Frank Pierce Milburn (December 12, 1868 - September 21, 1926) was a prolific American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His practice was primarily focused on public buildings, particularly

courthouses A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-sp ...

and

legislative buildings A legislative building is a building in which a legislature sits and makes laws for its respective political entity. The term used for the building varies between the political entities, such as "building", "capitol", "hall", "house", or "palace ...

, although he also designed

railroad stations A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

commercial buildings Commercial property, also called commercial real estate, investment property or income property, is real estate (buildings or land) intended to generate a profit, either from capital gains or rental income. Commercial property includes office b ...

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

and

residences A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the stat ...

. Milburn was a native of

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

who practiced as an architect in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

from 1884 to 1889;

Kenova, West Virginia Kenova is a city in Wayne County, West Virginia, United States, situated at the confluence of the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers. Located near a tristate border, the city's name is a portmanteau of Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia (Va). Founded in 1 ...

1890-1895;

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

;

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

; and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

after 1904. From 1902 Milburn was architect for the Southern Railway. Milburn pioneered a new approach to the marketing of architectural services, publishing sponsored books of his work, placing advertisements in trade publications, entering competitions and moving his office to suit available opportunities.Bryan, John Morrill: ''Creating the South Carolina State House'', page 116. University of South Carolina Press, 1999 . This resulted in work in every Southern state. Columbia County (Lake City)

Milburn was particularly successful in obtaining commissions for significant public buildings, ranging from county courthouses to state capitols. Milburn did significant work at the

South Carolina State House The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in t ...

and the old

Florida State Capitol The Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, is an architecturally and historically significant building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Capitol is at the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and South ...

, and unsuccessfully competed for work on the Arkansas Capitol. In 1902, Milburn did design upgrade for the

and designed Columbia County Courthouse in Lake City, Florida. That same year he also designed the Blanche Hotel across the street from the courthouse.

South Carolina State House

Milburn won a 1900 competition to complete the South Carolina State House over

William Augustus Edwards William Augustus Edwards, also known as William A. Edwards (December 8, 1866 – March 30, 1939) was an Atlanta-based American architect renowned for the educational buildings, courthouses and other public and private buildings that he design ...

and

Charles Coker Wilson Charles C. Wilson (November 20, 1864 – 1933), whose full name is Charles Coker Wilson, was an American architect based in Columbia, South Carolina. Wilson was born in Hartsville, South Carolina, and graduated from South Carolina College with ...

, as well as Gadsen E. Shand, an assistant to former State House architect

Frank Niernsee Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

. Milburn's selection was made easier by the fact that the proposed cost for his design was the least expensive of those submitted. Plans and specifications were issued and bids accepted, but a dispute broke out immediately over differences between the competition design and that issued for bidding. Milburn had reduced the number of columns on the north portico by six and had removed a line of columns on the south portico to remain within the appropriated budget. Other changes to the dome and disputes over the quantity and accuracy of details and the quality of the work caused legal and political difficulties, but the project proceeded. Milburn, however, moved to Washington when his work with the Southern Railway offered the opportunity. Charleston gibbes art gallery

In Washington

Once in Washington, Milburn teamed with Michael Heister (1909 - 1934) to form the firm of Milburn and Heister. Milburn's son, Thomas Y. Milburn, joined the firm in 1914 and took over the firm a year before his father's death in 1926.

Work

* W. Hunt Harris house at 425 Caroline Street in Key West, Florida

Gallery

File:Historic American Buildings Survey, April, 1960 NORTH FACADE. - South Carolina State House, Capitol Square, Columbia, Richland County, SC HABS SC,40-COLUM,9-3.tif, State Capitol, Columbia, South Carolina File:Anderson (South Carolina) Courthouse Square.jpg, Anderson County Courthouse, South Carolina File:BuchananCoCourthouse.jpg, Buchanan County Courthouse, Grundy, Virginia File:Asheville Buncombe County Courthouse.png, Buncombe County Courthouse, Asheville, North Carolina File:Dubois County Courthouse in Jasper, Indiana, July 2014.jpg, Dubois County Courthouse, Jasper, Indiana File:2008-07-05 Durham County Courthouse.jpg, Durham County Courthouse, Durham, North Carolina File:Fulton County Courthouse.jpg, Fulton County Courthouse, Fulton, Kentucky File:Historic 2nd Gaston County Courthouse - Gastonia, NC.jpg, Gaston County Courthouse, Gastonia, North Carolina File:Old Glynn County Courthouse, Brunswick, GA, USA.jpg, Glynn County Courthouse, Brunswick, Georgia File:HOKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, RAEFORD, NC.jpg, Hoke County Courthouse, Raeford, North Carolina File:Lincoln County Courthouse (Stanford, Kentucky).jpg, Lincoln County Courthouse, Stanford, Kentucky File:Valdosta GA crths02.jpg, Lowndes County Courthouse, Valdosta, Georgia File:Mecklenburg County Court House 1898.jpg, Mecklenburg County Courthouse, Charlotte, North Carolina File:McDowell County WV Court.jpg, McDowell County Courthouse and jail, Welch, West Virginia File:Newberry County Courthouse.jpg, Newberry County Courthouse, Newberry, South Carolina File:Pitt County Courthouse.JPG, Pitt County Courthouse, Greenville, North Carolina File:SmythCoCourthouse.jpg, Smyth County Courthouse Marion, Virginia File:Summers County Courthouse West Virginia.jpg, Summers County Courthouse, Hinton, West Virginia File:Swain-county-courthouse-nc1.jpg, Swain County Courthouse, Bryson City, NC File:Upson County Courthouse (NW corner).JPG, Upson County Courthouse, Thomaston, Georgia File:Wilcox County Courthouse (South face).JPG, Wilcox County Courthouse, Abbeville, Georgia File:Wilkes County Courthouse, Washington, Georgia.jpg, Wilkes County Courthouse, Washington, Georgia File:Wise County Courthouse - Front View.JPG, Wise County Courthouse, Wise, Virginia File:WytheCoCourthouse.jpg, Wythe County Courthouse, Wytheville, Virginia File:Union-Station-Raleigh-North-Carolina-20080429.jpeg, Union Station, Raleigh, North Carolina File:Danville Amtrak Station.JPG, Southern Railway Station, Danville, Virginia File:Southern Railway Station, Cary Street, Richmond, Virginia.jpg, Southern Railway Station, Richmond, Virginia File:Savannah Union Station.jpg, Union Station, Savannah, Georgia File:Knoxville-southern-railway-terminal-tn1906.jpg, Southern Railway Terminal, Knoxville, Tennessee File:Salisbury (NC) station front.jpg, Southern Railway Station, Salisbury, North Carolina File:1908 Salisbury Railway Passenger Station ncecho 747012.jpg, Southern Railway Station interior, Salisbury, North Carolina File:HattiesburgTrainDepot2013.jpg, Union Depot, Hattiesburg, Mississippi File:Amtrak's Kemper Street Station, Lynchburg, Virginia.JPG, Southern Railway Station, Lynchburg, Virginia File:2008-07-05 Carolina Theatre.jpg, Durham Auditorium (Carolina Theater), Durham, North Carolina File:Hotel Blanche (East face).JPG, Hotel Blanche, Lake City, Florida File:NORTH FRONT AND WEST SIDE - Lansburgh's Department Store, E and Eighth Streets Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,288-1.tif, Lansburgh's Department Store, Washington, District of Columbia File:WEST FACADE (OBLIQUE VIEW) - Powhatan Hotel, Pennsylvania Avenue and Eighteenth Street Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,508-2.tif, Powhatan Hotel, Washington, District of Columbia File:Bynum Gymnasium.jpg, Bynum Gymnasium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina File:O'Donnell House.jpg, O'Donnel House, Sumter, South Carolina

References

External links