James Renwick, Jr. (November 11, 1818, Bloomingdale,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in upper
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
– June 23, 1895,
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), was a prominent American
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
in the 19th-century.
The Encyclopedia of American Architecture calls him "one of the most successful American architects of his time".
Renwick was born into a wealthy and well-educated family. His mother, Margaret Brevoort, was from a wealthy and socially prominent New York family.
James Renwick, Jr. (November 11, 1818, Bloomingdale,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in upper
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
– June 23, 1895,
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), was a prominent American
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
in the 19th-century.
The Encyclopedia of American Architecture calls him "one of the most successful American architects of his time".
Life and work
Renwick was born into a wealthy and well-educated family. His mother, Margaret Brevoort, was from a wealthy and socially prominent New York family. His father,
James RenwickJames Renwick , was an English-American scientist and engineer.He graduated from Columbia College in 1807. In 1820 he was appointed professor of chemistry and physics in that college, a position he held until 1854. In 1838 he was appointed by the U.S...
, was an engineer, architect, and professor of natural philosophy at Columbia College, now
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
. His two brothers were also engineers.
Renwick is buried in
Green-Wood CemeteryGreen-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Kings County, New York, now in Brooklyn. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and father.
Renwick was not formally trained as an architect. His ability and interest in building design were nurtured through his cultivated background, which granted him early exposure to travel, and through a broad cultural education that included architectural history. He learned the skills from his father. He studied engineering at
ColumbiaColumbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus of Morningside Heights in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King...
, entering at age twelve and graduating in 1836. He received an M.A. three years later. On graduating, he took a position as structural
engineerEngineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness"...
with the Erie Railroad and subsequently served as supervisor on the Croton Reservoir, acting as an assistant engineer on the
Croton AqueductThe Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842...
in New York City.
Renwick received his first major commission, at the age of twenty-five, in 1843 when he won the competition to design
Grace ChurchGrace Church, also known as Grace Church and Dependencies, at 802 Broadway in New York City, is a historic full-service parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
, an Episcopal church in New York City, which was executed in the English Gothic style. In 1846 Renwick won the competition for the design of the
Smithsonian Institution BuildingThe Smithsonian Institution Building, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center...
in Washington, DC. Built between 1847 and 1855, the many-turreted building, generally referred to as ‘the Castle’, was designed in the Romanesque style, as requested by the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian, and was built of red sandstone quarried in Seneca, Maryland. It was a major influence in the Gothic revival in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 1849, Renwick designed the Free Academy Building (
City College of New YorkThe City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
), New York City, at Lexington Avenue and 23rd Street. It was one of the first Gothic Revival college buildings on the East Coast.
Renwick went on to design what is considered his finest achievement, and his best-known building,
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New YorkSaint Patrick's Cathedral is adecorated Neo-Gothic-style Catholic cathedral church in the United States. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and a parish church, located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan,...
, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and
51st Street51st Street is a long one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-East 51st Street:*The route officially begins at Beekman Place which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive...
. He was chosen as architect for the cathedral in 1853, construction began in 1858, and the cathedral opened in May 1879. The cathedral is the most ambitious essay in Gothic that the revival of the style produced and is a mixture of German, French, and English Gothic influences.
During the same period of his triumph of St. Patrick's Cathedral, he designed the first chapter house of
St. Anthony Hall/Delta PsiSt. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society formerly known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
, the secret fraternal college society which had founded at Columbia University in 1847. Though the 1879 structure is marred now by a storefront at the street level, floors two through four still rise up at 29 E. 28th Street, New York. Christopher Gray in the
New York Times in 1990 wrote that "Old photographs show a high stoop arrangement with the figure of an owl on the peeked roof and a plaque with the Greek letters Delta Psi over the windowless chapter room. In 1879, The New York Tribune called it
French RenaissanceRenaissance Revival is an all-encompassing style designation that covers many aspects of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
, but the stumpy pilasters and blocky detailing suggest the
Neo-GrecNeo-Grec is a term referring to late manifestations of Neoclassicism, early Neo-Renaissance now called the Greek Revival style, which was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III, a period that lasted...
style then near the end of its popularity." In 1899 the fraternity occupied a new chapter house at 434 Riverside Drive that echoed many of the motifs of Renwick's structure, and Renwick's 28th Street building was for a few years kept as a clubhouse for graduate members. At that time a newspaper account described it as a "perfect Bijou of tasteful decoration".
Among other buildings that Renwick designed was the
Corcoran Gallery of ArtThe Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Ian Hornak, Paul Manship, Chryssa Vardea Mavromichali, Claude Monet, Rembrandt,...
(now home to the Smithsonian's
Renwick GalleryThe Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, located in Washington, D.C., and focuses on American craft and decorative arts from the 19th century to the 21st century...
), in the Second Empire style, in Washington D.C. (1859-1871). Other commissions included the first major buildings on the campus of
Vassar CollegeVassar College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college situated in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. Founded as a women's college in 1861, it became coeducational in 1969.-Overview:...
in
PoughkeepsiePoughkeepsie is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 42,777 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the native term, "Uppu-qui-ipis-in," which means "reed-covered hut by the water."...
, New York (1861-1865), including the
Main HallMain Building is on the Vassar College campus in Poughkeepsie, New York. It was built by James Renwick Jr. in the Second Empire style in 1861, the second building in the history of what was one of America's first women's colleges. At the time, it housed the entire college, including dormitories,...
(1860); Saint Bartholomew's Church (1871-1872) in New York City; All Saints' Roman Catholic Church (1882-1893) in
HarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.Harlem has been defined by a series...
in the Victorian Gothic style; many mansions for the wealthy of New York; banks; the Charity and Smallpox Hospitals on
Roosevelt IslandRoosevelt Island, formerly known as Welfare Island , and before that Blackwell's Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City. It lies between the island of Manhattan to its west and the borough of Queens to its east...
; the main building of the Children's Hospital on
Randall's IslandRandall's Island is situated in the East River in New York City, part of the borough of Manhattan . It is separated from Manhattan island on the west by the river's main channel, from Queens on the east by the Hell Gate, and from the Bronx on the north by the Bronx Kill. It is joined to Ward's...
; the Inebriate and Lunatic Asylums on
Ward's IslandWard's Island is situated in the East River in New York City. Administratively it is part of the borough of Manhattan. It is bridged by rail to the borough of Queens by the Hell Gate Bridge and it is joined to Randall's Island to the north by landfill...
; and the former facade of the
New York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar value of its listed companies' securities...
; the Peter Aims-Aimes house, "Martinstow", West Haven, Connecticut. Renwick was also supervising architect for the Commission of Charities and Correction. A small group of Renwick's architectural drawings and papers are held by the
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts LibraryThe Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is one of twenty-five libraries in the Columbia University Library System and is located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the City of New York. It is the largest architecture library in the United States...
at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
.
Renwick also designed the bell tower of the Cathedral of St. Augustine,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
. The work was commissioned by
Standard OilStandard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as an Ohio corporation, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
partner Henry M. Flagler who was building luxury hotels in the historic city at the time. Renwick and his wife Anna Aspinwall lived and owned property in the lighthouse area of St. Augustine on
Anastasia IslandAnastasia Island is an island off the northeast Atlantic coast of Florida in the United States. The island is located east and southeast of St. Augustine. Part of the island is within St. Augustine city limits, while other communities on the island include St. Augustine Beach, Coquina Gables,...
.
Renwick's Proteges
Several of Renwick's proteges became influential architects in their own right, including:
- Bertram Goodhue
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was a renowned American architect celebrated for his work in neo-gothic design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for the Merrymount Press....
, who was a partner of Ralph Adams CramRalph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style.-Early life:...
and whose designs included the Wolf's Head Secret SocietyWolf's Head Society is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT. W.H.S. is recomposed annually of sixteen junior year Yale College students. Undergraduate members spend their senior year as a delegation answerable to the graduate body, composed of past members,...
Hall at YaleRapidMiner is an environment for machine learning and data mining experiments. It allows experiments to be made up of a large number of arbitrarily nestable operators, described in XML files which are created with RapidMiner's graphical user interface...
and the Nebraska State CapitolThe City of Lincoln is the capital and the second most populous city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska...
building. In lieu of formal training he had moved to New York in 1884 to apprentice at the architectural firm of Renwick, Aspinwall and Russell. Goodhue's apprenticeship ended in 1891 when he won a design competition for St. Matthew's in Dallas, TexasDallas , with a population of 1,279,910, is the third-largest city in Texas and the 8th-largest in the United States. The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area that according to the March 2009 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of...
. His first years with Renwick's firm partly coincided with Russell's first years, below.
- William Hamilton Russell, (1856-1907), grand nephew of Renwick and later partner in Clinton & Russell (founded in 1894 in New York City) and responsible for numerous buildings in New York including the Beaver Building, Mecca Masonic Temple, better known as New York City Center
New York City Center, originally known as City Center of Music and Drama, and also known as New York City Center 55th Street Theater, is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival concert hall located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of...
, and The LanghamThe Langham is an apartment building in Manhattan, New York City, United States, located along Central Park West. After the site stood idle for more than 15 years, the building was constructed between 1905 and 1907. Built at a cost of US$2 million, the structure included modern amenities, such as...
Apartments. Upon graduation in 1887, Russell became a protege of his great uncle, who designed the chapter house of Russell's fraternity, St. Anthony Hall, at 25 East 28th Street, New York in 1878, the same year Renwick completed St. Patrick's Cathedral, New YorkSaint Patrick's Cathedral is adecorated Neo-Gothic-style Catholic cathedral church in the United States. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and a parish church, located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan,...
. It is likely Russell contributed work to both his fraternity's first chapter house as well as the cathedral during his apprenticeship with Renwick.
- John Wellborn Root
John Wellborn Root was a significant American architect who worked out of Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago school style. Root was born son of Sidney Root in Lumpkin, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta...
.
Major buildings designed
- Grace Church, New York
Grace Church, also known as Grace Church and Dependencies, at 802 Broadway in New York City, is a historic full-service parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
(1843-1846)
- Calvary Church, New York (1846-1847)
- Former St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society formerly known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
Chapter House, New York (circa 1879)
- Smithsonian Institution Building
The Smithsonian Institution Building, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center...
, Washington, D.C. (1847-1855)
- Free Academy Building (City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
) (1849), Lexington Avenue and 23rd Street.
- Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel
The Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel, also known as the Renwick Chapel or James Renwick Chapel, is a historic building in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. Designed by James Renwick, Jr. in 1850, Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel is the architect's only known example of Gothic Revival...
, Washington, D.C. (1850)
- Courthouse, Fredericksburg, Virginia (1852)
- St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
Saint Patrick's Cathedral is adecorated Neo-Gothic-style Catholic cathedral church in the United States. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and a parish church, located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan,...
(1858-1879)
- Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Ian Hornak, Paul Manship, Chryssa Vardea Mavromichali, Claude Monet, Rembrandt,...
(currently the Renwick GalleryThe Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, located in Washington, D.C., and focuses on American craft and decorative arts from the 19th century to the 21st century...
), Washington, D.C. (1859-1871)
- Main Building (Vassar College)
Main Building is on the Vassar College campus in Poughkeepsie, New York. It was built by James Renwick Jr. in the Second Empire style in 1861, the second building in the history of what was one of America's first women's colleges. At the time, it housed the entire college, including dormitories,...
, PoughkeepsiePoughkeepsie is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 42,777 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the native term, "Uppu-qui-ipis-in," which means "reed-covered hut by the water."...
, New York (1861-1865)
- Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour
The Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault is the oldest cathedral in Minnesota. Built 1862 - 1869, it was the first church in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America designed as a cathedral. The architect was James Renwick, Jr., who also designed St. Patrick's Cathedral in New...
, Faribault, MinnesotaFaribault is a city in Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 20,818 at the 2000 census, and currently has a population of 25,000 to 30,000 people. It is the county seat of Rice County. Faribault is approximately 50 miles south of Minneapolis and St...
(1862-1869)
- Cathedral High School, New York (1869)
- Greymore Friars' Residence, New York City (1869)
- St. Bartholomew's Church, New York (1871-1872)
- Second Presbyterian Church (Chicago, Illinois) (1872-1874)
External links
Source
- Packard, Robert. (Ed.) (1995). The Encyclopedia of American Architecture (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.