Edward F. Neild

Edward Fairfax Neild, Sr.

Neild in undated photo
Born December 3, 1884
Shreveport, Caddo Parish
Louisiana, USA
Died July 6, 1955 (aged 70)
Kansas City, Missouri
Resting place
Forest Park East Cemetery in Shreveport
Residence Shreveport, Louisiana
Alma mater Tulane University
Occupation Architect of Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and many public buildings in Louisiana
Spouse(s) Ethel Land Neild (married 1907-1955, his death)
Children

Edward F. Neild, Jr.

Elizabeth "Betty" Neild Van Hook
Parent(s) George Frederick and Elizabeth Moss Neild
Neild also designed private homes, such as the Pine Wold house located at Fairfield Avenue at Kirby Street in Shreveport. A circus once wintered on the grounds of the home.

Edward Fairfax Neild, Sr. (December 3, 1884 July 6, 1955), was an American architect originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, who designed the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. He was selected for the task by U.S. President Harry Truman.

Biography

The son of George Frederick Neild (1855-1933) and the former Elizabeth Moss, Neild graduated in 1906 from the School of Engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans. He then traveled in Europe to study architecture and applied arts. He worked alone from 1908 to 1934.[1] He was in partnerships Neild, Somdal and Neild, Somdal, Neild, with Dewey A. Somdal (1898-1973) and with his son, Edward Fairfax Nield, Jr.[2] (October 7, 1908 November 8, 1958). Somdal Associates, Shreveport, is the descendant of the Neild firm.[3]

Neild served as president of the Shreveport chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1926 and from 1937 to 1939; Dewey Somdal was the president from 1940 to 1943; Edward F. Nield, Jr., in 1951.[4] In 1948, Neild was among twenty distinguished architects made fellows of the American Institute of Architects.[1]

During World War II, Neild designed for the United States Army Corps of Engineers the Japanese relocation centers in southeastern Arkansas at Rohwer and Jerome in Desha and Drew counties, respectively.[1]

Other Neild buildings include in Shreveport the Louisiana State Exhibit Building at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds and the Overton Brooks Veterans Administration Medical Center. When Truman toured Louisiana, he was so impressed with Neild's design of the Caddo Parish Courthouse that he contacted him to design the courthouse for his own Jackson County, Missouri. Neild was a consulting architect for the rehabilitation of the White House during the Truman years as well as the lead architect of the Truman Presidential Library. He also designed many campus buildings for Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.[1][5]

A number of Neild's works have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as significant buildings for their architecture.[6]

In addition to their son, Neild and his wife, the former Ethel Land (1887-1970), who married on December 17, 1907, had a daughter,[1] Elizabeth "Betty" Neild Van Hook (1915-2010), the wife of the late James A. Van Hook. Neild died in Kansas City, Missouri, at the age of seventy. The Neilds are interred at Forest Park Cemetery East in Shreveport.[7]

Works

Other Neild works include (with attribution):

Keeny Hall, the administrative headquarters at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston is one of Neild's numerous campus buildings.
A.C. Steere School, expanded in 1938, is named for developer Albert Coldwell Steere, the founder of the Broadmoor neighborhood of Shreveport. Steere School is another of the designs of Edward F. Neild.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Neild, Edward F.". lahisatory.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  2. DEWEY SOMDAL (1898-1973) COLLECTION, 1780-1972.
  3. Mooringsport School Building
  4. Past Presidents, AIA Shreveport
  5. The Louisiana Historical Association used the Kansas City Star, July 6, 1955, and The New York Times and New Orleans Times-Picayune, both July 7, 1955, in its biographical sketch of Edward F. Neild.
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
  7. "Betty Neild Van Hook". findagrave.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.