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. He graduated from Rice Institute in 1919 with a Bachelor of Science in architecture. He also served in the field artillery during World War I from September through November 1918.
After practicing with William Ward Watkin in Houston, Simons moved to Lufkin, Texas in 1922 where he established his own architecture practice. 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. Shirley's three sons (T. Shirley Simons, Jr., Edwin Simons, and Watson Townes Simons) later joined his architectural practice.
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.
Works in Tyler, Texas Tremont Place (1987), 615 Tremont Place, Tyler, TX 75701 (situated in the Azalea Residential Historic District) (Shirley Simons) Bergfeld Park (tennis courts, amphitheater and restrooms), part of the Azalea Residential Historic District, 1400 Block South Broadway, Tyler, Texas 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) Hanson-Cooper House (1931), 312 E. Charnwood, Tyler, Texas W. Howard and Vera Bryant House (1951), 2212 South Chilton Avenue, Tyler, Texas (part of the Azalea Residential Historic District) Marvin United Methodist Church (1942 remodel and parsonage), 300 W. Erwin St., Tyler, Texas, NRHP-listed Thomas and Edna Pollard House (1935), 801 Troup Highway, Tyler, Texas Ramey House (1935 interior remodel), 605 S. Broadway, Tyler, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed St. Gregory Elementary School, 400 South College Avenue, Tyler, Texas St. John's AF & AM Lodge, 323 W. Front Street, Tyler, Texas (Simons, T. Shirley Sr.), NRHP-listed Shirley Simons Residence, 118 West Fourth, Tyler, Texas (part of the Azalea Residential Historic District) Tyler City Hall (1938), 212 N. Bonner Avenue, Tyler, Texas (Simons, T. Shirley, Sr.), NRHP-listed Tyler Junior College original campus building plan Tyler Little Theatre (1939), 1014 W. Houston, Tyler, Texas 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 White House, aka The Castle (1929), 116 Lindsey Lane, Tyler, Texas Willow Brook Country Club, 3205 West Erwin Street, Tyler, Texas Witherup Home (1932), 212 West Dobbs Street, Tyler, Texas Woman's Building (1931), 911 South Broadway, Tyler, Texas (part of the Azalea Residential Historic District) (Shirley Simons, Sr., and Sam R. Hill)
Works in Lufkin, Texas Angelina Hotel, West Shepherd and South First, Lufkin, Texas Bowers-Felts House, 1213 Lotus Lane, Lufkin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed Brookshire, Houston-Yeates House, 304 E. Howe Street, Lufkin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed Central Ward Grammar School, Lufkin, Texas (demolished) Everitt-Cox House (1922 remodel), 418 Moore, Lufkin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed First National Bank Building, northeast corner of Lufkin Avenue and First Street, Lufkin, Texas Kurth Memorial Library, Cotton Square facing Lufkin Avenue, Lufkin, Texas Kurth Ward Grammar School, Lufkin, Texas Pines Theatre, 113 South First Street, Lufkin, Texas, NRHP-listed School on South Raguet, Lufkin, Texas Shands Gymnasium, Lufkin, Texas (demolished)
Works in other cities Austin Daily Tribune Building (1941), 920 Colorado, Austin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed Houston Museum of ArtThe original neo-classical building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston was built in 1926 and designed by William Ward Watkin. Simons worked with Watkin in the early 1920s, and it is likely that this is the "Houston Museum of Art" building referenced in the previous source. Nacogdoches High School Gym and Auditorium, Nacogdoches, Texas San Augustine County Courthouse and Jail (1927), Courthouse Square, San Augustine, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed 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 The Ashcroft House, 333 College Street, Sulphur Springs, Texas (a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark) University of Texas Student Health Center, Austin, Texas
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