Leon John Jack Beers (1923-2010), Architect & Engineer
dba: Jack Beers
Leon John "Jack" Beers was born in Lincoln, Nebraska to Leon G. and Evelyn Beers in 1923. His parents had a cafe in downtown Lincoln, where the 1940 U. S. Census identified his father as a cook and his mother as a waitress. Leon signed his draft registration card in 1942 as "Leon John Jack Beers,"and listed his employment as "Terry Carpenter Service Station."[3][a][b] He competed as a Golden Gloves amateur boxer to some local acclaim, but outside the ring an altercation in 1942 resulted in serious criminal charges against Beers and a friend.[28][29][30] The friend was acquitted, but for Beers a hung jury caused the County attorney to announce that Beers would be retried in the spring of 1943. In January 1943, Beers enlisted in the Marines. He served as an aerial gunner in a Marine dive bomber air wing in the South Pacific in WWII.[6][7] Upon his discharge and return to Lincoln, Beers attended University of Nebraska in the late 1940s and was a member of the Architectural Society. By 1950 he was a draftsman for Lincoln architect Fritz Craig and in 1951 was listed as an architect in Craig's office. They shared that office until Craig's death in 1960 and they may have associated as partners after Beers passed the Nebraska exam for professional architects in 1955. Jack Beers died in 2010 and was interred at Lincoln Memorial Park, where his gravestone is inscribed "Engineer & Architect 450 Churches."[[#References[1][2][[3][4][5][15]]]
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
Lincoln, Nebraska, 1947-2000
Educational & Professional Associations
1941, member of state champion Lincoln High School football team.[5]
1943-1945, U. S. Marine Corps, honorable discharge as private first class (Air Medal with two gold stars).[6]
1947-1950, student, University of Nebraska & member of Architectural Society.[4]
1950, BA, Architecture, University of Nebraska.[8]
1950, draftsman for architect Fritz Craig, Lincoln, Nebraska.
1951, architect for Fritz Craig, Lincoln, Nebraska.
1952-1960, shared an office with Fritz Craig at Room 724, First National Bank Building, 10th & O Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska.
1955, Beers passed architect's exam of State Board of Examiner for Professional Engineers and Architects.[15]
1956, founding member of S.A.R.A. (Society of American Registered Architects).[1][5][10]
1960-2010, engineer & architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Buildings & Projects
Dated Projects
Advertised "Complete house plans drawn for FHA approval or private use. Call Jack Beers" (1948).[9]
1951-1960
After being listed in the Lincoln city directory of 1950 as a draftsman for Lincoln architect Fritz Craig, Beers was listed from 1951 to 1960 as an architect with Craig, or both were listed at the same office (Room 724) in the First National Bank Building, through 1960, the year of Craig's death. Beers passed the architect's exam of the Nebraska Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects in 1955 and while no announcement of a formal partnership between Beers and Craig has been found, there are indications their roles may have equalized in the second half of their decade together. The projects that were credited to both of them are listed on a page for Fritz Craig & Jack Beers, Associated Architects.
Catholic Church (1956), Adams Street, Ashland, Nebraska.[13]
Harris-Fraley VFW Post 131 (1956-1957), 40th & Cornhusker Highway, Lincoln, Nebraska.[14]
Holland Reformed Church (1957), Holland, Nebraska.[16]
West Lincoln village building (1958), West Lincoln, Nebraska.[17]
Remodeling retail building into American Legion Post (1958), Syracuse, Nebraska.[18]
Atkinson Methodist Church (1959-1961), Atkinson, Nebraska.[20]
1960-2010
Our Savior's Lutheran Church (1961), 11th & L Streets, Wymore, Nebraska.[19]
Education Wing for St. Mark's Lutheran Church (1961), Saint Paul, Nebraska.[21][22]
Saint Mary's Catholic Church (1962), Odell, Nebraska.[23]
Saint Martin's Catholic Church (1962), Douglas, Nebraska.[24]
St. Wenceslaus Parish Center (1962), Bee, Nebraska.[25]
Farmers Co-op Service Station and offices (1962), North Chestnut (opposite courthouse), Wahoo, Nebraska.[26]
Addition to Our Saviour's Lutheran Church (1963), 1200 South 40th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.[11]
First Church of the Nazarene (1972), 1901 South 70th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12]
Notes
a. Beers appears to have consistently used the name "Jack" in his architectural practice after 1951, but prior to that time "Leon," "Leon J.," and "John L." all appear in newspaper stories, NU yearbooks, or Lincoln city directories referring to the same individual, and "Leon" continued to be cited in newspaper accounts, especially of legal matters, after 1951.
b. Terry Carpenter, Jack's employer in 1942, had been a U. S. Congressman in 1933-1935, then ran unsuccessfully for various offices in the 1930s and '40s before being elected to the Nebraska Unicameral in 1952, where he served over two decades. His Lincoln gas station at 13th & K Streets was one in a multi-state chain owned by Carpenter. Carpenter was a major in the U. S. Army Air Corps from 1942-1945.[27]
References
1. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "Pfc. Leon John Beers" [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
2. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Leon Beers," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
3. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, s.v. "Leon John Jack Beers," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
4. Cornhusker (yearbook), Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska, 1947, 252; 1948, 242; 1949, 204; 1950, 440.
5. "L. J. 'Jack' Beers," Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star (July 15, 2010), B-4.
6. "Leon Beers, Lincoln, Has Close Calls In Pacific; Now in U. S.," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (May 23, 1945), 11.
7. "Leon Beers is out of marines," Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal (October 5, 1945), 4.
8. "Nebraska University Confers 1,799 Degrees...College of Engineering and Architecture," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Journal (June 5, 1950), 8.
9. Classified Advertisements--"Business Service...House Plans," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Journal (June 25, 1948), 15.
10. "About...SARA," on-line website of Society of American Registered Architects, accessed May 31, 2023 at https://www.sara-national.org/about
11. City of Lincoln Building Permit #84708, issued September 10, 1963; Jack Beers, architect; 150'x 85'.
12. City of Lincoln Building Permit #104177, issued April 10, 1972; estimated cost $175,000; Jack Beers, architect.
13. "Local Happenings" (column 5: "Jack Beers, Lincoln architect, was out Saturday to survey the ground for the new Catholic Church...," Ashland (Nebraska) Gazette (February 2, 1956), 3.
14. "Harris-Fraley VFW Post Building Club," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Journal (December 16, 1956), 7 (illustrated with rendering).
15. "Exam Board Reveals List--Names of Engineers, Architects Told," Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald (January 7, 1955), 33.
16. "Reformed Church of Holland Dedicated in Stirring Rites," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (June 28, 1957), 13.
17. "W. Lincoln Picks Building Architect," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (January 15, 1958), 3.
18. "Legion Approves Remodeling Plans," Syracuse (Nebraska) Journal-Democrat (May 22, 1958), 1.
19. "Minister Here Has Paying Hobby in Construction of Scale Models," Wymore (Nebraska) Arbor State (March 2, 1961), 1.
20. "May 28 Date Set For First Service In Atkinson's New $120,000 Methodist Church," Atkinson (Nebraska) Graphic (March 31, 1961), 1.
21. "Dedicate Church Wing on Sunday," Howard County (Nebraska) Herald (July 19, 1961), 1.
22. "Dedication Sunday of Educational Unit," The Phonograph (Saint Paul, Nebraska) (July 26, 1961), 1 (illustrated with photo).
23. "New Church is going up," Beatrice (Nebraska) Daily Sun (July 15, 1962), 1.
24. "St. Martin's Prepares to Build New Church," Johnson County (Nebraska) Courier (August 16, 1962), 1.
25. "New St. Wenceslaus Parish Center Started," Seward County (Nebraska) Independent (November 14, 1962), 1 (illustrated with sketch).
26. "Farmers Union Co-op Oil Association Building Most Modern," Wahoo (Nebraska) Newspapers (December 20, 1962), 13 (illustrated with photos).
27. "Terry Carpenter," in "Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia," on-line database accessed June 14, 2023, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Carpenter#Sources
28. "2 Youths Await Hearing in Fatal Scuffle at Crete," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (August 17, 1942), 1.
29. "Jury Acquits McColley; will try Beers again," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (December 22, 1942), 2.
30. "Old Nebraska [20] years ago this week...Lincoln youths Leon Beers and Robert McColley were charged with second degree murder..." Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (August 12, 1962), 4.
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer, “Leon John Jack Beers (1923-2010), Architect & Engineer,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, June 14, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 28, 2024.
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