The William Jennings Bryan House, also known as Fairview, is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

on Sumner Street in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

.Lissandrello, Stephen. National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form: Bryan (William Jennings) Home (Fairview)". Retrieved 2012-11-30. Built in 1902–1903, it is noteworthy as the home of politician

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

(1860–1925), and was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1963. It is located on the Bryan Health hospital campus, and houses museum displays related to Bryan on the ground floor and the William Jennings Bryan Institute on the upper floors.

Description and history

The William Jennings Bryan House is located near the southeast corner of the Bryan Health campus, on the north side of Sumner Street opposite South 50th Street. The house is a brick building, stories in height, with a combination of Classical Revival and Queen Anne Victorian styling. It has the varied rooflines typical of the latter style, including a two-story square turret at the right front corner, topped by a slightly bellcast pyramidal roof with flared edges. Window sizes and shapes are also varied, with a small

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Republic of Venice, Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetr ...

in one gable section, and a larger one on the second level of the tower. The house was built in 1902 to a design by Artemus A. Roberts, and is a high-quality example of what was at the time a popular style in Lincoln. It was built for William Jennings Bryan, a Democratic Party politician then at the height of his influence. He was three times an unsuccessful candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

(in 1896, 1900, and 1908), and gave the influential

Cross of Gold speech The Cross of Gold speech was delivered by William Jennings Bryan, a former United States United States House of Representatives, Representative from Nebraska, at the 1896 Democratic National Convention, Democratic National Convention in Chicag ...

to the 1896 Democratic Party Convention. The house served Bryan as both a private and public space. He hosted numerous gatherings, including political rallies and other public events, and also hosted prominent political figures of the day. In 1921, Bryan donated the house and of land to the Nebraska Methodist Conference for use as a hospital. The hospital, now Bryan Health, has grown to surround the house on two sides, obscuring the "fair view" for which Bryan named the property. The hospital at first used the house as a dormitory for nurses in training. Although the building remains in the hospital's ownership, it was restored in 1961 to the period of Bryan's occupancy, and opened as a museum operated by the state historical society and the local Junior League. The home was restored in 1994. The upper two floors house the Wm. Jennings Bryan Institute, which consists of three centers: the Center for Bioethics, the Center for Advancing Nursing Practice and the Center for Quality.

References

External links

*
BryanLGH Health System: History
- scroll to bottom for information about the Bryan Museum and visitation * (Note: this house has a different address and does not have the same appearance as given b
NHL Program

"William Jennings Bryan, Presidential Contender"
from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

's '' The Contenders'', broadcast from the William Jennings Bryan House {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, William Jennings, House (Lincoln, Nebraska) Biographical museums in Nebraska Historic house museums in Nebraska Houses completed in 1903 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Historic American Buildings Survey in Nebraska Museums in Lincoln, Nebraska National Historic Landmarks in Nebraska Queen Anne architecture in Nebraska William Jennings Bryan Houses in Lancaster County, Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Lincoln, Nebraska

Description and history

See also

References

External links