William Lewis Plack (1854-1944), Architect
DBA: W. L Plack, Architect.
William Lewis Plack was born was born June 18, 1854 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. His father Louis was a merchant and theater owner. W. L. was educated in Altoona before graduating in engineering at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania in the class of 1876 [a], then completed a course in architecture in Baltimore at the Maryland Institute of Design, followed by a year of study in Europe.[1] In 1880 he was listed as an architect in Altoona, but he spent most of the decade practicing in the Midwest, principally in Des Moines, Iowa and briefly in Omaha, before returning to Altoona by 1888. As Plack’s architectural experience in Nebraska occupied a very brief period, quite early in his long and productive career, this page does not attempt to detail fully his long and productive practice, but instead hopes to provide a context for his time in Nebraska. Plank relocated to Philadelphia by 1894 and was active there and throughout the region until his retirement in 1930. He died in Philadelphia in 1944. [3][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
Omaha, Nebraska, 1887
Educational & Professional Associations
ca. 1876-1881: architect, Altoona, Pennsylvania.[2][4][5]] ca. 1882: architect, office of Bell & Hackney, Des Moines, Iowa. 1883-1886: architect, Des Moines, Iowa.[3] 1884-1889: Fellow, Western Association of Architects. 1887: architect, [[Francis M. Ellis (1837-1899), Architect |F. M. Ellis & Co.]], Omaha, Nebraska. 1887-1892: architect, Altoona, Pennsylvania. 1889-1944: member (FAIA), American Institute of Architects. 1893: architect & partner (with C. W. Denny) in W. L. Plack & Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania & Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[6] 1894-1930: architect, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Other Associations
U. S. delegate to International Congress of Architects: Rome, 1911; Santiago, Chile, 1923; London, 1924; Buenos Aires, 1927; Tokyo, 1929.
Buildings & Projects
Dated
Pardee Hall (1879-1880), Easton, Pennsylvania.[2]
Mountain City Theater (1887-1888), Altoona, Pennsylvania.[4][5][b]
Brick bank building for Wachovia Loan & Trust Co. (1893), Main Street, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[7]
Brick house for B. J. Shepherd (1893), corner of Summit & 4 ½ Streets, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[7]
Plans for the new Baptist church (1893), Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[7]
Armory for Company H, Sixth Regiment (1895), Media, Pennsylvania.[8]
Memorial Gateway for Lafayette College (1896), Cattell St. entrance to Lafayette campus, Easton, Pennsylvania.[9]
Four-story brick wholesale house for George F. Streit (1896), Eleventh Street & Tenth Avenue, Altoona, Pennsylvania.[10]
High School (1896), Elkton, Maryland.[11]
National Bank of Kane (1899), Kane, Pennsylvania.[12]
Alterations and remodelling, Oxford National Bank(1899), Oxford, Pennsylvania.[12]
Trinity Baptist Church (1899-1900), 2720 Poplar Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[13]
Three-story brick & stone residence for J. Nathans (1890), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[14]
Four-story brick residence for H. M. Nathanson (1900), 2317 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[15]
Addition to Blair County Courthouse (1904-1907), Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania.[1][16]
Undated
“a number of Department Stores” (n.d.), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1]
Notes
a. While the very informative entry on Plack in the Witheys’ Biographical Dictionary of American Architects dates Plack’s Lafayette College graduation as 1878, nineteenth century mentions in his hometown Altoona Tribune (including one about a project at his alma mater) consistently cited 1876.[1][5][9]
b. The theater was built for Louis Plack, father of W. F. Plack.[4][5]
References
1. “Plack, William L.,” in Henry F. & Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased), Los Angeles: New Age Publishing Co., 1956, 475.
2. “Pardee Hall of the Future,” Hazelton (Pennsylvania) Sentinel (July 30, 1879), 1, (reprinted from Easton (Pennsylvania) Free Press.
3. “Architects. W. L. Plack, Architect. Office in Rollins Block,” advertisement in Des Moines (Iowa) Register (March 16, 1883), 1; Plack’s advertisements in Des Moines Register continued into 1886.
4. “A $75,000 Theatre. What Mr. Louis Plack’s Enterprise Will Give to Altoona. An Edifice that Seats 1,800 Persons,” Altoona (Pennsylvania) Times (October 7, 1887), 1.
5. “A Moorish Palace. To be Found in the New Mountain City Theatre. The Handsome Building as It Stands To-Day a Monument to the Enterprise and Energy of Louis and William L. Plack,” Altoona (Pennsylvania) Times (February 27, 1888), 4.
6. “Messrs. Plank & Co.” (note) and “W. L. Plank & Co., Architects and Engineers” (advertisement), Twin-City Daily Sentinel (Winston-Salem, North Carolina (April 18, 1893), 4.
7. “The New Bank Building. The Home of the Wachovia Loan and Trust Company…Mr. B. J. Shepherd to Build a Handsome Brick Residence—Bids for the New Baptist Church Will be asked for…,” The Western Sentinel (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) (May 18, 1893), 1.
8. “The Latest News in Real Estate—A Big Rush of Business Among the Builders Most Unusual for June,” Philadelphia Inquirer (June 7, 1895), 9.
9. “Lafayette College. The Memorial Gateway to the College Campus,” (Scranton, Pennsylvania) Tribune (March 23, 1896), 2.
10. “They Are Hustling…Merchant George F. Streit. Obliterating Remains of a Fire,” Altoona (Pennsylvania) Tribune (April 21, 1896), 1.
11. “School Commissioners,” Cecil Whig (Elkton, Maryland) (May 16, 1896), 4.
12. “Real Estate News,” The Times (Philadelphia) (June 23, 1899), 8.
13. “Real Estate News. New Edifice for Congregation of the Trinity Baptist Church,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (August 8, 1899), 12.
14. “The Latest News in Real Estate…More New Dwellings,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (March 2, 1900), 5.
15. “The Latest News in Real Estate,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (June 28, 1900), 11.
16. “The Latest News in Real Estate,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (April 22, 1904), 14; “To Remodel the Court House,” Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette (January 26, 1905), 8; “Another Plum for Cassel—More ‘Trimming’ Appears in Blair County Court-House,” Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Intelligencer (July 17, 1907), 3.
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer, “William Lewis Plack (1854-1944), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, April 22, 2020. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 19, 2024.
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