Elmer A. Stuck Explained

Elmer A. Stuck
Nationality:	American
Birth Date:	2 February 1900
Birth Place:	Jonesboro, Arkansas
Death Place:	Jonesboro, Arkansas
Practice:	Elmer A. Stuck; Almand & Stuck; Elmer A. Stuck & Associates; Stuck, Frier, Lane & Scott; Stuck Frier Lane Scott Beisner

Elmer A. Stuck (February 2, 1900 – July 11, 1978) was an American architect in practice in Jonesboro, Arkansas from 1926 until his death in 1978.

Life and career

Elmer Axtell Stuck was born February 2, 1900 in Jonesboro to Elmer C. Stuck and Bessie M. Stuck, née Axtell. He was educated at Washington and Lee University and at Washington University in St. Louis, graduating from the latter in 1924 with a BArch. He worked for LaBeaume & Klein in St. Louis until 1926, when he returned to Jonesboro to open his own office. From 1928 to 1931 he worked in partnership with John Parks Almand, with whom he designed the Medical Arts Building (1930) in Hot Springs, which was the tallest building in Arkansas until 1960. He then worked independently until 1949, when he reorganized his firm as Elmer A. Stuck & Associates.^[1] In 1961 he elevated three associates, Sid Frier, William H. Lane and Aubrey E. Scott Jr., to partners, and the firm was renamed Stuck, Frier, Lane & Scott.^[2] In the 1960s the firm was responsible for a major expansion of the Arkansas State University campus.^[3] In 1971 the firm was renamed Stuck Frier Lane Scott Beisner to include Dewaine Beisner. About this time a second office was opened in Little Rock, under Frier's management. Stuck was head of the firm until his death.^[4]

Stuck was a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and for many years sat on the State Board of Architects.^[4]

Personal life

Stuck was married in 1922 to Ruth Jane Diamant and had three children. He died July 11, 1978 in Jonesboro at the age of 78.^{[1] [4]}

Legacy

At least four buildings designed by Stuck and his partners have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and others contribute to listed historic districts. During his lifetime, the firm was the leader in architectural practice in eastern Arkansas.^[4]

After Stuck's death, his firm was continued under the leadership of his partners. In 1983 the firm was renamed The Stuck Associates.^[5] Frier died in 1985 and Scott retired in 1991.^[6] In 1996 and 2004 the firm was led by Beisner in Jonesboro and by Gene Castin in Little Rock. By the latter year, the firm had been renamed Stuck Associates Architects.^{[7] [8]} The firm went out of business in 2019.^[4]

Architectural works

Elmer A. Stuck, 1926–1928 and 1931–1949

• 1934 – Craighead County Courthouse, 511 Main St, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[9]
• 1936 – Community Center No. 1, 1212 S Church St, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[10]

Almand & Stuck, 1928–1931

• 1930 – Medical Arts Building, 236 Central Ave, Hot Springs, Arkansas^[11]

Elmer A. Stuck & Associates, 1949–1961

• 1958 – Jonesboro City Hall (former), 314 W Washington Ave, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[4]
• 1958 – St. Michael Catholic Church, 411 N. Missouri St, West Memphis, Arkansas^[4]
• 1960 – Temple Israel, 203 W Oak Ave, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[4]
• 1961 – Jacob Trieber Federal Building, United States Post Office, and United States Court House, 617 Walnut St, Helena, Arkansas^[12]

Stuck, Frier, Lane & Scott, 1961–1971

• 1962 – Nettleton Church of Christ, 3521 East Highland Dr, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[4]
• 1962 – University Hall, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[3]
• 1963 – Arkansas Hall, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[3]
• 1963 – Dean B. Ellis Library, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[13]
• 1964 – Craighead County Library, 315 W Oak Ave, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[4]
• 1964 – Carl R. Reng Student Union, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[14]
• 1965 – Administration Building, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[3]
• 1966 – Kays Hall, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[3]
• 1966 – St. Paul United Methodist Church, 2201 South Culberhouse St, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[4]
• 1967 – Fine Arts Center, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[3]
• 1967 – Harrisburg Municipal Building, 202 N East St, Harrisburg, Arkansas^[15]
• 1967 – Sharp County Courthouse, 718 Ash Flat Dr, Ash Flat, Arkansas^[16]
• 1967 – Twin Towers, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[3]
• 1968 – St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, 1415 Harb St, Corning, Arkansas^[4]
• 1969 – Cross County Courthouse, 705 Union Ave, Wynne, Arkansas^[17]
• 1969 – Terminal, Jonesboro Municipal Airport, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[4]

Stuck Frier Lane Scott Beisner, 1971–1983

• 1976 – United Federal Savings and Loan Association building, 515 W Washington Ave, Jonesboro, Arkansas^[18]
• 1982 – Mid-America Science Museum, 500 Mid America Blvd, Hot Springs, Arkansas^[19]
• 1984 – John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital, 4300 W 7th St, Little Rock, Arkansas^[20]

Stuck Associates, from 1983

• 1993 – Irby Hall, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas^[7]
• 2006 – Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, 117 N Main St, Tyronza, Arkansas^[21]

Notes and References

1. "Stuck, Elmer Axtell" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 544.
2. "Stuck, Elmer Axtell" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1962): 544.
3. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/100010315 Arkansas State College Historic District NRHP Registration Form
4. J. Mason Toms, "Elmer Axtell Stuck (1900–1978)," Encyclopedia of Arkansas, June 16, 2023. Accessed August 8, 2024.
5. "Frier, Sid" in Who Was Who in America 9 (Wilmette: Marquis Who's Who, 1989): 127.
6. "Aubrey E. Scott Jr.," Emerson Funeral Home, no date. Accessed August 8, 2024.
7. ProFile 1996: The Sourcebook of U.S. Architectural Design Firms, 11th ed. (Atlanta: Construction Market Data, 1996): 68.
8. ProFile 2004: The Architects Sourcebook, 19th ed. (Norcross: Reed Construction Data, 2004): 85 and 86.
9. Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 229.
10. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/07001422 Community Center No. 1 NRHP Registration Form
11. Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 165.
12. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/15000204 Federal Building-United States Post Office and Court House NRHP Registration Form
13. Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 231-232.
14. Contract (January, 1967): 168.
15. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/09000736 Harrisburg Commercial Historic District NRHP Registration Form
16. John Deacon, "Sharp County," American Courthouses, no date. Accessed August 9, 2024.
17. John Deacon, "Cross County," American Courthouses, no date. Accessed August 9, 2024.
18. Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 229-230.
19. Miriam F. Stimpson, A Field Guide to Landmarks of Modern Architecture in the United States (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1985): 19.
20. Walter McQuade, Architecture in the Real World: The Work of HOK (New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1984): 204.
21. Cyrus A. Sutherland, Buildings of Arkansas (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018): 229-230.