Clarence Blackall
Encyclopedia
Clarence Howard Blackall (1857–1942) was an American architect
who is estimated to have designed 300 theatres.
He was born in Brooklyn
, New York in 1857. He attended college at the University of Illinois School of Architecture
, graduating with a B.S. in 1877, and received training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
in Paris. He arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1882, where he was recognized for both his architectural innovations and his designs of significant Boston landmarks including the Colonial Theatre
, Wilbur Theatre
, Modern and Metropolitan (now the Wang Center
for Performing Arts) theatres.
Blackall was a senior member of the Boston architectural firm Blackall, Clapp and Whittemore, and in 1889 he helped establish the Boston Architectural College
as a club for local architects and as a training program for draftsman.
He designed the 1894 Carter Winthrop Building
, which was the first steel frame structure in the city of Boston. In addition to its innovative technology, the structure also used terra cotta
trim and featured a dramatic, deep, and overhanging cornice
. Blackall is also credited with designing the Copley Plaza Hotel
, the Foellinger Auditorium
(1907) on the University of Illinois campus, as well as the Little Building (1917) at Emerson College
on the site of the Pelham Hotel (1857), the "first apartment house in any city along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States" according to noted architectural historian Walter Muir Whitehill.
Opened in 1908 and designed by Blackall, the Gaiety Theatre
was one of the only theatres in New England that would allow African Americans to perform vaudeville
. It was also the first of Blackall’s theatres to use a large steel girder
to support the balcony, eliminating the need for architectural columns. Blackall was also responsible for Nathan H. Gordon
's Olympia Theatre design, which opened as a film and vaudeville theatre on May 6, 1912.
Blackall died in Concord, Massachusetts on March 5, 1942.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who is estimated to have designed 300 theatres.
He was born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York in 1857. He attended college at the University of Illinois School of Architecture
University of Illinois School of Architecture
The University of Illinois School of Architecture is an academic unit with in the College of Fine & Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign....
, graduating with a B.S. in 1877, and received training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris. He arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1882, where he was recognized for both his architectural innovations and his designs of significant Boston landmarks including the Colonial Theatre
Colonial Theatre
The Colonial Theatre is the oldest continually-operating theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Designed by the architectural firm of Clarence Blackall and paid for by Frederick Lothrop Ames the theatre first opened its doors for a performance of Ben-Hur on December 20, 1900...
, Wilbur Theatre
Wilbur Theatre
Wilbur Theatre is a historic theater at 244-250 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in Boston's theatre district.Clarence Blackall built the theatre in 1913. The National Historic Register added the Wilbur in 1980....
, Modern and Metropolitan (now the Wang Center
Wang Center
Wang Center may refer to :*Citi Performing Arts Center, located in Boston, Massachusetts, was known as the "Wang Center for the Performing Arts" from 1983 to 2006, due to the financial donation and work of computer entrepreneur An Wang . In 2006, the Center received its current name due to a...
for Performing Arts) theatres.
Blackall was a senior member of the Boston architectural firm Blackall, Clapp and Whittemore, and in 1889 he helped establish the Boston Architectural College
Boston Architectural College
Boston Architectural College , formerly known as the Boston Architectural Center, is New England's largest independent college of spatial design. It offers first-professional bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and design studies...
as a club for local architects and as a training program for draftsman.
He designed the 1894 Carter Winthrop Building
Winthrop Building
Winthrop Building is an historic steel frame skyscraper at 7 Water Street in Boston, Massachusetts.The early skyscraper was built in 1894 on the site of Puritan Governor John Winthrop's second house in downtown Boston. The building was added to the National Historic Register in 1974...
, which was the first steel frame structure in the city of Boston. In addition to its innovative technology, the structure also used terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
trim and featured a dramatic, deep, and overhanging cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
. Blackall is also credited with designing the Copley Plaza Hotel
Copley Plaza Hotel
The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel is a Forbes three-star, AAA four-diamond hotel in downtown Boston, Massachusetts owned by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. It stands on Copley Square, by the John Hancock Tower.-Construction and opening:...
, the Foellinger Auditorium
Foellinger Auditorium
Foellinger Auditorium is a building located on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus in Urbana, Illinois. It is the southernmost building on the main quad, and is directly across the quad from the Illini Union. Its sheer size and its dome shape make it one university’s most...
(1907) on the University of Illinois campus, as well as the Little Building (1917) at Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
on the site of the Pelham Hotel (1857), the "first apartment house in any city along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States" according to noted architectural historian Walter Muir Whitehill.
Opened in 1908 and designed by Blackall, the Gaiety Theatre
Gaiety Theatre
The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St. Stephen's Green. It specialises in operatic and musical productions, with occasional dramatic shows.-History:Designed by architect C.J...
was one of the only theatres in New England that would allow African Americans to perform vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
. It was also the first of Blackall’s theatres to use a large steel girder
Girder
A girder is a support beam used in construction. Girders often have an I-beam cross section for strength, but may also have a box shape, Z shape or other forms. Girder is the term used to denote the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams...
to support the balcony, eliminating the need for architectural columns. Blackall was also responsible for Nathan H. Gordon
Nathan H. Gordon
Nathan Harry Gordon, motion picture executive, was born in Vilna, Russian Empire , March 15, 1872, the son of a medical practitioner. He attended a college at Vilna, taking the rabbinical course, and came to the United States in 1890...
's Olympia Theatre design, which opened as a film and vaudeville theatre on May 6, 1912.
Blackall died in Concord, Massachusetts on March 5, 1942.
Further reading
- C.H. Blackall. Some superfluous requirements of our theatre laws. American Architect, v.107, no.2049, March 31, 1915.
External links
- Boston Public Library. Blackall, Clarence (1857-1942) Collection