Architect Biographies - D-E-F

Buildings by Architect D-E

F. E. Danielson — Architect of 3631 Charlotte St.

 William J. Dawson — Architect for 3916, 3918 and 3922 Harrison St. — Built between 1904 and 1908 — Listed as the owner of each house in 1906, 1907 and 1908 City directories.

 Manuel Diaz — Architect for 3315 Harrison St. (1889) — only extant residence designed by Diaz.  — Diaz was the first architect hired by the Kansas City Board of Education.

 Harry Alexander Drake — Architect of 815 E. 39th St. (1910)

 Harry Alexander Drake worked for Howe, Hoit and Cutler until about 1901. Drake started his own firm in 1909. His buildings include 1524 Grand Boulevard, the venerable Newman Theater – later called the Paramount (1919-1972), the Theatre Royal at 1022 Main (1914-1936), and 2101 Broadway, known as the candle building. The 1910 and 1920 City directories list Harry Alexander Drake as an architect working out of the Reliance Building.

 Phillip T. Drotts (xxxx-1960) — Architect of 900-908 E. Armour Blvd Bainbridge Apartments (1925) and 919 E. Armour Boulevard (1927) apartment building, Brostrom & Drotts 525 E. Armour Blvd Newbern Apartments

 From 1904 until the early 1950s, Phillip T. Drotts worked as an architect in Kansas City. He attended Columbia University. Early in his career, he worked with John Mckecknie and Earnest Bostrom. He was a draftsman in McKecknie’s office from 1907-10, 1914-15 and 1917-18. From 1920 to 2023, he was a partner with Brostrom in the Brostrom and Drotts firm. In 1921 the firm was one of several that organized to aid the small home builder. They were going to match their talent with the problem of the family that has less than $6,000 for a house. The architects will seek to design compact, economical, but architecturally attractive houses, houses of six rooms and less, even the kitchenette bungalow. Brostrom & Drotts were architects for the Peacock apartments and hotel building (later the Newbern Apartments) (1921, 1925) at 525 E. Armour Blvd. The Newbern Apartments were listed on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places in 1978.

 T.C. Durfee — Architect of 4243 Charlotte St.

 Edwards & Sunderland — Architects of 3624 Charlotte St. and 3629 Harrison Blvd.

 Clarence E. Ennis — Architect of 4030, 4040, 4324, and 4332 Harrison St., 4040 Harrison St.

 Edgar C. Faris (1882-1945) —Architect of 901-03 and 907-19 E. 39th St. colonnaded apartment buildings.

 Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Edgar C. Faris came to Kansas City as a child. He began work as a draftsman in 1902 and opened his own office by 1906. Faris’s early work was usually in tapestry brick, but later work in the 1920s took a fanciful turn to Moorish and Spanish Revival styles. Faris’s most recognized building in Kansas City is the 1925 Ponce de Leon Apartment Hotel at 4553-33 Main. He had studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and was also recognized as an accomplished artist and painted many fresco murals on the walls of Kansas City apartment buildings. In 1919 Faris painted the portrait of President Truman, which hung in the White House.

 Sidney R. Frink —Recognized as architect for 14 buildings in Hyde Park — 900 Manheim Rd; 33rd & Campbell St; 3820 Campbell St; 3857, 3869 Charlotte St; 4305-07, 4319, 4323, 4327, 4331, 4339 Gillham Rd; 4343 Holmes St; and 4334, 4336-40 Troost Ave.

 The 1905 city directory lists Sidney R. Frink as an architect working at 17 W. 10th Street and living at 202 East 34th Street. The 1910 city directory lists him as having an office in the Reliance Building. In Hyde Park Frink designed a house built at 4343 Holmes in 1907. In 1909 he designed six bungalows in the 4300 block of Gillham Road for developers Frank and Lucie Dayton.