Purcell & Feick, Architects
Partners:
William Gray Purcell (1880-1965), Architect
George Feick, Jr., Architect
Purcell & Feick is the founding firm that later evolved into the better known architectural firm of Purcell & Elmslie. Prominent in Prairie Style circles, both Purcell and George Grant Elmslie (1869-1952) were later associated with William La Barthe Steele in the design of the Woodbury County Courthouse in Sioux City, Iowa, a major public building of the style.
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.
Lineage of the Firm
1907-1909: Purcell & Feick, Architects, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
1910-1912: Purcell Feick & Elmslie, Architects.
1913-1921: Purcell & Elmslie, Architects, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia.[1]
Buildings & Projects
Bookcases and mantle for Mr. [Michael] Dowling (1908), 1322 S 31st St, Omaha, Nebraska.[1:12][3][4][a][b]
Atkinson State Bank (1908), E side of Main near SE corner of State, Atkinson, Nebraska.[1:13][2][a] (HT02-094)
Notes
a. Both Nebraska commissions were executed for Michael Dowling of Omaha; Dowling’s full name and address were taken from Omaha City Directories for 1907 and 1911.
b. Purcell, in his parabiographies entry for the job, stated that “the raised hearth started a mild riot in Omaha social circles.”[3]
References
1. Mark Hammons, “The Compleat Commission List, Purcell & Elmslie, Architects,” Organica accessed February 5, 2003, http://www.organica.org/PEComplete.htm
2. William Gray Purcell Papers, Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota [AR:B4d1.2], Parabiography entry of William Gray Purcell, March 4, 1908, in Mark Hammons, Organica accessed February 6, 2003, http://www.organica.org/pejn13_1.htm
3. William Gray Purcell Papers, Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota [AR:B4d1.2], Parabiography entry of William Gray Purcell, February 27, 1908, in Mark Hammons, Organica, accessed February 6, 2003, http://www.organica.org/pejn12_1.htm (Also see images at University of Minnesota Libraries, Northwest Architectural Archives, accessed April 3, 2013, https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/node/60828?mode=
Page Citation
D. Murphy, “Purcell & Feick, Architects,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, March 3, 2015. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, May 19, 2025.
Contact the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office with questions or comments concerning this page, including any problems you may have with broken links (see, however, the Disclaimers link at the bottom of this page). Please provide the URL to this page with your inquiry.
