Leitner, Joseph F. (1871-1930)

The Manufacturers' Record, Aug. 20, 1914, noted Leitner as architect for the courthouse. The brick edifice with broad Doric portico is the centerpiece of Whiteville. Commissioned originally to design a fireproof building, Leitner produced a plan for a domed building with an estimated cost of $100,000. Amendments to reduce the cost to $50,000 eliminated the dome and limited the fireproof construction to the vaults.

This is the "enlarge high school" project noted for Leitner in the Manufacturers' Record of June 30, 1910. It was an addition to the original building of 1871-1872. Boney planned the third addition to Tileston School, the Ann Street wings; it was estimated to cost $26,000.

The Manufacturers' Record, Feb. 3, 1909, noted that Leitner was architect for an addition to the Seashore Hotel at Wrightsville Beach. The ocean front hotel, as noted by Susan Block, opened in 1898 and was expanded over the years. Renamed the Ocean Terrace Hotel in 1935, it suffered damage from Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and a year later was destroyed by fire. Its site is now occupied by the Blockade Runner hotel.

Wilmington architect-builder James F. Post submitted a design for the Masonic Temple, but the Masons chose the design by the Minnesota architect McMillen, who specialized in Masonic temples. This commission brought McMillen to Wilmington, where he settled down to practice his profession. The cornerstone was laid on May 18, 1899, and the building opened on November 20. The 4-story edifice of pressed brick and brownstone had stores on the first floor, offices on the second floor, the Masonic lodge halls on the third floor, and a ballroom on the fourth floor. In January, 1914, the Scottish Rite Masons leased the ballroom from the central body and expended $4000 to create a theater, complete with stage, designed by J. F. Leitner. See Tony P. Wrenn, Wilmington, North Carolina: An Architectural and Historical Portrait (1984) for more details.

The Manufacturers' Record of July 22 and August 12, 1909, noted that Leitner designed the jail.

The Manufacturers' Record of Nov. 11, and Nov. 18, noted that Leitner had designed a "colonial residence" for Brown. It is the most prominent of several Colonial Revival houses in town.

The Manufacturers' Record, Dec. 15, 1910, noted Leitner as architect of the station. Like Leitner's Goldsboro station, it features curvilinear gables and eclectic details.

The Wilmington Star reported on April 30, 1911, that Leitner had provided designs for three new schools in Fayetteville. They have not been further identified.

Located in Salem, the office and freight terminal was built for the Winston-Salem Southbound, which was associated with the ACL. It has been renovated as offices.

The Wilmington Dispatch noted on March 23, 1917 that Leitner, formerly of Wilmington, had provided plans for two high schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, to cost $150,000 each and a third to cost only $18,000. On Feb. 24, 1919, the Wilmington Star reported that a redesign had reduced the cost of one of the high schools to $135,000. This is probably the former Charlotte High School, which became the Central High School in 1920.

The Manufacturers' Record of Jan. 12, 1911, reported that Leitner was architect for the remodeling of the ACL depot and office building in Rocky Mount. The depot, one of the most important on the route through North Carolina, developed over several stages. The initial building, credited to Charles E. Hartge in 1891, is shown on Sanborn Maps of 1893 and 1901 as a 1-story, frame building. This structure was either razed or possibly incorporated into the next building. By 1907, the brick station consisted of a 2-story center section and a 1-story wing; the architect of this stage has not been identified. By 1912, thanks to Leitner's remodeling, the much enlarged 2-story brick building had two 2-story wings, each of which extended to the rear. Further expansions brought the building to its present 3-story form. The postcard image shows the 2-story building created in 1911.

Manufacturers' Record, Nov. 11, 1909 and Dec. 15, 1910 cites the YMCA as Leitner's design. It appears on the 1912 Sanborn Insurance Map of Rocky Mount as a large brick structure.

The Manufacturers' Record of Aug. 6, 1908, noted Leitner as architect for a hotel in Rocky Mount for T. L. Bland and R.H. Ricks. By 1912, the Sanborn Insurance Map of Rocky Mount depicted the large brick hotel on Hammond St. The postcard shows the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Passenger Depot after the third story was added, and the Ricks Hotel is on the right.

The 9--story building was Wilmington's first skyscraper and remains a landmark in the city skyline.

The white-columned, red brick edifice, "patterned closely after the Colonial style of architecture" was designed by New York architect C. H. P. Gilbert with Kenneth Murchison, a North Carolina-born New York architect as consulting architect. The men's club was founded in 1852 and reorganized in 1866 by former Confederate officers and others, and is still active

The Wilmington Star of July 17, 1912, reported that Leitner was architect for a "mammoth cold storage plant" at the corner of 2nd and Campbell streets, and that the contractor was Boyles-Robertson of Washington, D. C., a firm that was currently constructing the Union Station.

According to Tony P. Wrenn in Wilmington, North Carolina: An Architectural and Historical Portrait (1984), the building was erected in 1902 and remodeled inside in 1906 by Leitner and Wilkins, and the façade was redesigned by Leitner in 1911. (The Manufacturers' Record of June 22, 1911, noted the "remodeling and addition" by Leitner and Wilkins.) The organizational meeting of the North Carolina Association of Architects, in which Leitner was a leader, was held here in July, 1906.

The August 6, 1910 Wilmington Dispatch reported, "Mr. J.F. Leitner, the well known architect of Wilmington, has prepared plans for a very handsome residence which President T.M. Emerson, of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, contemplates erecting at Carolina Heights. Drawings of the proposed residence have been finished. These give illustrations of what will be one of the finest residences in Wilmington. The drawings reveal a pleasing brick residence several stories in height, with quite a large number of rooms. The structure will be of commanding appearance and will be a great addition to the section of the city in which it is to be erected. It is stated that work will be started on the house in the fall and that several months will be required for its completion." The house was renovated in 1923 for heiress and philanthropist Sarah Graham Kenan from designs by architect Thomas Carrere of Carrere and Hastings of New York. After a fire in 1931, architect Leonard Schulze designed the interior rebuilding. Some accounts (see Tony P. Wrenn, Wilmington, North Carolina: An Architectural and Historical Portrait [1984]), indicate that the house was begun during the ownership of Mary Bridgers from designs by Burrett Stephens and was essentially complete in 1908 before Emerson purchased it. But when Mary Bridgers sold the property to May B. Emerson, Thomas Emerson, the deed, dated Jan. 27, 1909, stated: "No dwelling house shall be erected on the premises to cost less than $4,500."

The Wilmington Star, April 27, 1907, described it as a "Colonial style" church seating 200. Mary Bridgers, developer of the Carolina Heights suburb, was a Christian Scientist. The small temple-form building was sold to a Baptist congregation in the 1920s and burned in 1952.

Manufacturers' Record, Dec. 29, 1910.

The Wilmington Star of July 9, 1907, reported that the new building was to hold the drugstore of Dr. Charles T. Harper. This may have been a remodeling of an existing building.

The expansive brick house features dramatic curvilinear gables and a deep porch. Joseph Hinton was a businessman who owned the Orton Hotel and other facilities. The Wilmington Dispatch of Sept. 15, 1911, described it admiringly and noted that it was "after the Elizabethan style of architecture," which was seldom seen in the area.

Wilmington Star, March 3, 1912.

Manufacturers' Record, June 28 and July 26, 1906.

The Manufacturers' Record of June 17, 1915, mentioned Leitner in connection with the Murchison National Bank Business Building, but it is not clear what building was referred to.

Cited in the Manufacturers' Record of March 22 and June 7, 1906, the Commercial building was one of Leitner and Wilkins's first projects in Wilmington.

Manufacturers' Record, Dec. 30, 1909, and Dec. 25, 1910.

The 6-story edifice served as union station for the lines that made Wilmington a railroad hub, including the ACL. The Wilmington Star reported on Jan. 6, 1912, that Leitner was architect for the ACL union station and office building, which were anticipated to cost $300,000. On Feb. 5, 1913, the Star noted, "Mr. Joseph F. Leitner, the architect, was present to explain the location of an ornamental shed at the new union station, suspended over the streets, for the protection of pedestrians and passengers. No objection to its location was presented by Council, after the plans and drawings were inspected." It was one of several massive railroad buildings in Wilmington, nearly all of which were destroyed after the ACL moved its headquarters to Florida in 1960. See Beverly Tetterton, Wilmington: Lost But Not Forgotten (2005), for a photograph of its implosion in 1970.

Wilmington Star, Dec. 12, 1912.

The Manufacturers' Record of Oct. 28, 1915, cited Leitner as architect for an apartment house built for Miss Valeria Williams and R. V. Williams. The Wilmington Star of Oct. 23, 1915, reported Leitner as architect and said that it would have 23 rooms.

The Manufacturers' Record of Sept. 8, 1910, noted that Leitner had the commission to design the "Wilmington Savings and Loan Building."

The imposing union station, which served the ACL, Southern, and Norfolk and Southern lines, is a boldly detailed brick building with curvilinear gables on three sides. It was designed by Leitner and Wilkins shortly before the two architects parted and Leitner became official architect for the ACL.

The News and Observer of Raleigh reported on May 25, 1914, that Leitner was architect for the "new Lumberton Hotel" to cost $80,000. Because of financial problems related to World War I in Europe, the Lumberton Hotel Company was unable to construct the proposed 60-room hotel. In 1916 the company contracted for a smaller hotel to have 48 rooms (see Frank B. Simpson's Lorraine Hotel [The Robesonian, June 22, 1914, Jan. 10, 1916, Aug. 31, 1916]).