Harry A. Overbeck (1861–1942)[1] was an American architect. He was active in Omaha, Nebraska and then for most of his career in Dallas, Texas. He designed several prominent buildings including a Mississippi Landmark and properties on the National Register of Historic Places.
Early life and education
Harry A. Overbeck was born on July 19, 1861, in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2][3] He father was a contractor,[2] whom he worked under for few early years. His brother J. Edward Overbeck was also an architect.[4]
The staff and office of Harry A. Overbeck, Dallas architect (c. 1900 – c. 1910)
In his early career he worked briefly in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, before established an architecture firm around 1885 in Omaha, Nebraska.[5] His work for the state fair in Omaha led to a commission for the Texas State Fair Association and brought him to Dallas in 1895.[6] He had an office in the Slaughter Building in Dallas.[7]
In 1914, Overbeck was chosen as the president of the Texas State Association of Architects.[8] His 1917 plans for designing a "humane" county jail in Dallas (known as Tom Green County Jail), included a pipe organ for music; but the state commissioners bailed on raising the funds, and his fundraising efforts stopped due to the activities around World War I.[3][9] He was involved in overseeing the removal of the clock tower from the Dallas County Courthouse in 1919.[10] In 1927, he became a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows.[11]
He died on January 20, 1942, and is buried in Restland Memorial Park in Dallas. The Southern Methodist University (SMU) libraries houses The George W. Cook Dallas/Texas Image Collection, which contains a 1900s photograph of Overbeck's office and its staff.[12]
List of works
Levi–Topletz House (c. 1914) in Dallas, Texas
Linz Building (1898), Dallas, Texas; demolished in 1963[6]
Temple Emanu-El (c. 1898), Dallas, Texas; synagogue that became a Unitarian church, before being demolished in 1961 for a highway project[13]
