Lawrence Bolton Valk (1838-1924), Architect
DBA: L. B. Valk; L. B. Valk & Son
Lawrence Bolton Valk was born in Florida in 1838. He was listed in New York City directories as an architect as early as 1859. He built a nationwide practice specializing in church design, including First Presbyterian Church of 1884-1885 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Valk and his wife Ellen E. had four children.[c] Their son Arthur joined his father as L. B. Valk and Son in 1885. Valk & Son moved their practice to Los Angeles around 1900, where they emphasized residential design. [1][2][3][a] L. B. Valk died in Los Angeles in 1924.[9]
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
none
Educational & Professional Associations
ca. 1859-1885: architect, New York City.
1885-ca. 1899: senior partner in L. B. Valk & Son, New York City.
ca. 1900-1924: architect with L. B. Valk & Son, Los Angeles.
Buildings & Projects
No attempt has been made to represent L. B. Valk's whole career on this page, but rather to put his single known Nebraska project into the context of his broad and lengthy career. The scope of his work is well-reported within other states listed in the References, especially the North Carolina and Colorado sources. Below is a sampling of Valk projects built within a decade of the Lincoln example, concentrating on Congregational churches, extant buildings, and projects in states adjacent to Nebraska.[2][3][6][7]
First Congregational Church (1878), 12th & Clay Streets, Oakland, California.[11]
Congregational Church (1883), 111 Church Street, Groton, New York.[3]
First Presbyterian Church (1884-1885), SW corner of 13th & M Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska.[4][a]
Union Presbyterian Church (1884-1885), 719 Avenue F, Fort Madison, Iowa.[4]
First Baptist Church (1890-1891), 317 E. Kiowa Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado.[4]
Publications & Patents
Valk, Lawrence B., Architecture for the Country: Valk's Cottages and Villas, 1869.
Valk, Lawrence B., The New Form of Plan for Churches, New York: Holt Brothers, 1873.
Valk, Lawrence Bolton, "Combination Church," U. S. Patent 723426, application 1901, issued 1903.[b]
Notes
a. William M. Clark, "Secretary Board of Trustees" of First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, placed a "Notice to Builders" in the Nebraska State Journal of April 10, 1884 (and several subsequent dates), soliciting bids "for the erection of a church edifice for the First Presbyterian church...according to the plans, specifications and detail drawings made by Valk..."[4] Lincoln's First Presbyterian congregation moved to a new church designed by Ralph Adams Cram and built in 1926-1927, then the Valk-designed church downtown was demolished and replaced by the Cornhusker Hotel.[8]
b. Accessed July 20, 2018 on-line at https://patents.google.com/patent/US723426
c. Helen, a daughter of Lawrence and Ellen Valk, married Gail Borden, scion of the condensed milk fortune; they divorced in 1911.[10]
References
1. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line], s.v. "Lawrence B. Valk." Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
2. Catherine W. Bishir, "L. B. Valk & Son," 2016, in North Carolina Architects and Builders: A Biographical Dictionary, accessed July 20, 2018 on-line at http://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000603
3. Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Colorado Historical Society, "L. B. Valk & Son" in Architects of Colorado, accessed July 20, 2018 on-line at http://legacy.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/files/OAHP/Guides/Architects_valk.pdf
4. "Notice to Builders," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (April 10, 1884), 8.
5. "L. B. Valk Architectural Co.," Los Angeles Herald (September 3, 1905), 2.
6. Sandra L. Tatman, "Lawrence B. Valk (fl. 1859-ca. 1900), in Philadelphia Architects and Buildings, accessed July 23, 2018 on-line at https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/470813
7. Dennis Steadman Francis, Architects in Practice in New York City, 1840-1900, New York: COPAR, 1979, 67, 77, 97.
8. E. F. Zimmer, The Near South Walking Tours: Vol. 2, Mount Emerald & Environs, Lincoln, Nebraska: Near South Neighborhood Association, 1990), 8.
9. Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line], s. v. "Laurence B Valk." Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
10. "Wife Defends Borden After Divorce Suit," Saint Louis Post-Dispatch (July 5, 1911), 5.
11. "Laying the Corner Stone. The New Edifice of the First Congregational Church," Oakland (California) Tribune (May 22, 1878), 3.
Page Citation
E. Zimmer, “Lawrence Bolton Valk (1838-1924), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, July 23, 2018. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, June 5, 2024.
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