Gladding, McBean an important part of Lincoln's history

Doesn't Stewart's Variety Store look like the type of store you could browse for hours while running into your neighbors and friends? Do you know where this store was in Lincoln, when it was open and what happened to the store? If you know any or part of the answer, please email it by Tuesday to carolf@goldcountrymedia.com. The mystery question two weeks ago asked which buildings have terra cotta ornamentation created at the Gladding, McBean plant (also called the Pottery) in downtown Lincoln off 7th Street. Records in the Lincoln Area Archives Museum state that the Pottery began to create terra-cotta trim on buildings in 1885. The journaling of this article, docents said, is like writing a short synapse of what transpired with Gladding, McBean's terra cotta production over the last 140 years. Terra-cotta, compared to iron and marble, is lighter. In the late 1800s, with the arrival of elevators and steel beams, skyscrapers were built in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno. Terra cotta found its niche as a decorative addition to the skyscrapers. Terra-cotta as decorative architecture became the clay modeler's and draftsman's forum for new ideas with the advantage of adding art to trims, facade, doors and window surrounds. Included were medallions, panels, pillars, columns, bases, scrolls, statues and murals. Statues included people, animals, fictional characters and gargoyles. Potteries in New York, Chicago, Washington state and other areas flourished and the Lincoln plant, being about 10 years old, was also ready to produce materials to adorn buildings. Three men in Lincoln were instrumental to the development of Gladding, McBean's decorative architectural terra-cotta from 1888 to 1959, according to the docents. Joseph Baldwin DeGoyer, a German engineer with a specialty in chemistry, arrived at the Lincoln plant in 1888. He was the son-in-law of Peter McBean and became head of the terra cotta department. At the time of his arrival, there was one kiln, limited space for the production of terra-cotta and a small work force. DeGoyer increased the terra-cotta square footage, added 17 more kilns and a handful of a workforce became a workforce of 300. He directed everything from the drafting room to the clay's modeling and firing. DeGoyler left the plant at the same time the sons of Peter McBean left to form their own pottery plant. The next artisan at Gladding McBean was Pio Oscar Toscanelli, a renowned sculptor, born in Florence, Italy, who joined the plant in 1909. He was appointed chief sculptor in 1912 and held that position until 1923. Toscanelli designed many of the art deco pieces produced by the pottery. Toscanelli eventually opened a studio in San Francisco. Toscanelli was followed by Earnest Kadell from Germany, who began in 1923 and stayed with the plant until he died in 1959. Kadell's workroom is left as it was and is a museum in itself. At the height of the plant's production, there were 630 employees. The peak of decorative architectural terra-cotta was from the 1920s through the 1940s. Buildings enhanced by Gladding, McBean architectural trim include Oakland's St. Mary's College in 1889 and Stanford University's "Original Quad" begun in 1899 and finished in 1907. According to the Lincoln Area Archives Museum docents, the university has an open account with Gladding, McBean for needed replacements. Lincoln's buildings with terra-cotta include the Amada Building, Carnegie Library in 1909, Lincoln High School in 1910, Lincoln Grammar School, Civic Auditorium, Woman's Club of Lincoln, McBean Swimming Pool, Lincoln Veterans Memorial Hall and the Beermann Plaza fountain. Gladding, McBean either donated the materials or sold them at cost. Gladding, McBean did not have a monopoly on the production of terra-cotta, the museum docents said, but few made it through the recession of the 1930s. When the Lincoln Area Archives Museum reopens under COVID-19 relaxed restrictions, be sure to visit the Gladding, McBean exhibit.