View source for Vincenzo Pietro Chiodo (1869-1949), Builder-Architect

<div style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:125%">'''Omaha, Nebraska, 1900-1912'''</div style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:125%">


'''Vincenzo Pietro Chiodo''' was born 1869 in Calabria, Italy. He arrived in Omaha at the age of 16 with his brothers Michele, Carmelo, and Lorenzo in 1885 and attended the Philip School of Design in Chicago, where he learned the trade of ladies’ tailor. He then worked for Abbott Brothers, Cunan & Company, and in the late 1890s started his own business which he continued through 1919. By 1906 he had become secretary of the Omaha Italian Club; a decade later he carried out his “master stroke,” purchasing the old county jail and courthouse, then importing skilled masons from Italy who re-used the materials to build the Florentine, Carpathia, Leone, and Chiodo Apartments. In 1920 was considered Omaha’s only Italian millionaire. The same year he was listed in the federal census with no occupation. Chiodo's son, Vincent Pietro Chiodo, Jr., was listed as a draftsman for the city of Omaha, the city where he was born. He was an Elk and a 4th degree Knight of Columbus. After the Great Depression he was named Italian Vice Consul in Omaha, State Supreme Deputy of the Sons of Italy, Knight of the House of Savoy, and Cavalier of the Order of St. Gregory. He died September 24, 1949 at the age of 80.[[#References|[4][5][7]]]

NOTE: Chiodo was the head of a building and real estate business following his work as a tailor; since he hired Italian masons to build his first apartments, and since he clearly had no formal building education or experience, we should see Chiodo as the brains and the money behind the enterprise, not the builder himself. The designs for his more unique work may be a combination of Italian vernacular influences, with perhaps a bit of local creativity, but since it is emerging that other architects were responsible for some designs, the term “architect” may not apply to Chiodo either. Add to that his son was a draftsman for the City of Omaha (a role played earlier by Kvenild, one of his architects). It could be that the attribution of “V. Chiodo” as architect on building permits actually refers to his son, V. Chiodo.

This page is a contribution to the publication, '''[[Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects]]'''. See the [[Format and contents of Nebraska architect entries|format and content]] page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
{|
 |[[Image:S_24_St_004_w.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|alt=S_24_St_004_w.jpg|Carpathia Apartments, 1912 (''Lynn Meyer'')]]
 |[[Image:S_25_St_004_w.jpg|thumb|upright=2.25|alt=S_25_St_004_w.jpg|Florentine Apartments, 1911 (''Lynn Meyer'')]]
 |[[Image:S_24_St_005_w.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|alt=S_24_St_005_w.jpg|Leone Apartments, 1909 (''Lynn Meyer'')]]
|}
==Educational & Professional Associations==
1891-____: Philip School of Design, Chicago, Illinois.[[#References|[4][5]]]

1900-1915: Ladies’ Tailoring and Dressmaking, Omaha, Nebraska.

1916-1927: (no directories available).[[#References|[7]]]

1928-1930: Real Estate.

==Buildings & Projects==
[[:File:S_24_St_005_w.jpg|'''Leone Apartments (1909-1911)''']], 832 S. 24, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[2][4][5]]][[#Notes|[a][e]]] (D009:0205-005) 
[http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/nebraska/douglas/DO09-Leone-Flor-Car-Apts.pdf National Register narrative]

[[:File:S_25_St_004_w.jpg|'''Florentine Apartments (1911-1912)''']], 907-11 S. 25, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[2][3][4][5]]][[#Notes|[b]]] (DO09:0205-004)
[http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/nebraska/douglas/DO09-Leone-Flor-Car-Apts.pdf National Register narrative]

[[:File:S_24_St_004_w.jpg|'''Carpathia Apartments (1912-1913)''']], 834 S. 24, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[2][3][4][5]]][[#Notes|[b]]] (DO09:0205-006)
[http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/nebraska/douglas/DO09-Leone-Flor-Car-Apts.pdf National Register narrative]

V. Chiodo dwelling house (1913), 1011 S 26th, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[1:69][3]]] (DO09:0205-034) 

V. Chiodo dwelling house (1913), 1019 S 26th, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[1:69][3]]] (DO09:0205-035) 

V. Chiodo dwelling house (1913), 1021 S 26th, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[1:69][3]]] (DO09:0205-036) 

V. Chiodo dwelling house (1915), 1010 S 25th, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[1:64][3]]] (DO09:0205-059)

Chiodo Apartments (1916-1918), NW corner 25th Ave & Marcy, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[4]]][[#Notes|[c][f]]]

V. Chiodo dwelling house (1920), 1020 S 25th Ave, Omaha. Nebraska.[[#References|[1:69][3]]] (DO09:0205-042) 

V. Chiodo dwelling house (1921), 1012 S 25th Ave, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[1:66][3]]] (DO09:0205-039) 

V. Chiodo dwelling house (1921), 1014 S 25th Ave, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[1:65][3]]] (DO09:0205-040) 

V. Chiodo dwelling house (1921), 1018 S 25th Ave, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[1:65][3]]] (DO09:0205-041) 

V. P. Chiodo Palazzo (“Chiodo Palace”) (1922), 1004 S 25th Ave, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[1:64][3][4]]][[#Notes|[d]]] (DO09:0205-008) 

Chiodone Dance Hall (1924), 24th & Pierce, Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[4]]][[#Notes|[d][g]]]

Chiodo double house (1925), 913 S 25th St., Omaha, Nebraska.[[#References|[6]]] (DO09:0205-007)

==Other Publications==
“La Perdita de un Buon Cittadino e di un Ottimo, Sincero Amico,” ''American Citizen'' (October 3, 1949), 1. 

==Notes==
a. Credited as builder.[[#References|[5]]]

b. Credited as builder-architect.[[#References|[5]]]

c. Sold and renamed the Lancaster Apartments in 1932.[[#References|[4]]]

d. Built from re-used cobblestone pavers.[[#References|[4]]]

e. F. W. Kreele, Architect.[[#References|[5]]]

f. Omaha Building Permit 1432, December 14, 1916, gives Chiodo as builder, and [[Birger J. Kvenild (1879-1953), Architect|Birger J. Kvenild]] as architect.

g. Omaha Building Permit 630, April 15, 1924, gives Chiodo as builder, and [[Birger J. Kvenild (1879-1953), Architect|Birger J. Kvenild]] as architect.

==References==
1.  Landmarks, Inc., ''An Inventory of Historic Omaha Buildings'' (Omaha: City of Omaha, and Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, 1980).

2.  Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

3.  City of Omaha Planning Department, Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, Database, Query on Architects, May 20, 2002; courtesy of Lynn Meyer, Preservation Planner. 

4.  H. W. Becker, “V. P. Chiodo had charisma,” ''Omaha Sun Newspapers'' (October 10, 1974), 11A.

5.  Penelope Chatfield Sodhi, “The Leone, Florentine, and Carpathia Apartment Buildings [PDF],” ''National Register of Historic Places, Inventory-Nomination Form'' (Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, March 1984), '''[http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/nebraska/douglas/DO09-Leone-Flor-Car-Apts.pdf Online]'''

6.  Omaha Building Permit 1192, May 6, 1925, gives Chiodo as builder, and no architect.

7.  United States Federal Census, 1920, Omaha, Nebraska, lists a Vincent Chiodo, Jr. living in the Vincent Chiodo household; note especially that his occupation was draftsman for the City of Omaha.

==Page Citation== 

[[D. Murphy]], “{{PAGENAME}},” {{Template:ArchtPageCitation}} April 11, 2012.  {{Template:ArchtPageCitation2}} {{LOCALMONTHNAME}} {{LOCALDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}.



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