Lonnie O. Adkins
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Lonnie O. Adkins was an architect and civil rights activist based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Born in 1924 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Adkins earned his bachelor’s degree from Hampton Institute in Virginia and his master’s degree from the University of Illinois. Adkins relocated to Minnesota in the 1950s and formed a partnership with Reuben Johnson in 1958 that still exists today as The Adkins Association. The firm has gone by several names since 1958, including Adkins-Johnson, Inc. (1958); Adkins, Johnson and Mikutowski Associated (1959); Adkins Associates, Inc. (1961); Adkins-Jackels Associates, Inc. (1966); and the Adkins Association, Inc. (1974).
Adkins was a Lutheran and designed multiple Lutheran churches during his career. He served on the board of the Minnesota Synod of the Lutheran Church in America and as the president of the Saint Paul Urban League. Adkins was also a member of Saint Paul’s planning commission. He died of a sudden heart attack while jogging with his son at the age of 45. At the time, his firm was working on a public housing project in Saint Paul that was posthumously named after him (Lonnie Adkins Court Apartments, 1973). His funeral was held in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, at a Lutheran church he had designed. He was laid to rest at Oakland Cemetery in Saint Paul. Projects: Minneapolis Model City urban renewal project (Minneapolis, MN) Grant Park urban renewal project (Minneapolis, MN) Saint Phillip church low-income housing project (Saint Paul, MN, 1971) Martin Luther King Center (Saint Paul, MN, 1971) Community Recreation Center (Milwaukee, WI) Franklin Hall School (1962) Bethesda Lutheran Church (Inver Grove Heights, MN) Lonnie Adkins Court Apartments (Saint Paul, MN, 1973) |
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Resources:
Pohlmann, Charles. “A Man of Commitment: Lonnie O. Adkins, Architect and Engineer 1924-1971.” Journal of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture, 1993.
“L.O. Adkins, St. Paul architect, dies at 45.” Star Tribune, October 18, 1971.
Caldwell, Dick. “Move On to Plug Fair Housing Law.” Minneapolis Star, June 19, 1964.
“On 8th Try, Negro Buys St. Paul Home.” Minneapolis Tribune, June 19, 1964.
Pohlmann, Charles. “A Man of Commitment: Lonnie O. Adkins, Architect and Engineer 1924-1971.” Journal of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture, 1993.
“L.O. Adkins, St. Paul architect, dies at 45.” Star Tribune, October 18, 1971.
Caldwell, Dick. “Move On to Plug Fair Housing Law.” Minneapolis Star, June 19, 1964.
“On 8th Try, Negro Buys St. Paul Home.” Minneapolis Tribune, June 19, 1964.
