Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff
Practice information
FoundersGeorge S. Mills
Founded1912
Dissolved1999
LocationToledo, Ohio
University Hall of the University of Toledo, completed in 1931.
The Toledo Central YMCA, completed in 1935.
Mershon Auditorium of the Ohio State University, completed in 1957.
The Mathematical Sciences Building of Bowling Green State University, completed in 1970.
The Moore Musical Arts Center at Bowling Green State University, completed in 1979.
The Catlett Music Center of the University of Oklahoma, completed in 1986.
The Valentine Theatre in Toledo, restored and reopened in 1999.

Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff was an architectural firm founded in Toledo, Ohio in 1912. Renamed Bellman, Gillett & Richards in 1944, Richards, Bauer & Moorhead in 1962 and Bauer, Stark & Lashbrook in 1979, it closed in 1999.

Organizational history

The firm of Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff was formed in 1912 as a partnership between noted Toledo architect George S. Mills (1866–1939) and three of his employees: George V. Rhines (1875–1938), Lawrence S. Bellman (1876–1951) and Charles M. Nordhoff (1877–1950). After World War I two new partners were added: architect Chester B. Lee (1876–1933) in 1920 and mechanical and electrical engineer John Gillett (1882–1960) in 1922.[1][2] In 1929 the firm was incorporated, with the former partners becoming shareholders.[3] Rhines died in 1938, and in 1939 architect Reeve K. Biggers (1913–1998) was made a principal.[4] Mills died shortly thereafter, and in 1940 another architect, John N. Richards (1904–1982), was added.[5] Biggers left the firm during World War II, and upon Nordhoff's retirement in 1944 the firm was reorganized by the remaining principals as Bellman, Gillett & Richards.[6] In 1949 Bellman retired and two new principals, George H. Erard (1891–1959) and Michael B. O'Shea (1897–1969), were admitted.[7] In 1954 Gillett retired, and three more principals, architect Orville H. Bauer (1921–1979) and engineers Raymond A. Etzel (1901–1976) and Robert C. Moorhead (1911–2005), were added.[8]

In 1962 Richards became head of the firm, which was reorganized by the senior principals as Richards, Bauer & Moorhead.[9] Two more principals were added in 1971, architect Charles H. Stark III (1935–2012) and engineer Dean L. Lashbrook (1923–2001). Richards retired in 1976, leaving Bauer as senior principal. In early 1979 the firm was renamed Bauer, Stark & Lashbrook to reflect this change, but Bauer died only a few months later.[10] Lashbrook retired in the early 1990s, leaving Stark as senior principal. In 1999, when Stark formally closed the firm, it was noted as the oldest surviving architectural firm in Ohio.[11]

Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff and its successors were Toledo's leading architectural firm. They designed many of the city's most prominent buildings, and developed a national reputation before World War II.[12] The firm was involved in important local projects until the very end. One of their last was the restoration of the Valentine Theatre, originally opened in 1895 and reopened in 1999 after an extensive restoration led by Stark.[11]

Legacy

As members of a leading architectural firm, the principals of Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff and its successors were well respected members of their professions. Mills, Bellman, Richards and Bauer were all elected Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, and Richards served as AIA president from 1958 to 1960.[13] They and their associates also frequently held leadership posts in local architectural and engineering organizations.

The firm and its individual partners designed a number of buildings that are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places for their architecture.

Architectural works

Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff, 1912–1943

Bellman, Gillett & Richards, 1944–1962

Richards, Bauer & Moorhead, 1962–1978

Bauer, Stark & Lashbrook, 1979–1999

Notes

  1. ↑ A contributing resource to the Blissfield Downtown Historic District, NRHP–listed in 2015.
  2. ↑ In association with Potter, Tyler, Martin & Roth of Cincinnati and Tully & Hobbs of Columbus.
  3. ↑ In association with Harrison & Abramovitz of New York City.
  4. ↑ In association with Kaighn Associates of Norman.

References

  1. ↑ "Announcements" in Architecture 42, no. 2 (August, 1920): 256.
  2. 1 2 "John Gillett Dies at 78" in Ohio Architect 18, no. 6 (June, 1960): 30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "George Mills" in Weekly Bulletin of the Michigan Society of Architects 14, no. 2 (January 9, 1940): 6.
  4. ↑ Engineering News–Record 122 (1939)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Richards, John Noble" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker, 1956): 459.
  6. ↑ Weekly Bulletin of the Michigan Society of Architects 18, no. 52 (January 11, 1946): 4.
  7. ↑ "Erard and O'Shea Admitted to Partnership" in Ohio Architect 2, no. 1 (January, 1949): 10.
  8. ↑ "Firm Changes" in Architectural Record 116, no. 1 (July, 1954): 270.
  9. ↑ "Change in Name" in Monthly Bulletin, Michigan Society of Architects (June, 1962): 5.
  10. ↑ "Orville H. Bauer FAIA" in AIA Journal 69, no. 1 (January, 1980): 108–109.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Mark Zaborney, "Charles H. Stark III, 1935-2012: Architect designed Valentine's restoration," The Blade, March 15, 2012. Accessed December 31, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Buckeye Architects: Mills, Rhines, Bellman and Nordhoff" in Ohio Architect 2, no. 10 (November, 1941): 2.
  13. ↑ R. Randall Vosbeck, A Legacy of Leadership: The Presidents of the American Institute of Architects, 1857–2007 (Washington: American Institute of Architects, 2008)
  14. ↑ Blissfield Downtown Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2015)
  15. ↑ "Historic Perrysburg - 30209 Waterford Drive". www.historicperrysburg.org. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Richards, John Noble" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1962): 584.
  17. ↑ "Facilities," St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church, no date. Accessed December 31, 2022.
  18. 1 2 Richard N. Campen, Ohio–An Architectural Portrait (West Summit Press, 1973)
  19. ↑ "Richards, John Noble" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 759.
  20. ↑ Sue Krawetz, "New Student Union Should Be Finished in Two Years," Daily Kent Stater, May 29, 1969, 12.
  21. ↑ Engineering News–Record 196 (1976): 107.
  22. ↑ Bob Vandewater, "Norman Architects Design Angular OU Music Building,", The Oklahoman, September 8, 1985. Accessed January 12, 2023.
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