George Richard Mann (July 12, 1856 – March 20, 1939) was an 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 ...

, trained at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

, whose designs included the

Arkansas State Capitol The Arkansas State Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the Arkansas General Assembly, and the seat of the Arkansas state government that sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the Capitol Mall in Little Rock, Arkan ...

. He was the leading architect in Arkansas from 1900 until 1930, and his designs were among the finalists in competitions for the capitols of several other states.

Career

Mann was born in

Syracuse, Indiana Syracuse is a town in Turkey Creek Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, Turkey Creek Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 3,079 at the 2020 census. Syracuse is the location of Syr ...

and trained at MIT. From 1906 to 1912, Mann's office was a Beaux-Arts commercial building built to his design. It remains standing, at 115 East 5th Street, Little Rock, Arkansas. Beginning in 1913, he partnered with Eugene Howard Stern, as the architectural firm of

Mann & Stern Mann & Stern was an architectural partnership in Arkansas of Eugene John Stern (1884-1961) and George Richard Mann (1856-1939). A number of their works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Works include (with attribution): *Ark ...

. He became dissatisfied working with Stern and the partnership ended by 1928. In 1929, he had partnered in the firm Mann, Wanger & King. Many of Mann's works are listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Family

On June 28, 1910, Mann's daughter Wilhelmina married John N. Heiskell, editor of the ''

Arkansas Gazette The ''Arkansas Gazette'' was a newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas, that was published from 1819 to 1991. It was known as the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi River. It was located from 1908 until its closing at the now historic Gazette ...

''. Their children included Elizabeth, Louise, John N. Jr., and Carrick. Mann died in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

in 1932.

Works

* Albert Pike Hotel, 7th and Scott Sts.

Little Rock, AR (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed *

, 5th and Woodlane Sts.

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed *One or more works in

Bathhouse Row Bathhouse Row is a collection of bathhouses, associated buildings, and gardens located at Hot Springs National Park in the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The bathhouses were included in 1832 when the Federal Government took over four parcels of la ...

, Central Ave. between Reserve and Fountain Sts., in

Hot Springs National Park Hot Springs National Park is an American national park in central Garland County, Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Hot Springs, the county seat. Hot Springs Reservation was initially created by an act of the United States Congress on April 20, 18 ...

Hot Springs, AR Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

(Mann, George), NRHP-listed * George R. Mann Building, 115 E. 5th St.

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed *

Gus Blass Department Store The Gus Blass Department Store is a historic commercial building at 318-324 Main Street in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a seven-story masonry structure, built in 1912 to a design by George R. Mann, a leading Arkansas architect. It was one of the ...

, 318–324 Main St.

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed *One or more works in El Dorado Commercial Historic District, Courthouse Square, portions of Main, Jefferson, Washington, Jackson, Cedar and Locust Sts.

El Dorado, AR El Dorado, founded by Matthew Rainey, is a city in, and the county seat of, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 18,884. El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...

(Mann, George R. & Howard Stern), NRHP-listed * Fort Smith Masonic Temple, 200 N. 11th St.

Fort Smith, AR Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed * Gazette Building, 112 W. 3rd St.

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed * Hotel Bentley, 801 3rd St.

Alexandria, LA Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed *

Hotel Pines The Hotel Pines is a historic commercial building at the northwest corner of West 5th and Main Streets in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It is a large six-story U-shaped masonry structure, with a two-story section filling the center of the U. The center s ...

, Main St. and W. 5th Ave. Pine Bluff, AR (Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed *

Little Rock Central High School Little Rock Central High School (LRCHS) is an accredited comprehensive education, comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, Secondary education in the United States, United States. The school was the Littl ...

, 1500 Park Street, Little Rock, AR (Almand, Delony, Mann, Stern, Wittenburg), NRHP-listed *

Pulaski County Courthouse Pulaski may refer to: Places * Pulaski Heights, a section of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas * Pulaski Shoal, an underwater landform west of the Florida Keys * Pulaski, Georgia, a town * Pulaski Square, one of the "Squares of Savannah" in th ...

, 405 W. Markham St.

(Mann, George), NRHP-listed * Hotel Riceland, 3rd Street and South Main Street,

Stuttgart, Arkansas Stuttgart is a city in and the county seat of the northern district of Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States. Established by German settlers, it was named for its larger German counterpart. Known as the "Rice and Duck Capital of the World", t ...

, NRHP-listed * Rose Building, 307 Main St.

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed * St. Vincent's Hospital, 7301 St. Charles Rock Rd. Normandy, MO (Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed * Union Life Building, 212 Center St.

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed *

Worthen Bank Building The Worthen Bank Building is a historic commercial building at 401 Main Street in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a two-story masonry structure with neoclassical and Art Deco lines. It has a steel frame and is faced in limestone. Three bay ...

, 401 Main St.

(Mann, George R.), NRHP-listed

Gallery

File:St. Vincent's Hospital.jpg, St. Vincent's Hospital, built 1894 in Normandy, Missouri File:Montana state capitol 2.jpg, Winning competition design for the Montana State Capitol, 1896 (unbuilt but later used for the Arkansas State Capitol) File:Rose Building, Little Rock, AR.JPG, Rose Building, built 1900 in Little Rock, Arkansas File:George R. Mann Building.JPG, George R. Mann Building, built 1906 to house Mann's office in Little Rock, Arkansas File:Bentley Hotel.JPG, Hotel Bentley, opened 1908 in Alexandria, Louisiana File:Gazette Building.jpg, The Gazette Building, built 1908 in Little Rock, Arkansas File:Gus Blass Department Store.JPG,

, built 1912 in Little Rock, Arkansas; an early example of two-way concrete slab construction File:Fordyce Baths Hot Springs 1984.jpg, Bathhouse Row, Fordyce Bathhouse, built 1914–15 in Hot Springs National Park, Hot Springs, Arkansas File:Facade of Central High School - Little Rock - Arkansas - USA - 01.jpg,

, completed in 1927; costing $1.5 million, at the time it was dubbed the most expensive school ever built in the United States File:Fort Smith Masonic Temple, Front View.JPG, Fort Smith Masonic Temple, completed 1929 in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

; a rare example of

Egyptian Revival architecture Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat o ...

in the state

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, George 1856 births 1939 deaths MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni 19th-century American architects People from Syracuse, Indiana Artists from Little Rock, Arkansas 20th-century American architects