Victory Building

The Victory Building is an architecturally distinguished entity significant for embodying the characteristics of fireproof industrial architecture of the early twentieth century, and for artistic values associated with its distinctive Sullivanesque form and ornamentation. Significance is also evident for research potential associated with the building's war memorial function. The period of significance is derived from the planning and construction dates.

The Victory Building, a prominent architectural landmark in Hastings, is significant under National Register Criterion C for several reasons. As an industrial, manufacturing, and warehouse structure, the building stands as one of the state's finest examples of its architectural type. The technology employed in its construction further distinguishes the building and marks its significance as particularly exemplary of the technical development of the type during the first two decades of the twentieth century.

Little is known of the industrial architecture of the territorial period in Nebraska, other than the fact that warehouses of frame construction were built, such as those for the freighting firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell in Nebraska City. More substantial structures employing a variety of technical systems, mostly variations on light-frame and masonry construction, were built during the boom of the late 1870s and early 80s, particularly in the cities. Omaha's Old Market and Lincoln's Haymarket Historic Districts contain many examples. The Millard Blocks and the Broatch Building, all in the Old Market District, exemplify the 1880s structural systems.

The turn of the century brought increased innovation. Structural and fire-safety considerations became more important, in part due to the rapid growth of wholesaling operations made. possible, through nationwide catalog sales and the expanded rail network, and in part due to rising insurance costs. Advances included the use of heavy timber framing (mill construction-- a very old method reintroduced at this time) and the reinforced concrete frame. Sprinkler systems and other fire-protective measures also characterized the period. The Nash Blocks, and the John Deere warehouse, both in Omaha, exemplify the developments in mill and concrete construction respectively.

Following the introduction of the concrete frame, developments slowed through the first two decades of the twentieth century. Foremost, however, was the introduction of steel sash windows which were an improvement over wood from a fire-safety point-of-view. They also affected the aesthetic of industrial buildings, however, and by the Teens came to be characteristically associated with the new, modern, rational designs of this period.

The Victory Building stands as perhaps the finest example of the c.1920 industrial building in Nebraska, architecturally, particularly following the demolition of the Smith Building (DO09:123-51) in Omaha to make way for the Central Park Mall. All of the most advanced technical features are incorporated into C. W. Way's design-- concrete frame construction, sprinkler system, steel fire doors, steel sash windows (specially designed for the facades), and steel furnishings.

Artistic values associated with the building involve its formal development and stylistic enhancement. Formally the building is both vertically aspiring and horizontally grounded in the Hastings environment. The six-story height assured the landmark status of the building, being the tallest in the city. This status, further justified by the war memorial associations, was symbolically reinforced through the vertical rise of the corner pavilions, giving the structure a kind of "cosmic" form which suitably was lacking in historic architectural precedent for a building of this type. The tripartite composition of stilted pediments enhanced the rising effect both at the base and atop the pavilions, as well as in the emphasis of the structural piers in the main body of the building, and in the configuration of the windows.

For all its height, however, architect C. W. Way controlled the verticality through the three-part composition of the base, shaft, and capital. The wall cornices dividing the base and capital from the shaft established an underlying horizontality that grounded the building in its local environment, thus ensuring that the Victory building would not be visually overpowering with respect to its neighbors. The strong horizontality of the parapet further terminated the building's height.

The formal composition has logical solid associations with the stylistic development. While the treatment of the upper cornice is almost Prairie Style, the tripartite composition of the base, shaft, and cornice, including the vertical expression of the shaft with its recessed spandrels and wide glass openings, more appropriately recalls compositional innovations of Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. Sullivan's tripartite functional emphasis has strongly influenced the commercial and industrial architecture of the twentieth century (Burchard and Bush-Brown, pp. 256, 258-9).

Decorative motives employed by Way follow Sullivan's inventive ornamentation as well and exist as the finest examples of such in the state. The focus is on the corner pavilions, where the emphasis is placed on the base and the parapet. Medallions placed in the shaft of the pavilions, along with a decorative pattern in the brickwork, enhance the overall character of the form. While the influence of Sullivan's compositions has been widespread, that of his ornamentation has not, aside from the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, and Purcell and Elmslie. Way's incorporation of the style here is significant for its singularity in Nebraska, but more importantly for the appropriateness of the selection, with its uniquely American and implicitly democratic associations.

This latter statement establishes significance under Criterion D for the research potential associated with the Victory Building. While the Dutton Company had started planning for the building as early as 1917, construction had not yet commenced by early 1919. On the eve of the Victory Bond campaign William Dutton announced plans to convert Victory Bonds for 6% stock in his company, using the capital to help finance his building, which in part was to commemorate America's victory in the war. (Hastings Daily Tribune).

While Dutton's was in part a promotional campaign, and conversion of the bonds financed perhaps only 10% of the construction, Dutton was nonetheless an "extraordinarily patriotic" man who considered the commemoration quite seriously (Lainson, 18 SEP 86). Specific information concerning the decision to commemorate the war is not currently available, as the location of correspondence files is not known. Many of the original construction documents are in the collections of the House of Yesterday Museum in Hastings, though these have not been inventoried, nor were they inspected during research for this nomination. Blueprints from the originals are in the possession of the owner, and these have been selectively copied for the Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey (NeHBS). We do know, however, that the building was redesigned following the re-designation to the "Victory Building." Proposed drawings published in the Tribune show a six-story dark brick with light stone or terra-cotta building, in a primarily American Renaissance design with a six-over-six sash.

Virtually nothing is known either of architect C. W. Way. NeHBS files list his firm in Hastings from 1907 through 1920, and designs for the Harvard and Clay Center Carnegie libraries, both in Clay County, are attributed to him. Both were completed in 1916 but neither shows Sullivanesque influences.

The redesign of the Victory Building marked a major departure from the original. The suggestion here is that the particular combination of formal articulation and stylistic development was carefully selected to enhance the commemorative nature of the loft structure. The "cosmic" quality given by the rising corner pavilions, the solidity given by the Sullivanesque composition, and the explicitly American associations given by the Sullivanesque ornament, all combine to provide a design appropriate to America's victory in the war. The nationalistic sentiment was at this time very high, and little that was European was held in esteem. Throughout his career, Louis Sullivan sought an architectural expression that was distinctly American and continued to eschew European traditions and influences. And in his writings, particularly the Kindergarten Chats, he argued for both functional and democratic expression in architecture. Sullivan thought that truly American architecture would ultimately be democratic architecture. Way's choice of the Sullivanesque provides particularly significant intellectual associations for the Victory Building and perfectly marks it as an expression of its time.