Shirley Simons

Thomas Shirley Simons, Sr. (March 12, 1897 – August 1, 1963), commonly known as Shirley Simons was a prominent architect of Tyler, Texas. He was born in 1897 at Taylor, Texas, and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.^[1] He graduated from Rice Institute in 1919 with a Bachelor of Science in architecture.^[2] He also served in the field artillery during World War I from September through November 1918.^[3]

Pines Theater, Lufkin, Texas

Austin Daily Tribune Building

After practicing with William Ward Watkin in Houston, Simons moved to Lufkin, Texas in 1922 where he established his own architecture practice.^[1] In the late 1920s, he moved his architectural practice to Tyler, Texas. He remained active as an architect in Tyler until his death in 1963.^[4][5] Shirley's three sons (T. Shirley Simons, Jr., Edwin Simons, and Watson Townes Simons) later joined his architectural practice.^[1][6]

A number of Simons' works, including the Tyler City Hall, San Augustine County Courthouse and Jail, and Austin Daily Tribune Building, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[7][8]

Works in Tyler, Texas

• Tremont Place (1987), 615 Tremont Place, Tyler, TX 75701 (situated in the Azalea Residential Historic District) (Shirley Simons)^[9]
• Bergfeld Park (tennis courts, amphitheater and restrooms), part of the Azalea Residential Historic District, 1400 Block South Broadway, Tyler, Texas^[10]
• Robert and Mattie Fair House (1937), 905 South Chilton Avenue, Tyler, Texas (part of the Azalea Residential Historic District) (Shirley Simons, Sr. and Allen Campbell)^[11]
• Hanson-Cooper House (1931), 312 E. Charnwood, Tyler, Texas^[12]
• W. Howard and Vera Bryant House (1951), 2212 South Chilton Avenue, Tyler, Texas (part of the Azalea Residential Historic District)^[13]
• Marvin United Methodist Church (1942 remodel and parsonage), 300 W. Erwin St., Tyler, Texas, NRHP-listed^[4][6]
• Thomas and Edna Pollard House (1935), 801 Troup Highway, Tyler, Texas^[12]
• Ramey House (1935 interior remodel), 605 S. Broadway, Tyler, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed^[8]
• St. Gregory Elementary School, 400 South College Avenue, Tyler, Texas^[14]
• St. John's AF & AM Lodge, 323 W. Front Street, Tyler, Texas (Simons, T. Shirley Sr.), NRHP-listed^[8]
• Shirley Simons Residence, 118 West Fourth, Tyler, Texas (part of the Azalea Residential Historic District)^[1]
• Tyler City Hall (1938), 212 N. Bonner Avenue, Tyler, Texas (Simons, T. Shirley, Sr.), NRHP-listed^[8]
• Tyler Junior College original campus building plan^[15]
• Tyler Little Theatre (1939), 1014 W. Houston, Tyler, Texas^[12][16]
• Tyler U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, aka William M. Steger U.S. Courthouse (1934), 211 W. Ferguson Street, Tyler, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed^[8][17]
• White House, aka The Castle (1929), 116 Lindsey Lane, Tyler, Texas^[12]
• Willow Brook Country Club, 3205 West Erwin Street, Tyler, Texas^[6]
• Witherup Home (1932), 212 West Dobbs Street, Tyler, Texas^[12]
• Woman's Building (1931), 911 South Broadway, Tyler, Texas (part of the Azalea Residential Historic District) (Shirley Simons, Sr., and Sam R. Hill)^[1]

Works in Lufkin, Texas

• Angelina Hotel, West Shepherd and South First, Lufkin, Texas^[18]
• Bowers-Felts House, 1213 Lotus Lane, Lufkin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed^[8]
• Brookshire, Houston-Yeates House, 304 E. Howe Street, Lufkin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed^[8]
• Central Ward Grammar School, Lufkin, Texas (demolished)^[18]
• Everitt-Cox House (1922 remodel), 418 Moore, Lufkin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed^[8][19]
• First National Bank Building, northeast corner of Lufkin Avenue and First Street, Lufkin, Texas^[18]
• Kurth Memorial Library, Cotton Square facing Lufkin Avenue, Lufkin, Texas^[18]
• Kurth Ward Grammar School, Lufkin, Texas^[18]
• Pines Theatre, 113 South First Street, Lufkin, Texas, NRHP-listed^[18]
• School on South Raguet, Lufkin, Texas^[18]
• Shands Gymnasium, Lufkin, Texas (demolished)^[18]

Works in other cities

• Austin Daily Tribune Building (1941), 920 Colorado, Austin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed^[8]
• Houston Museum of Art^[4][20]
• Nacogdoches High School Gym and Auditorium, Nacogdoches, Texas^[1]
• San Augustine County Courthouse and Jail (1927), Courthouse Square, San Augustine, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed^[8][21]
• Stephen F. Austin University campus expansion (classrooms, administration buildings, president's residence, library, auditorium and fine arts building, men's and women's dormitory), Nacogdoches, Texas^[4][6]
• The Ashcroft House, 333 College Street, Sulphur Springs, Texas (a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark)
• University of Texas Student Health Center, Austin, Texas^[4]