John Latenser Sr. (1858–1936) 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 ...

whose influential public works in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

, numbered in the dozens. His original name was Johann Laternser. Many of the buildings Latenser designed, including public and private, are included on the

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 artist ...

. In the 1930s 89 out of 98 blocks in

Downtown Omaha Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline ...

contained at least one building designed by Latenser and Sons."Story of John Latenser Sr."
Retrieved March 26, 2008. Latenser designed more than a dozen buildings that are currently included on the

Biography

Born in

Nendeln Nendeln is a village of Liechtenstein, located in the municipality of Eschen. History Prior to the establishment of the village, the Roman Empire had a presence here. Villas from that time period have been excavated at Nendeln. Geography The vil ...

, Liechtenstein, to a family of people in the construction business, Latenser studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

at the Polytechnic College in Stuttgart, Germany, which is now the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany wi ...

. After 1873 he took a job as a caretaker in his brother Heinrich’s business in what is now

Strasbourg, France Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eur ...

, at that time Strassburg, provincial capital of the German province of Alsace-Lorraine. It is not known precisely when he immigrated to the United States. He worked as a draftsman in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, for seven years before starting his own architectural firm in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1887. Latenser became staff architect for the Omaha School District in 1892 and was responsible for the design of at least 20 of the city's public school facilities. His sons, John Jr. and Frank, later joined him in this firm, Latenser & Sons, which designed several prominent buildings in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

Career

Many of Latenser's works are still standing today and include the Douglas County Courthouse, the

Omaha Central High School Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, is a fully accredited public high school located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is one of many public high schools located in Omaha. As of the 2015-16 academic year ...

, Long School,

Saunders School Saunders School, located at 415 North 41st Avenue in the Midtown area of Omaha, Nebraska, United States, was declared a landmark by the City of Omaha in 1985, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. About Named for Alvin ...

, Columbian School, and the Center School buildings, the Keeline Building, the Eggerss-O'Flyng Building in Omaha and the Blair High School building in

Blair, Nebraska Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2010 census. History Blair was platted in 1869 when the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. It was ...

. These and many other buildings Latenser designed are listed on the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Other notable works are at the

University of Nebraska at Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, where he was responsible for designing the Temple building, a nursing dormitory at the Medical School, and the Memorial Stadium, as well as the Schulte Field House."John Latenser and Sons"
UNL Historical Buildings. Retrieved March 25, 2008. Latenser also designed several buildings in Omaha's

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from ce ...

s, including the South Omaha Main Street Historic District and the now-demolished

Jobbers Canyon Historic District Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a large industrial and warehouse area comprising 24 buildings located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, US. It was roughly bound by Farnam Street on the north, South Eighth Street on the east, Jackson Street on the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latenser Sr., John 1858 births 1936 deaths Architects from Nebraska Architects from Chicago Artists from Omaha, Nebraska Liechtenstein emigrants to the United States

Biography

Career

See also

References