Arthur R. Mann


Arthur R. Mann was an English-born American architect and engineer in practice in Hutchinson, Kansas from 1909 until his retirement in 1965. In 1924 he formed the firm of Mann & Company, which remained under family ownership until 1977 and is still in business.

Life and career

Arthur Robert Mann was born June 28, 1877, in Sheffield, England to George Mann and Eliza Mann, née Lingard. The family immigrated to the United States in 1879, settling in Kansas. He became a naturalized citizen in 1887. Mann was educated at the defunct Nickerson Normal College and the University of Kansas, graduating from the latter in 1906 with a BS in engineering. He worked for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad before moving to Hutchinson, where in 1909 he formed the partnership of Kelso, Mann & Kelso, architects and engineers. During this year he also completed a correspondence course in architecture. The partnership was reorganized in 1910 as Kelso, Mann & Gerow and in 1911 as Mann & Gerow with the withdrawal of the Kelsos and the admission of Theodore M. Gerow. In 1924 Gerow withdrew from the partnership and Mann continued the firm as Mann & Company, a sole proprietorship. In 1934 Mann's son, Robert E. Mann, joined the firm as a partner. In 1965 Mann retired from the partnership, but continued as a consultant.
In 1918 Mann was a founding member and first president of the Kansas Society of Architects, the first successful attempt to organize architects in the state. In 1921 joined the American Institute of Architects as a member of the newly formed Kansas chapter. He was highly active in the organization, and was Kansas chapter president three times. In 1955 he was elected a Fellow for service to the institute and for public service. Mann was the third Kansas architect to be elected a Fellow under the modern system instituted in 1898.

Legacy

Mann's architecture firm has continued into the present day. After his retirement architects Winston A. Schmidt and Norman L. Mann, Arthur Mann's brother, Albert Mann's grandson, became partners in the firm, followed in 1974 by Harry R. Rutledge and Lynn W. Schwartzkopf. Robert E. Mann retired in 1977, and shortly thereafter Schimidt and Norman L. Mann died in a plane crash while returning from a client meeting. In 1978 the firm was purchased from the Mann estate by Rutledge and Schwartzkopf. In 1981 they incorporated the firm as Mann & Company PA, and in 1987 Rutledge withdrew to join BASCO Associates in York, Pennsylvania. Schwartzkopf has continued to lead the firm into the 21st century.
At least seven works by Mann and his partners have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and others contribute to listed historic districts.

Personal life

Mann was married in 1904 to Ida May Smith. They had two children, Dorothy and Robert Eugene. Mann died July 7, 1968, at the age of 91.

Architectural works

Kelso, Mann & Kelso, 1909–1910

Kelso, Mann & Gerow, 1910–1911

Mann & Gerow, 1911–1924

Mann & Company, from 1924