H. Ray Burks

H. Ray Burks
Born(1889-06-26)June 26, 1889
Monticello, Arkansas
DiedMarch 17, 1948(1948-03-17) (aged 58)
Little Rock, Arkansas
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
PracticeH. Ray Burks;
Burks & Anderson
The Lonoke County Courthouse in Lonoke, designed by Burks in the Colonial Revival style and completed in 1928.
The Pope County Courthouse in Russellville, designed by Burks in the Art Deco style and completed in 1931.
The Monticello City Hall, designed by Burks in the Art Deco style and completed in 1934.
The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, designed by Burks in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937.
The Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, designed by Burks in the Colonial Revival style and completed in 1939.

Harvey Ray Burks AIA (July 26, 1889 – March 17, 1948) was an American architect in practice in Little Rock, Arkansas from 1922 until his death in 1948. Burks developed a substantial, statewide practice and was responsible for the design of county courthouses, municipal and institutional buildings and the original Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

Life and career

Harvey Ray Burks was born July 26, 1889, in Monticello. He was educated in the Monticello public schools and at Washington University in St. Louis. In 1915 he joined the office of Monticello architect W. A. Halley before moving to Little Rock in 1917, where he worked for architect James A. Bliss. With the exception of service during World War I, Burks remained with Bliss until he opened his own office in 1922. Burks developed a statewide practice, designing the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock as well as courthouses, schools and other large projects. In 1945 he formed the partnership of Burks & Anderson with Bruce R. Anderson.[1] At the time of his death the firm was beginning design work for the restoration of the Old State House.[2]

Personal life

Burks was married and had one son. He was a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), local fraternal and social organizations and the First Presbyterian Church. He died March 17, 1948 in Little Rock at the age of 58.[3][1]

Legacy

After Burks' death, his colleagues in the AIA eulogized him as "one of the outstanding architects who have practiced in the State of Arkansas ... [he gave] to his work in architecture a feeling of color, balance and harmony which can best be appreciated by observing his many outstanding buildings and tasteful homes throughout the State. As was spoken of another eminent architect, 'If you seek his monuments, look about you,' also, appropriately, do we speak of H. Ray Burks."[4]

Burks' practice was continued by his partner, Anderson, under his own name. His work included major projects for the University of Central Arkansas, Harding University and Ouachita Baptist University. He died in 1985.[5]

At least seven buildings designed by Burks have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and others contribute to listed historic districts.

Architectural works

H. Ray Burks, 1922–1945

Burks & Anderson, 1945–1948

Notes

  1. ^ Demolished.
  2. ^ Designed by Jamieson & Spearl, architects, with H. Ray Burks, associate architect. NRHP-listed.
  3. ^ a b c d NRHP-listed.
  4. ^ A contributing resource to the Russellville Downtown Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1996.
  5. ^ A contributing resource to the Warren Commercial Historic District, NRHP-listed in 2016.
  6. ^ NRHP-listed, also a contributing resource to the DeWitt Commercial Historic District, NRHP-listed in 2010.
  7. ^ Now the William H. Bowen School of Law.
  8. ^ NRHP-listed, also a contributing resource to the Warren Commercial Historic District, NRHP-listed in 2016.
  9. ^ Designed by H. Ray Burks, architect, with Edward Durell Stone, consulting architect. Designed principally by Stone. NRHP-listed.
  10. ^ The conversion of the former Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal, now the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.
  11. ^ Designed by the Associated Architects and Engineers for Governmental Service, made up of architects H. Ray Burks, Erhart & Eichenbaum, Wittenberg & Delony and Theodore M. Sanders and engineers MacCrea–Bair–Lefever.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Charles Witsell and Gordon Wittenberg, "H. Ray Burks" in Architects of Little Rock, 1833-1950 (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2014): 88-90.
  2. ^ G. E. Kidder Smith, Source Book of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996): 181.
  3. ^ a b "H. Ray Burks, Architect, Passes," Arkansas Gazette, March 18, 1948, 18.
  4. ^ Burks, H. Ray, Membership Files, The American Institute of Architects Archives, The AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, s.v. “Burks, H. Ray,” (ahd1005986), https://aiahistoricaldirectory.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AHDAA (accessed August 21, 2024).
  5. ^ Thomas A. Teeter, "Bruce Roy Anderson (1907–1985)," Encyclopedia of Arkansas, June 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 59-60.
  7. ^ Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 210.
  8. ^ Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 144.
  9. ^ Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 257.
  10. ^ Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 106.
  11. ^ Warren Commercial Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2016)
  12. ^ Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 265.
  13. ^ Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 211.
  14. ^ "Freiderica Hotel" in Architectural Forum (June, 1942): 378-379.
  15. ^ "Let contracts for new alien internment camps" in Engineering News-Record (October 1, 1942): 13.