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Joseph Bell DeRemer Papers
Drawings - Joseph Bell DeRemer
Blueprints - McCanna Home, McCanna, North Dakota, August 1920
Drawings - Joseph Bell DeRemer
Blueprints - Joseph Bell DeRemer
Blueprints - Joseph Bell DeRemer
Color Drawings - Samuel DeRemer
Black and White Drawings - Samuel DeRemer (1 of 2)
Black and White Drawings - Samuel DeRemer (2 of 2)
Joseph Bell DeRemer Papers, 1887-1986
Collection Overview
Title: Joseph Bell DeRemer Papers, 1887-1986
Predominant Dates:1887-1942
ID: OGLMC744
Primary Creator: DeRemer, Joseph Bell (1871-1944)
Other Creators: DeRemer, Samuel Teel (1894-1967)
Extent: 13.5 Linear Feet
Date Acquired: 03/11/1982. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: Architecture and Historic Preservation, Grand Forks
Languages: English
Abstract
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Collection Historical Note
Joseph Bell DeRemer was born September 14, 1871, in Montana, Warren County, New Jersey, the son of James K. and Nancy (Bell) DeRemer. Joseph Bell DeRemer sprung from a tradition in carpentry and building which his family had practiced for six generations. It was not a coincidence that he too would show talents and skills in this profession that would eventually take him to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he created for himself an illustrious and prosperous architectural practice.
He was a carpenter from 1886 to 1896 in Warren County and became a master of the trade working with his father and brothers. His skills and talents in carpentry so impressed friends that they encouraged DeRemer to pursue architecture. Interested by the idea, DeRemer enrolled at Columbia University in a special one year course in architecture taught by Professor William R. Ware. In June 1897, DeRemer left the university and returned to Warren County to establish an architectural practice.
It is believed that between his return to Warren county in 1897 and his departure westward in 1902, DeRemer had already completed 78 commissions in New Jersey. His relocation to Grand Forks was an accidental one prompted by an initial resolve to move to the West Coast in order to find better architectural opportunities. But upon arriving in Grand Forks on March 3, 1902, DeRemer was convinced by D.H. Beecher to stay and participate in the town’s growth and booming economy. A little more than several months later, DeRemer secured the commission to build the Oxford House.
By 1904, DeRemer had become such a prominent member of the Grand Forks community that he was featured in the Silver Anniversary Issue of the Grand Forks Herald. In 1906, he joined the town’s influential people by moving to a residential home on Belmont road. By 1912, his buildings were a crowning achievement throughout the state of North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota.
His Grand Forks buildings, 1902-1912, exhibit classical and renaissance revival detail and proportions. They include the Y.M.C.A., the Clifford Building, the Grand Forks Public Library (all of which have been razed), the Ontario Store (Griffiths), the Corliss Block (Panovitz Store), the Widlund Block, the Masonic Temple, the New Hampshire Apartments, the Elks Lodge, the Central High School Gym, and the addition to the Presbyterian Church. DeRemer residences included his own home at 625 Belmont, the McCoy home at 401 Reeves Drive, and the 1906 remodeling of the Clifford house at 406 Reeves Drive.
In 1912, DeRemer left Grand Forks for Los Angeles, California, to expand upon his architectural vision. However, this move did not completely sever ties with North Dakota, as he designed the North Dakota State Building for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco, California, in 1915. In November 1917, DeRemer returned to New Jersey and worked with his brothers in the Washington Casket Company, which they operated.
DeRemer returned to Grand Forks in 1919 and began a partnership with his son, Samuel Teel DeRemer. Their architectural firm designed many Art Deco and Art Modern Buildings during this period, including Whitey's Bar in East Grand Forks, the New Ryan Hotel, the United Lutheran Church, the administration building for the Grand Forks Municipal Airport, the addition to the Grand Forks County Courthouse, and the first California-style bungalow in Grand Forks at 706 Belmont Road.
Joseph Bell DeRemer was the architect for several buildings at the University of North Dakota: the President's House (now Oxford House), Woodworth Hall, Commons Building, Liberal Arts Building, Merrifield Hall, Delta Gamma Sorority, and Sigma Nu Fraternity. DeRemer, along with William F. Kurke, was also the architect for the new North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck begun in 1932, in addition to many other buildings in various cities in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
Joseph Bell DeRemer married Miss Elizabeth Myers on November 11, 1891, in Stewartsville, Warren County, New Jersey. The couple had a daughter, Delores, and a son, Samuel Teel. Joseph Bell DeRemer retired from active practice in 1937 and died February 16, 1944, in Grand Forks.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections
Additional materials were donated by:
Joe B. DeRemer, East Grand Forks, Minnesota, on March 25, 1982 (82-967)
Margery McCanna, McCanna, North Dakota, on May 29, 1990 (90-1703)
The Book Fair, Grand Forks, North Dakota (via Al and Alice Thureen, East Grand Forks, Minnesota) on September 15, 1999 (99-2401) and on October 3, 2000 (2001-2508)
Lee Furman, Grand Forks, North Dakota, on June 6, 2000 (2000-2442)
Royce Yeater, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Chicago, Illinois, on May 30, 2002 (2005-2782)
Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.
Acquisition Source: Stanley Johnson, UND Art Department
Acquisition Method: Donation; 82-964
Separated Materials:
Several items were placed in the Special Collections Stacks:
Josiah Allen's Wife. Samantha at the World's Fair. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1893 (DeRemer gave this book to his wife, Lizzie)
Palmer, Bertha Rachael. Beauty Spots in North Dakota. Boston: Richard Badger, 1928 (DeRemer's personal copy and signed by the author)
American Homes and Gardens: volumes 1-2, 1905-1906
American Homes and Gardens: volume 4, 1907
House and Garden: volumes 8-13, 1905-1908
House and Garden: volumes 13-15, 1908-1909
House and Garden: volumes 16-18, 1909-1910
House and Garden: volumes 19-20, 1911
Indoors and Out: volumes 3-5, 1905-1907
(These were from Joseph DeRemer's personal library)
Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Joseph Bell DeRemer Papers. OGLMC 744, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.
Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid added to Archon in July 2015.
Other URL: http://library.und.edu/holdings.php?id=ODIN_ALEPH000773736
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Box 3],
[Box 4],
[Box 5],
[Items 1-4],
[Photographs 1-75],
[Oversize Folder 1: Drawings - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 2: Blueprints - McCanna Home, McCanna, North Dakota, August 1920],
[Oversize Folder 3: Drafts - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 4: Drawings - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 5: Blueprints - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 6: Blueprints - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 7: Drafts - Samuel DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 8: Color Drawings - Samuel DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 9: Black and White Drawings - Samuel DeRemer (1 of 2)],
[Oversize Folder 10: Black and White Drawings - Samuel DeRemer (2 of 2)],
[Oversize Folder 11: Unidentified Drafts and Drawings],
[All]
- Box 1
- Folder 1: The Proposed New United Lutheran Church Architects Joseph Bell and Samuel Teel DeRemer
- Folder 2: A Proposed New United Lutheran Church Architects Joseph Bell and Samuel Teel DeRemer
- Folder 3: Joseph Bell DeRemer logo
- Folder 4: St. Mary's Church and school, Grand Forks; Eagles building, Crookston, Minnesota
- Folder 5: St. Catherine's Church, Lomice, North Dakota; New Ryan Hotel, Grand Forks
- Folder 6: New grade and high school, Park River, North Dakota; new high school, Devil's Lake, North Dakota
- Folder 7: National Register nomination for the George B. Clifford House, 406 Reeves Drive, Grand Forks, 1986
- Folder 8: Building specifications for McCanna home, a two-story frame dwelling
- Folder 9: Lecture notes and scaled drawings
- Folder 10: Early Christian Ornament; paper submitted to Professor Hamlin, October 8, 1896
- Folder 11: Correspondence and Letterheads, April 21, 1897 and November 21, 1931
- Folder 12: Newspaper clippings, October 31, 1929 and October 27, 1935
- Folder 13: Accounts Payable & Receivable, 1906-1915
- Folder 14: Scale Plan: Rock Garden for Mrs. Jas. K. Anderson
- Folder 15: Tau Sigma Rho Fraternity Blueprints
- Folder 16: United Lutheran Church Dedication Programs, 1932 and 1942
- Folder 17: Wilshire Presbyterian Church; Title Insurance Building
- Folder 18: Sketches and Drafts
- Folder 19: Doughboy Service Oil Company Advertisement Drafts
- Folder 20: Biographical materials, 1845-1928
- Folder 21: Correspondence, 1926, 1938, and 1980
- Folder 22: Newspaper clippings, June 26, 1904 and November 29, 1981
- Folder 23: The Proposed New United Lutheran Church Program
- Folder 24: Architectural Drawings
- Item 1: Eagles Building, Crookston, Minnesota
- Item 2: Filling Station-Kelly and Palmer
- Item 3: Grade and High School, Hamilton, North Dakota
- Item 4: Plot Plan for the New Grade and High School, Devils Lake, North Dakota
- Item 5: New Ryan Hotel
- Item 6: Park River Grade and High School
- Item 7: The Proposed Home of Dr. P. W. Smith Esq.
- Item 8: St. Catherine's Church-Lomice, North Dakota
- Item 9: Wilshire Presbyterian Church: Title Insurance Building, Los Angeles, California
- Item 1: Eagles Building, Crookston, Minnesota
- Folder 25: Postcards of Architectural Projects
- Folder 26: Schedule and Specifications - Polk County Courthouse and Grand Forks County Courthouse, 1938
- Folder 27: Grant applications, September 1938
- Folder 28: Architectural Building Design articles, 1879-1914
- Folder 29: American Institute of Architects Certificate, August 1921
- Folder 30: "The Fighting Governor: The Story of William Langer and the State of North Dakota" - includes DeRemer's Designs of the Capitol Building, 1938
- Folder 31: Oxford House materials, 1902 and 1975
- Folder 32: Architectural Help and Figures pamphlet
- Folder 33: The Improvement Bulletin: The Construction News Weekly of the Northwest, May 19, 1928
- Folder 34: Library Book Plate
- Folder 35: Glasses
- Folder 36: Miscellaneous, 1904-1982
- Folder 37: Lizzie DeRemer newspaper article, July 20, 1941
- Folder 38: Lizzie DeRemer Autograph Book, January 9, 1887
- Folder 39: Samuel T. DeRemer Architectural Drawings
- Folder 40: Five Unidentified Architectural Drawings by Samuel and Joseph DeRemer
- Folder 41: Joseph Bell DeRemer's book plates
- Folder 42: Photocopied newspaper articles, 1902-1904
- Folder 43: Royce Yeater notes, 1974
- Folder 44: Scrapbook of Newspaper Clippings and Postcards regarding Joseph Bell DeRemer, 1931-1952
- Item 1: Scrapbook of newspaper clippings regarding architectural projects of Joseph Bell DeRemer and Samuel T. DeRemer, 1909-1955
- Folder 1: The Proposed New United Lutheran Church Architects Joseph Bell and Samuel Teel DeRemer
Browse by Box:
[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Box 3],
[Box 4],
[Box 5],
[Items 1-4],
[Photographs 1-75],
[Oversize Folder 1: Drawings - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 2: Blueprints - McCanna Home, McCanna, North Dakota, August 1920],
[Oversize Folder 3: Drafts - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 4: Drawings - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 5: Blueprints - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 6: Blueprints - Joseph Bell DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 7: Drafts - Samuel DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 8: Color Drawings - Samuel DeRemer],
[Oversize Folder 9: Black and White Drawings - Samuel DeRemer (1 of 2)],
[Oversize Folder 10: Black and White Drawings - Samuel DeRemer (2 of 2)],
[Oversize Folder 11: Unidentified Drafts and Drawings],
[All]