William Halsey Wood
Encyclopedia
William Halsey Wood was an American
architect
, born at the Village of Dansville, New York
on April 24, 1855. He died at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
on March 13, 1897.
to Newark, NJ, where Daniel Wood's company manufactured varnish. Family spiritual life centered around the House of Prayer, an Anglo-Catholic congregation where the children were introduced to ritualist liturgy and William became a member of the choir, eventually serving as its director.
Wood prepared for the architectural profession in a typical nineteenth-century pattern of practical experience and apprenticeship. During an unspecified time circa 1880, he is reported to have traveled to England and gained employment in the office of George Frederick Bodley
, a leading figure in the High-church or Anglo-Catholic movement within the Anglican Communion
. The Bodley connection is consistent with Wood's youthful experience at the House of Prayer, and that, with other family connections to the High Church
party within Anglicanism, ultimately contributed to the character of Wood's own mature work.
On 19 November 1889, Wood married Florence Hemsley, a Philadelphian and member of the Church of St. James the Less
in that city, one of the most prominent Anglo-Catholic congregations in America. The Woods bore three children: Emily (1890), William Halsey, Jr. (1892), and Alexander (1894).
.
The young architect's earliest documented commission was an 1878 house for his older brother D. Smith Wood in Newark, NJ. There followed a variety of residential work, from a modest duplex for speculative investment to large suburban homes and urban townhouses. Three of his suburban homes were featured in Artistic Country-Seats by G. W. Sheldon, an 1886 publication that included work by McKim, Mead & White, Wilson Eyre
and other notable turn-of-the-century designers. Wood's largest home, "Yaddo
," was built in Saratoga Springs, NY for New York financier and philanthropist Spencer Trask
and his wife Katrina Trask; "Yaddo
" continues in use today as the home of a working colony of artists and writers. But church clients formed the largest part of Wood's practice, especially for his own denomination; from 1885 until his death Wood designed more than forty churches and parish buildings, all but four of them for Episcopal congregations.
The architect's clients and projects varied widely. The rural Church of St. John the Evangelist
(1885), at Hunter/Tannersville, NY, for example, was designed for Wood's own family as a seasonal parish without resident clergy; Wood and his wife Florence Hemsley married there in 1889, with Wood's own brother Rev. Alonzo Lippincot Wood conducting the service and the bishop of Tennessee in attendance. The modest "Queen Anne" or "Eastlake" design, built of local granite boulders and wood-frame construction, expressed ecclesiological design principles promoted by the Oxford Movement
.
At the opposite extreme, Wood entered and was one of four finalists in the competition for New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, an unsuccessful proposal that would have been larger than any of its European counterparts. More typical examples of his work were for urban congregations in Newark, Passaic, Paterson and other communities in northeastern New Jersey and in New York City.
The geographic range of Wood's client list was also wide, including commissions in Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and Wyoming. His most distant commission was for Saint John's University, Shanghai
, China. Two of these commissions were cathedrals: St. Mary's at Memphis, Tennessee
and St. Matthew's at Laramie, Wyoming. With few significant deviations, these churches were "Gothic Revival" or "Richardsonian Romanesque
" in style and adhered closely to liturgical design principles promoted by the High Church party and its publishing organs The New-York Ecclesiologist and, later, The Churchman.
One of the first to re-appraise Wood in a more positive light was the early 20th century medievalist, Ralph Adams Cram
, himself a competitor for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Writing ten years after Wood's death, Cram observed "...he thought Gothic as instinctively as the best thirteenth-century master-mason of them all," and that "religious architecture staggered under the blow" when Wood died of tuberculosis in 1897 at the age of 41. Almost three decades later, Cram's enthusiasm was unabated, writing "For my own part I think Halsey Wood was potentially one of the greatest architects of modern times."
Another positive assessment came in 1936 from architectural critic and urban theorist Lewis Mumford
, whose writings were instrumental in understanding the 1880s "as the seedbed of modern architecture." In "The Sky Line," his regular column in The New Yorker, Mumford linked Wood with H. H. Richardson and others who had lain the groundwork for Modernism.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
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...
, born at the Village of Dansville, New York
Dansville, Livingston County, New York
Dansville is a village in the town of North Dansville in the eastern part of Livingston County, New York, United States. As of the census, the village population was 4,832. The village is named after Daniel Faulkner, an early settler. Interstate 390 passes next to the west side of the village.-...
on April 24, 1855. He died at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
on March 13, 1897.
Early life
William Halsey Wood was the youngest of four sons born to Daniel Halsey Wood and Hannah Lippincott Wood. Shortly after his birth in 1855, the family relocated from Dansville, New YorkDansville, Livingston County, New York
Dansville is a village in the town of North Dansville in the eastern part of Livingston County, New York, United States. As of the census, the village population was 4,832. The village is named after Daniel Faulkner, an early settler. Interstate 390 passes next to the west side of the village.-...
to Newark, NJ, where Daniel Wood's company manufactured varnish. Family spiritual life centered around the House of Prayer, an Anglo-Catholic congregation where the children were introduced to ritualist liturgy and William became a member of the choir, eventually serving as its director.
Wood prepared for the architectural profession in a typical nineteenth-century pattern of practical experience and apprenticeship. During an unspecified time circa 1880, he is reported to have traveled to England and gained employment in the office of George Frederick Bodley
George Frederick Bodley
George Frederick Bodley was an English architect working in the Gothic revival style.-Personal life:Bodley was the youngest son of William Hulme Bodley, M.D. of Edinburgh, physician at Hull Royal Infirmary, Kingston upon Hull, who in 1838 retired to his wife's home town, Brighton, Sussex, England....
, a leading figure in the High-church or Anglo-Catholic movement within the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. The Bodley connection is consistent with Wood's youthful experience at the House of Prayer, and that, with other family connections to the High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
party within Anglicanism, ultimately contributed to the character of Wood's own mature work.
On 19 November 1889, Wood married Florence Hemsley, a Philadelphian and member of the Church of St. James the Less
Church of St. James the Less
The Church of St. James the Less is a historic Episcopal church building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was architecturally influential. As St...
in that city, one of the most prominent Anglo-Catholic congregations in America. The Woods bore three children: Emily (1890), William Halsey, Jr. (1892), and Alexander (1894).
Career
From his practice in Newark, NJ, Wood focused on two characteristic building types of the late 19th century: large single-family residences and ecclesiastical designs principally for the Episcopal ChurchEpiscopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
.
The young architect's earliest documented commission was an 1878 house for his older brother D. Smith Wood in Newark, NJ. There followed a variety of residential work, from a modest duplex for speculative investment to large suburban homes and urban townhouses. Three of his suburban homes were featured in Artistic Country-Seats by G. W. Sheldon, an 1886 publication that included work by McKim, Mead & White, Wilson Eyre
Wilson Eyre
Wilson Eyre, Jr. was an influential American architect, teacher and writer who practiced in the Philadelphia area...
and other notable turn-of-the-century designers. Wood's largest home, "Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
," was built in Saratoga Springs, NY for New York financier and philanthropist Spencer Trask
Spencer Trask
Spencer Trask was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the electric light bulb and his electricity network...
and his wife Katrina Trask; "Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
" continues in use today as the home of a working colony of artists and writers. But church clients formed the largest part of Wood's practice, especially for his own denomination; from 1885 until his death Wood designed more than forty churches and parish buildings, all but four of them for Episcopal congregations.
The architect's clients and projects varied widely. The rural Church of St. John the Evangelist
Church of St. John the Evangelist (Hunter, New York)
Church of St. John the Evangelist is an historic Episcopal church located in the village of Tannersville, part of the town of Hunter in Greene County, New York. It was built in 1885 and is a one-story, one-by-six bay structure. It is built of light frame construction atop partial fieldstone walls...
(1885), at Hunter/Tannersville, NY, for example, was designed for Wood's own family as a seasonal parish without resident clergy; Wood and his wife Florence Hemsley married there in 1889, with Wood's own brother Rev. Alonzo Lippincot Wood conducting the service and the bishop of Tennessee in attendance. The modest "Queen Anne" or "Eastlake" design, built of local granite boulders and wood-frame construction, expressed ecclesiological design principles promoted by the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
.
At the opposite extreme, Wood entered and was one of four finalists in the competition for New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, an unsuccessful proposal that would have been larger than any of its European counterparts. More typical examples of his work were for urban congregations in Newark, Passaic, Paterson and other communities in northeastern New Jersey and in New York City.
The geographic range of Wood's client list was also wide, including commissions in Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and Wyoming. His most distant commission was for Saint John's University, Shanghai
Saint John's University, Shanghai
St. John's University was an Anglican university located in Shanghai, China. Before the Chinese Civil War it was regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in Shanghai and China...
, China. Two of these commissions were cathedrals: St. Mary's at Memphis, Tennessee
St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis
St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, located near downtown Memphis, Tennessee, is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee and the former cathedral of the old statewide Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee.-History:St...
and St. Matthew's at Laramie, Wyoming. With few significant deviations, these churches were "Gothic Revival" or "Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
" in style and adhered closely to liturgical design principles promoted by the High Church party and its publishing organs The New-York Ecclesiologist and, later, The Churchman.
Assessment
Wood died during an important transition in American architecture; a shift from the exuberance—some have said excesses—of nineteenth-century eclecticism to the functionally-based perspectives of twentieth-century Modernism. Even during his own lifetime, Wood was seen as a participant in that process of transition. The next generation of architects and architectural critics, however, discounted his career as derivative, seeing only the historicist aspects of the architect's work, his reliance upon Medieval prototypes and imagery.One of the first to re-appraise Wood in a more positive light was the early 20th century medievalist, Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
, himself a competitor for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Writing ten years after Wood's death, Cram observed "...he thought Gothic as instinctively as the best thirteenth-century master-mason of them all," and that "religious architecture staggered under the blow" when Wood died of tuberculosis in 1897 at the age of 41. Almost three decades later, Cram's enthusiasm was unabated, writing "For my own part I think Halsey Wood was potentially one of the greatest architects of modern times."
Another positive assessment came in 1936 from architectural critic and urban theorist Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford was an American historian, philosopher of technology, and influential literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a writer...
, whose writings were instrumental in understanding the 1880s "as the seedbed of modern architecture." In "The Sky Line," his regular column in The New Yorker, Mumford linked Wood with H. H. Richardson and others who had lain the groundwork for Modernism.
Selected works
- Christ Church (Episcopal), Bloomfield, NJ (date)
- First Baptist Peddie Memorial ChurchFirst Baptist Peddie Memorial ChurchFirst Baptist Peddie Memorial Church is a historic church at Broad and Fulton Streets in Newark, New Jersey.It was built in 1888 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972....
, Newark, NJ (1888) - Church of St. John the Evangelist, Hunter/TannersvilleChurch of St. John the Evangelist (Hunter, New York)Church of St. John the Evangelist is an historic Episcopal church located in the village of Tannersville, part of the town of Hunter in Greene County, New York. It was built in 1885 and is a one-story, one-by-six bay structure. It is built of light frame construction atop partial fieldstone walls...
, NY (1885) - St. John's Episcopal Church, Passaic, NJ (date)
- St. John's CollegeSaint John's University, ShanghaiSt. John's University was an Anglican university located in Shanghai, China. Before the Chinese Civil War it was regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in Shanghai and China...
, Shanghai, China (date) - St. Mary's Episcopal CathedralSt. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in MemphisSt. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, located near downtown Memphis, Tennessee, is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee and the former cathedral of the old statewide Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee.-History:St...
, Memphis, TN (1897–1898; completed posthumously) - St. Matthew's Episcopal Cathedral, Laramie, WY (date)
- St. Michael and All Angels Church, Anniston, AL (1888)
- St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Paterson, NJ (date)
- St. Paul's Episcopal ChurchSt. Paul's Church (Owego, New York)St. Paul's Church is a historic Episcopal church located at Owego in Tioga County, New York. It is a High Victorian Gothic style structure built of rough cut bluestone trimmed with orange brick and terra cotta...
, Owego, New YorkOwego (village), New YorkOwego is a village in and the county seat of Tioga County, New York, USA. The population was 3,911 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area...
(1893–1894) - St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Chattanooga, TN (date)
- St. Simon-by-the-Sea, Mantoloking, NJ (1888–1889; attributed)
- Breslin Memorial Tower, Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee, TN (date)
- Sixth (now St. Paul's Portuguese) Presbyterian Church, Newark, NJ (1888)
- Wickliffe Presbyterian ChurchWickliffe Presbyterian ChurchWickliffe Presbyterian Church is a historic church at 111 13th Avenue in Newark, New Jersey. It is in Richardsonian Romanesque style and was designed by William Halsey WoodIt was built in 1889....
, Newark, NJ (1888; NRHP-listed; demolished) - YaddoYaddoYaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
, Spencer and Katrina Trask residence, Saratoga Springs, NY (date) - Zion and St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, New York, NY (1891; destroyed by fire)
- St. Mary's Episcopal ChurchSt. Mary's Episcopal Church (Kansas City, Missouri)St. Mary's Episcopal Church was the first Episcopal church in Kansas City, Missouri, established in 1857.The parish was founded as St. Luke's, and the name changed in the 1870s. It was sponsored by Trinity Episcopal Church in Independence, Missouri...
, Kansas City, MO (1888) - 108-112 Willow Street, Brooklyn, NY, for Spencer TraskSpencer TraskSpencer Trask was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the electric light bulb and his electricity network...
- Carnegie Free Library of BraddockCarnegie Free Library of BraddockThe Carnegie Free Library of Braddock in Braddock, Pennsylvania, is a Richardsonian Romanesque building from 1888. It was the first Carnegie library in the United States, and it was designed by William Halsey Wood. An addition was added in 1893, architects Longfellow, Alden & Harlow...
, Braddock, PA (1888)
Further reading
- Artistic Country-Seats: Types of Recent American Villa and Cottage Architecture, with Instances of Country Club-Houses by George William Sheldon (1886; reprinted 1982 as American Country Houses of the Gilded Age, edited by Arnold Lewis) [ISBN]
External sources
- http://www.njchurchscape.com/Index-Aug06.html
- http://www.smethporthistory.org/mainwest/600.block/st.lukes/W.Halsey%20Wood.html
- http://www.stmaaa.org/history.html
- http://saintmatthews.qwestoffice.net/History.htm
- Brief biography at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
- William Halsey Wood Papers, New-York Historical Society, New York, NY