Robert A. Bradley (1872-1929), Architect
DBA: R. A. Bradley & Company, Architects
Robert Bradley was born in Michigan in 1872. He practiced awhile in Indiana before settling in Hastings, Nebraska.[4][6] Bradley started his own firm, which eventually opened up a branch in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He was married to Edith R., and they had one daughter, Phyllis.[6] Bradley died of heart disease on August 29, 1929 at age 57.[1]
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
Hastings, Nebraska. 1915, 1917, 1920, 1928
Educational & Professional Associations
1908-1910: with Bradley & Allen, Architects, Fort Wayne, Indiana.[4][d]
1910-1912: with Grindle & Bradley, Architects, Indianapolis, Indiana.[4][d]
1915-1920: architect and owner, R. A. Bradley & Company, Architects, Hastings, Nebraska.[e]
1921-1923: No Hastings Directories.
1922-1923: architect and partner, R. A. Bradley & Company, Architects, Hastings and Scottsbluff, Nebraska.[4]
1924: Unlisted, Hastings, Nebraska.
1925-1927: No Hastings Directories.
1928: architect, 16 Exchange National Bank Building, Hastings, Nebraska.
Other Associations
1919-1922: employed Albert William Meinzen as chief draftsman and superintendent.[4]
1922-1923: Scottsbluff office run by partners, Albert William Meinzen and Everett L. Goldsmith.
Buildings & Projects
Dated
Public School (1915), Parker & Caldwell, Deweese, Nebraska. (CY02-016)
Public School (1917), McCool, Nebraska.[10]
Scottsbluff Carnegie Public Library (1917-1922), 106 E. 18th, Scottsbluff.[2] (SF11-010) NRHP form and photos
Allen High School (1918), 5th & Harrison, Allen, Nebraska. (DX01-017)
Garage for K. Harrison of Cozad (1918), Cozad, Nebraska.[7]
Consolidated School (1918), Phillips, Nebraska.[8][d]
Scottsbluff High School (1922-1923). Scottsbluff, Nebraska.[1][4][9][c]
School (ca. 1922), rural Morrill County, Nebraska. (MO06-002)
Maternity Hospital for Lanning Estate (1926), Hastings, Nebraska.[3]
Undated
Dr. A. A. Smith House, Hastings, Nebraska [1]
Notes
a. Credit to R. A. Bradley & Company, Architects.[7]
b. Considered for Lincoln School Addition and one other school building (1916), Hastings, Nebraska, in competition with Berlinghof & Davis and C. W. Way Company.[5]
c. Design development from Bradley sketches and working drawings attributed to Albert William Meinzen.
American Contractor of November 26, 1921 notes the Bradley firm had prepared "Prelim. plans" for this $500,000 high school. The same magazine issued a call for sealed bids on April 29, 1922, with a deadline of June 1, 1922. American Contractor indicated in the July 15, 1922 edition: "Bids rejected" and the plans would be revised. But on July 22, 1922 the magazine announced that the general contact had been let to Shevlon Construction Company of Casper, Wyoming.[4][9]
d. Trenton Building Company (Ernest Rokahr), Contractors, Lincoln, Nebraska.[8]
e. First directory listing in Hastings, Nebraska, 1915. No Hastings directory in 1914.
f. Unverified leads to Bradley’s pre-Nebraska career. Unable to find him in the 1900 or 1910 census, and not in Indiana in 1910. He may have lived in Denver, Colorado for a while.[6]
References
1. “Bradley Succumbs to Heart Disease,” Hastings Daily Tribune (August 29, 1929), 1; see also Hastings Daily Tribune (August 30, 1929): 8:5; and “Hold Last Rites for R. A. Bradley,” Hastings Daily Tribune (September 2, 1929), 6:5.
2. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
3. Tom Kaspar, comp. Inventory of architectural records in the archives of Davis Fenton Stange Darling, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1996. Nebraska State Historical Society, RG3748, Box 16.
4. “Albert William Meinzen,” Application for Registration to Practice Professional Engineering and Architecture, Nebraska State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects, December 14, 1937. Nebraska State Historical Society RG081 SG2.
5. “School Board In Stormy Session,” Hastings Daily Tribune (December 27, 1916), 5:5.
6. United States Census, s.v. "Robert A. Bradley," Hastings, Adams County, Nebraska, accessed through AncestryLibrary.com.
7. The American Contractor (March 23, 1918), 60, accessed through Google Books on January 12, 2012, http://books.google.com/books?id=UCJYAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA10-PA64&lpg=RA10-PA64&dq=f+w+clarke,+architect,+york+hotel,+nebraska&source=bl&ots=-QV--qNAlx&sig=yQZ--Gvu9ph8VGJ7unfHB-6P9QU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=whYPT97eOov9iQLF9M3fDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=f%20w%20clarke%2C%20architect%2C%20york%20hotel%2C%20nebraska&f=false
8. Rokahr Family Collection, MS3584, S.2, f.1. Nebraska State Historical Society archives.
9. American Contractor (November 26, 1921), 67; (April 29, 1922), 38; (July 15, 1922), 64; (July 22, 1922), 61.
10. "M'Cool," York (Nebraska) Daily News-Times (April 14, 1917), 5. "R. A. Bradley, the architect for the new school building met with the trustees Wednesday...Everything is in good shape and ready for the roof."
Page Citation
D. Murphy, “Robert A. Bradley (1872-1929), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, September 9, 2014. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 28, 2024.
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