Joseph Edgar Smay (1898-1974), Architect

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Lincoln, Nebraska, 1922-1929; Norman, Oklahoma, 1929-1970


Joseph Edgar Smay was born in Nevada, Story County, Iowa on June 4, 1898, the son of Elmer Elsworth Smay and Hattie Estella Crippen. Smay received his Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from Iowa State College in 1923, the same year he married Mildred Cecelia Koontz, at Council Bluffs, Iowa.[1] From 1922-1929, he was an instructor in architecture at the University of Nebraska College of Engineering in Lincoln. He went on to receive his Masters degree in Architectural Engineering from Iowa State College in 1929, then he moved to Norman, Oklahoma, where he was an architect and professor of architecture at the University of Oklahoma.[4]

Smay was a member of Sigma Tau, Tau Beta Pi, and Alpha Rho Chi, and achieved 32nd degree Mason in 1938. He was an active member of numerous architectural organizations, including the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers, the Oklahoma Board of Governors of Architects, the American Institute of Architects, and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, serving on many committees and holding a variety of offices. He also served on the Norman, Oklahoma City Planning Board. Smay passed away on June 15, 1974.[4][5][6]

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.

Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings

Educational & Professional Associations

1905-1917: student, Nevada, Iowa, Public Schools.[1]

1918-1922: seaman, U.S. Naval Reserve.[1]

1922-1929: instructor in architecture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.[1]

1923: Bachelor of Science, Architectural Engineering, Iowa State College.[1]

1924: draftsman, Davis & Wilson, Lincoln, Nebraska.[4][5]

1925-1929: architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[4]

1929: M.S. Architectural Engineering, Iowa State College.[4]

1929-1962: architect, and professor of architecture, University of Oklahoma, Norman.[4][5]

1970: architect, Norman, Oklahoma.[6]

1970: emeritus professor, University of Oklahoma School of Architecture.[6]

Buildings & Projects

Robert R. Gray house (1929), 1901 D, Lincoln, Nebraska.[2] (LC13:D07-470)

Business Administration Building (1937), University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.[4][5]

Biological Science Building (1937), University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.[4][5]

Adams Hall (1938), University of Oklahoma,[6]

Richards Hall (1938), University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.[6]

Townsco Equipment Company Office Building (1940), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[4][5]

Gen. Hal Muldrew Residence (1940), Norman, Oklahoma.[4][5]

Consulting architect (1942-1943), University of Oklahoma Medical School, Norman, Oklahoma.[4][5]

Walter Neustadt Office Building (1952), Ardmore, Oklahoma.[4][5][6]

Norman Medical Center (1955), Norman, Oklahoma.[4][5]

Publications & Exhibitions

College & University Business (1952).

AIA Journal (1954).

Oklahoma Education Association (1955).

Progressive Architecture.

Honors & Awards

1933-1934 (summers): Carnegie Scholarship to Harvard.[4][5]

Notes

References

1. Sara Mullin Baldwin, ed. Who's Who in Lincoln. Lincoln: Robert M. Baldwin, 1928, 201.

2. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

3. AIA Historical Directory of American Architects: A Resource Guide to Finding Information About Past Architects, accessed July 20, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/ahd1041577.aspx

4. American Institute of Architects, comp., American Architects Directory First Ed. (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1956), 513, accessed March 3, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/1956%20American%20Architects%20Directory.aspx

5. American Institute of Architects, comp., American Architects Directory Second Ed. (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1962), 650, accessed April 4, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/1962%20American%20Architects%20Directory.aspx

6. American Institute of Architects, comp., American Architects Directory Third Ed. (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1970), 847, accessed April 4, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/1970%20American%20Architects%20Directory.aspx

Page Citation

D. Murphy, “Joseph Edgar Smay (1898-1974), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, March 11, 2015. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, March 28, 2024.


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