Norcross Brothers Contractors and Builders was a prominent nineteenth-century American construction company, especially noted for their work, mostly in stone, for the architectural firms of H.H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White.
The Norcross brothers: James Atkinson (
b. 24 Mar. 1831) and Orlando Whitney (
b. 26 Oct. 1839) were born in Maine to Jesse Springer Norcross, proprietor of Norcross Mills and Margaret Ann [Whitney] and moved to
Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester is a city in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Having a population of 172,648 in the 2000 census, Worcester is ranked the second or third largest city in New England. It is the county seat of Worcester County....
in 1868.
Norcross Brothers Contractors and Builders was a prominent nineteenth-century American construction company, especially noted for their work, mostly in stone, for the architectural firms of H.H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White.
The Norcross brothers: James Atkinson (
b. 24 Mar. 1831) and Orlando Whitney (
b. 26 Oct. 1839) were born in Maine to Jesse Springer Norcross, proprietor of Norcross Mills and Margaret Ann [Whitney] and moved to
Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester is a city in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Having a population of 172,648 in the 2000 census, Worcester is ranked the second or third largest city in New England. It is the county seat of Worcester County....
in 1868. Their pedigree descends from Philip Norcross and his wife, Sarah [Jackson], the brothers' paternal great - great grandparents, originally of Watertown, MA. Skilled construction
carpenterA carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who performs carpentry. Carpenters work with wood to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
s, they opened their own construction company and in 1869 contracted to build the new Worcester high school building designed by a young architect, H.H. Richardson. From that point on the brothers became Richardson's primary contractors; ultimately, they were to build more than thirty of his designs, including three that are considered his best work,
Trinity ChurchTrinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay of Boston, Massachusetts, is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 3,000 households, was founded in 1733. The current rector is The Reverend Anne Bonnyman...
in Boston, Massachusetts, the Marshall Fields & Company building in Chicago, Illinois and the
Allegheny County CourthouseThe Allegheny County Courthouse is a government building of Allegheny County located in the county seat, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.- Previous Courthouses :...
in
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the second largest city in the state. Its population was 334,563 at the 2000 census; by 2006, it was estimated to have fallen to 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is...
.
Following the death of Richardson, the brothers became the contractor for many of McKim, Mead & White's projects. When MM&W opened a new office in New York City, in 1894, the Norcross Brothers had within it, their own space. As had been the case with Richardson, much of the value of the Norcross Brothers to MM&W, and other architects, were Orlands Norcross's engineering skills. Though largely self-taught, he had developed the skills needed to solve the vast engineering problems brought to him by his clients. For example, the size of the dome at the Rhode Island Capitol was expanded very late in the design process, perhaps even after construction had begun, so that it would be larger than the one just completed by
Cass GilbertCass Gilbert was a prominent American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers in works like the Woolworth Building, Gilbert was also responsible for numerous museums and libraries , state capitol buildings as well as...
for the Minnesota Capitol.
Because of their need for stone, a primary building material of the time, was outpacing the supply the brothers eventually acquired their own stone quarries, first in Connecticut (
BranfordBranford is a shoreline town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, eight miles east of New Haven. The population was 29,089 in 2005, according to the U.S...
) (now on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
) and in Massachusetts, and later in
Westchester County, New YorkWestchester County is a primarily suburban county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of 450 square miles and has a diverse population of approximately 950,000, residing in 45 municipalities...
and in Georgia.
In all, the company is credited with completing over 650 building projects.
Selected H.H. Richardson projects
- Ames Monument
The Ames Monument is a large pyramid dedicated to brothers Oakes Ames and Oliver Ames, Jr., Union Pacific Railroad financiers. The brothers garnered credit for connecting the nation by rail upon completion of the United States' first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Oakes, a U.S...
, Laramie, WyomingLaramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 27,204 at the 2000 census. Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S...
, Augustus Saint-GaudensAugustus Saint-Gaudens , was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
, sculptor, 1882
Projects for other architects
- Juniper Hall, later Masonic Hospital, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Shrewsbury is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Shrewsbury is an unusual New England town in that it was neither a mill town nor a farming village. Rather, it grew as a suburb to neighboring Worcester from the start...
, James Earle, architecthttp://www.prospectfriends.org/History.html
- Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, The Art Institute of Chicago. Providing degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels, SAIC...
, Shepley, Rutan and CoolidgeShepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry Hobson Richardson....
, Chicago, Illinois, 1892
- Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, New York
Albany is a city in the United States of America; it is the capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city sits on the Hudson River and...
, Robert Gibson, Architect, begun 1884
- Jersey City Public Library, Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population of Jersey City was 240,055, making it New Jersey's second-largest city, behind Newark. As of the Census Bureau's 2007 estimate, the population had grown to 242,389...
, Brite & Bacon, architects, 1901
- Low Library
The Low Memorial Library is the administrative center of Columbia University. Built in 1895 by University President Seth Low in memory of his father, Abiel Abbot Low, and financed with $1 million of Low's own money due to the recalcitrance of university alumni, it is the focal point and most...
, 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...
, 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...
, McKim, Mead and White, architects,
- Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall may refer to:Concert halls* Allentown Symphony Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States* Symphony Hall, Birmingham* Symphony Hall, Boston* Phoenix Symphony Hall in Phoenix, Arizona* Symphony Hall, Springfield...
, Boston, Massachusetts, McKim, Mead and White, architects, 1900
- Gates for Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Having a population of 172,648 in the 2000 census, Worcester is ranked the second or third largest city in New England. It is the county seat of Worcester County....
, 1915
- Crouse Memorial College, Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2000 census, the city population was 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New...
, Archimedes RussellArchimedes Russell was an American architect most active in the Syracuse, New York area.Born in Andover, Massachusetts and trained under local architect Horatio Nelson White, Russell served as a professor of architecture at Syracuse University from 1873 through 1881.In the course of his career he...
, architect, 1897
- Worcester City Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts, Peabody and Stearns, architects, 1895 - 98
- The Algonquin Club
The Algonquin Club of Boston is a private club in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1886 by a group including General Charles Taylor. Originally a men's business club, it is now open to men and women of all races, faiths, and nationalities....
, Boston, McKim, Mead and White, architects, 1886
- Adams Memorial, McKim, Mead and White, architects, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, sculptor, Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery — also Rock Creek Church Cemetery — is an cemetery with a natural rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C...
, Washington D.C., 1891
- Millicent Library, Brigham & Spofford architects, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, 1893, as well as numerous other public libraries, mostly in the north eastern part of the United States.
- Norcross Mausoleum, Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1903
- Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington D.C.
- Leicester Congregational Church
- New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is one of the leading public libraries of the world and is one of the United States's most significant research libraries. It is composed of a very large circulating public library system combined with a very large non-lending research library system...
, McKim, Mead and White, architects,
- Harvard Medical Building, 1906
- Rhode Island State Capitol Building, McKim, Mead and White, architects, 1895 - 1904
- Gatehouses and Pavilion, Vanderbilt
The Vanderbilt family is a significant international family with Dutch origins, who were highly prominent during the 1800s due to the family patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt, the tenth wealthiest person in history, who created railroad and shipping empires...
Mansion, McKim, Mead and White, architects, Hyde Park, New YorkHyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the birthplace of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
, 1896 - 98
External links
- http://college.holycross.edu/projects/worcester/institutions/norcross.htm
- http://norcross.ca