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H. A. Overbeck

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Harry A. Overbeck
BornJuly 19, 1861
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJanuary 20, 1942
Resting placeRestland Memorial Park
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology,
Ohio Architectural and Mechanical Institute
OccupationArchitect
SpouseMay B. Pettigrew

Harry A. Overbeck (1861–1942)[1] was an American architect. He was active in Omaha, Nebraska and then for most of his career in Dallas, Texas. He designed several prominent buildings including a Mississippi Landmark and properties on the National Register of Historic Places.

Early life and education

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Harry A. Overbeck was born on July 19, 1861, in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2][3] He father was a contractor,[2] whom he worked under for few early years. His brother J. Edward Overbeck was also an architect.[4]

Overbeck continued his studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),[5] and the Ohio Architectural and Mechanical Institute.[6] He married May B. Pettigrew from Kansas City, Missouri.[5]

Career

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The staff and office of Harry A. Overbeck, Dallas architect (c. 1900 – c. 1910)

In his early career he worked briefly in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, before established an architecture firm around 1885 in Omaha, Nebraska.[5] His work for the state fair in Omaha led to a commission for the Texas State Fair Association and brought him to Dallas in 1895.[6] He had an office in the Slaughter Building in Dallas.[7]

In 1914, Overbeck was chosen as the president of the Texas State Association of Architects.[8] His 1917 plans for designing a "humane" county jail in Dallas (known as Tom Green County Jail), included a pipe organ for music; but the state commissioners bailed on raising the funds, and his fundraising efforts stopped due to the activities around World War I.[3][9] He was involved in overseeing the removal of the clock tower from the Dallas County Courthouse in 1919.[10] In 1927, he became a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows.[11]

He died on January 20, 1942, and is buried in Restland Memorial Park in Dallas. The Southern Methodist University (SMU) libraries houses The George W. Cook Dallas/Texas Image Collection, which contains a 1900s photograph of Overbeck's office and its staff.[12]

List of works

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Levi–Topletz House in Dallas
Levi–Topletz House (c. 1914) in Dallas, Texas

References

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  1. ^ "Dallas County Criminal Courts Building". SAH Archipedia. Society of Architectural Historians, University of Virginia Press. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  2. ^ a b Meister, Chris (2011). James Riely Gordon: His Courthouses and Other Public Architecture. Texas Tech University Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-89672-691-8.
  3. ^ a b c Greene, A. C. (1998). Sketches from the Five States of Texas. Texas A&M University Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-89096-853-6.
  4. ^ Moorhead, Gerald. "South Boulevard/Park Row Historic District". SAH Archipedia. Society of Architectural Historians, University of Virginia Press. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  5. ^ a b c d Lindsley, Philip (1909). A History of Greater Dallas and Vicinity. Brookhaven Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-58103-438-7.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Dallas Fire Station No. 16, National Register Form" (PDF). DallasCityHall.com. January 1997.
  7. ^ a b "Engineering News and American Contract Journal". McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. April 30, 1905 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "State Architects Elected". The Houston Post. November 5, 1914. Retrieved 2023-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Dallas Architect To Be at Opening of County's Jail". The San Angelo Weekly Standard. June 7, 1918. Retrieved 2023-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Courthouse Tower is Ordered Removed". The Dallas Morning News. January 22, 1919.
  11. ^ "2022 FAIA Directory by AIA College of Fellows". issuu.com. p. 119. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  12. ^ "The Staff and Offices of Harry A. Overbeck, Dallas Architect". Digital Collections, SMU Libraries.
  13. ^ "Temple Emanu-El, Dallas". Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  14. ^ a b "Temple B'nai Israel". Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH).
  15. ^ "Levi–Topletz House, NRHD Form" (PDF). DallasCityHall.com. July 1991.
  16. ^ Gerem, Yves (2004-09-01). A Marmac Guide to Dallas. Pelican Publishing. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-58980-199-8.
  17. ^ a b "Gulf Cone Building Listed on the National Register of Historic Places". AlstonArchitects.com.
  18. ^ a b "West End Historic District". SAH Archipedia. Society of Architectural Historians, University of Virginia Press. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  19. ^ "Old courthouse, jail a fading bit of Dallas lore". Dallas News. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  20. ^ Anderson, Jon (May 13, 2016). "South Blvd. and Park Row: National Register Neighborhood in South Dallas; Part 1".
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