Arthur Loomis, Architect [1858-1935]
Arthur Loomis [†] was a prominent Louisville architect. He was born in 1859 in Westfield, Massachusetts. In 1861 his family migrated to Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he was to live the majority of his life. He began his study of architecture in 1876. In 1891 he entered into partnership with Charles J. Clarke. Following the death of Clarke in 1908 he was associated with Julius Hartman, later embarking on an independent practice. His designs were primarily executed in Louisville and Jeffersonville, although he designed some buildings for other cities in Kentucky.
In 1909 he moved from Jeffersonville to Louisville, where he maintained a residence at 511 Belgravia Court, not far from the Conrad residence. In the neighborhood he also designed the Stuart Robinson Memorial Church in 1891, located next to the Conrad estate.
Active in many organizations, he was a prominent Mason, president of the Louisville chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a Shriner, a Knight Templar, a Presbyterian, a member of the Louisville Art institute, a member of the Pendennis Club, a member of the Engineers and Architects Club, and a Republican.
Loomis designed a large number of commercial buildings, many residences, Presbyterian, Evangelical, and Episcopal churches, public libraries, schools, and other miscellaneous buildings.
Never limited to one "style, Loomis was a truly eclectic architect, changing styles to fit the times and the clients. The Conrad residence is his masterpiece in the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque style, as "Rosetrevor" was his masterpiece in Beaux Arts Classicism.
† David Arbogast, Architectural Historian, National Park Service and Susan McCown, Historian, Historic American Buildings Survey, 1974/1981, Thoephilus Conrad Home, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY, memory.loc.gov, accessed October, 2015.