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T.G. Heuser Co. Encyclopedia
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Larry Collins - Builder
By Tom Heuser and Penelope Cottrell-Crawford for Willamette Cultural Resources Associates, November 3, 2023.
Born in Pittsburgh, Kansas, Lawrence “Larry” Oravine Collins (1908–1999) spent his formative years on a farm in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. While there, Collins followed his family’s ancestral tradition dating back to 1635 and took up carpentry under the employ of his father, Arthur E. Collins (1875–1952).[1] As environmental and economic conditions worsened in South Dakota and the central U.S. in the 1920s as a result of overplowing of arid lands during WWI, the Collins family relocated to Vancouver in 1926.[2] Here, the father-son duo entered the home construction business and their earliest reported project was a residence at 509 West 23rd Street in 1927.[3]
In 1929, Collins went to work for the Union Bridge Company (UBC) through which he worked on the Cape Horn Mountain Bridge and other large projects throughout Oregon. Collins continued to work for UBC through 1932 while simultaneously building houses with his father in Vancouver’s Shumway and Arnada neighborhoods.[4] After leaving UBC for lack of work, Collins married Mercedes McNeff (1909–1993) in June 1932.[5] As the Great Depression worsened going into the nationwide banking crisis of 1933, construction work was sparse for the newlywed carpenter who took up delivery work for Standard Fuel in Portland that year.
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Larry Collins
Collins did not return to construction work until October of 1935 when he started work on a residence at 24th and G Streets that year.[6] He completed it by the middle of 1936.[7] It was here that his independent construction business began and later became a full-time operation in 1937. Standing out among the many homes he built during the late 1930s was the Sparks Hardware General Electric Model Home at 302 Edwards Lane (image 1). Designed by architect Donald J. Stewart (1895–1996), its purpose was to feature the latest electrical conveniences and by extension, promote homeownership.[8]
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The Collins name became tied with the residential landscape of central Vancouver: by 1941 his firm had completed at least 12 single-family homes in the Arnada neighborhood alone.[9] Research has revealed that seven of the approximately 12 single-family homes constructed in Arnada by Collins during this decade were demolished or removed when a segment of I Street was obliterated for the I-5 expansion during the 1950s.
During WWII, Collins then obtained his largest independent project yet: a federally funded contract to build up to 160 modest homes for war workers in the Telecaset Heights subdivision (now the Lincoln neighborhood) of Vancouver (image 3).[10] After this first large-scale project, Collins’ business grew substantially going into the postwar construction boom. To meet the demand for his services, he founded two separate corporations, Collins Homes, Inc. and Larry O. Collins, Inc., general contractors in 1952.
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T.G. Heuser Co. Encyclopedia
From here, Collins went on to become one of Vancouver’s most prolific and successful builders whose work defined much of Vancouver’s postwar built environment, which Columbian writer James Fowler described as the “Collins Touch” in 1964. That same year, Collins estimated that he had constructed “well over 1,000” homes in the area. He had also expanded into non-residential projects both large and small, ranging from a 30 by 75-foot concrete dry-cleaning plant designed by architect Day Walter Hilborn (1897–1971) in 1948 to six educational buildings for Clark College in 1957 (see slideshow below). He also built or remodeled every school in District 37.[11] Collins continued to oversee his vast construction enterprises until his retirement in the mid-1970s when he passed the business to his son Mike Collins.[12] Collins’ descendants continued to successfully operate the business until the impact of the 2008 housing and banking crisis forced his grandsons to cease its operations in 2011. At that time, Casey Collins reported that Larry O. Collins Inc. “at the peak of Clark County’s commercial construction boom… generated about $8 million per year in gross sales.”[13]
Last updated: September 4, 2024.
**Please see following page below for how to cite this article and for bibliographic end notes.***
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Larry Collins
To cite this article:
Chicago Manual of Style Bibliography:
Cottrell-Crawford, Penelope & Tom G. Heuser. “Collins, Lawrence “Larry” O. (1908–1999).” Willamette Cultural Resources Associates. Seattle, WA: November 3, 2023. https://www.willamettecra.com/larrycollins, accessed Month DD, YYYY.
Chicago Manual of Style Footnote:
Penelope Cottrell-Crawford & Tom G. Heuser, “Collins, Lawrence “Larry” O. (1908–1999),” Willamette Cultural Resources Associates. (Seattle, WA: November 3, 2023). https://www.willamettecra.com/larrycollins, accessed Month DD, YYYY.
Society of American Archaeologists Bibliography:
Cottrell-Crawford, Penelope & Tom G. Heuser. 2023. Collins, Lawrence “Larry” O. (1908–1999). Willamette Cultural Resources Associates, November 3. https://www.willamettecra.com/larrycollins, accessed Month DD, YYYY.
Bibliography
[1] “Obituaries: Larry O. Collins,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), February 17, 1999, 16.
[2] Kathleen Corbett, et. al, The History of Agriculture in South Dakota: Components for a Fully Developed Historic Context. (Broomfield, CO: SWCA Environmental Consultants, 2013), 20-21.
[3] “A.E. Collins Has Roddie Anderson Job,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), October 31, 1927, 2; “Death Calls A.E. Collins,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), December 8, 1952, 13.
[4] “New Brick House Built By Collins Will Cost $3,800,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), February 9, 1931, 4; “City News In Brief: To Erect Dwelling,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), February 19, 1930, 1; “Permit To Build House,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), October 3, 1931, 5.
[5] “Obituaries: Mercedes M. Collins,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), February 21, 1993, 4.
[6] “Pour Basement For New Home,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), October 28, 1935, 8.
[7] “Urban Dwelling Near Complete,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), June 13, 1936, 4.
[8] “Sparks’ General Electric Model Home To Be Open Sunday,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), December 8, 1939, 7; Michael C. Houser, “Donald J. Stewart,” Docomomo Wewa. Accessed May 12, 2023. https://www.docomomo-wewa.org/architect/stewart-donald-j.
[9] “English Cottage Will be Thrown Open for Public Inspection,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), May 22, 1937, 9. The services used in the construction of many residences in Vancouver included those of the Columbia Feed and Fuel company and N.S. Ivans and Sons, concrete contractors.
[10] “New Housing Project Slated: L.O. Collins To Build Telocaset Heights Project,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), April 27, 1942, 4.
[11] “Dry Cleaning Plant Planned,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), March 11, 1948, 2; “Bids For new Clark JC Construction In Barracks Top $1.5 Million Mark,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), April 15, 1957, 7; Michael C. Houser, “Day W. Hilborn,” Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, October 2011. Accessed May 12, 2023. https://dahp.wa.gov/historic-preservation/research-and-technical-preservation-guidance/architect-biographies/bio-for-day-w-hilborn.
[12] Cami Joner, “Building Firm Close After 78 Years,” The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), March 15, 2011, E1.
[13] Cami Joner, “Building Firm Close After 78 Years.”