” WPA Writers Project, Nebraska State Historical Society, RG515, subj 611.

7. AIA Historical Directory of American Architects: A Resource Guide to Finding Information About Past Architects. http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/ahd1001657.aspx [accessed 20100405]

8. Henry F. and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) Facsimile Edition (Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, 1970).

9. “Brief Biographies of American Architects Who Died Between 1897 and 1947,” Transcribed from the "American Art Annual" by Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. Society of Architectural Historians website, accessed September 14, 2011, http://www.sah.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=BiographiesArchitects&category=Resources

10. James E. Potter, “Dedicating Nebraska’s Lincoln Memorial, 1912,” Nebraska History 89:4 (Winter 2008), 222-224.

11. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects (New York: Macmillan, 1982).

12. Richard Guy Wilson, The AIA Gold Medal (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984).

13. Kristine Gerber and Jeffery Spencer, Building for the Ages: Omaha’s Architectural Landmarks (Omaha, Nebraska: Eventive Marketing LLC, 2003).

Page Citation

D. Murphy, “Henry Bacon (1866-1924), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 17, 2012. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, March 29, 2024.


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