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. 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. 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 Marvin United Methodist Church (1942 remodel and parsonage), 300 W. Erwin St., Tyler, Texas, NRHP-listed St. John's AF & AM Lodge, 323 W. Front Street, Tyler, Texas (Simons, T. Shirley Sr.), NRHP-listed 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 Woman's Building (1931), 911 South Broadway, Tyler, Texas (part of the Azalea Residential Historic District) (Shirley Simons, Sr., and Sam R. Hill) Bowers-Felts House, 1213 Lotus Lane, Lufkin, Texas (Simons, Shirley), NRHP-listed First National Bank Building, northeast corner of Lufkin Avenue and First Street, Lufkin, Texas Nacogdoches High School Gym and Auditorium, Nacogdoches, Texas 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