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 List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. 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, Nebraska, Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east ...

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 located in the municipality of Eschen in Liechtenstein. As of 2023, 1,407 people live within Nendeln. History Prior to the establishment of the village, the Roman Empire had a presence in the area; villas from that time period ...

, 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 construction, constructi ...

at the Polytechnic College in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Germany, which is now the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart () is a 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 with programs in civil, mechanical, ind ...

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

Strasbourg, France Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin department and the official seat of the European Parliament. The cit ...

, 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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, 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, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

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 2023–2024 academi ...

, Long School, Saunders School, 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 United States Census, 2010 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, Omaha-Council Bluffs Me ...

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

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 ...

. Other notable works are at the

University of Nebraska at Lincoln A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, 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 historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

s, including the

South Omaha Main Street Historic District The South Omaha Main Street Historic District is located along South 24th Street between M and O Streets in South Omaha, Nebraska, South Omaha, Nebraska. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. Home to dozens of histo ...

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 th ...

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 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects People from Eschen

Biography

Career

See also

References