Classical Revival

Morrill & Harris Memorial Library // 1929

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Located down the street from the village common in Strafford, Vermont, the town’s public library building has a history that began with a gift of gratitude. In 1883, Senator Justin Morrill designed and built a building for the town in memory of his mentor, Jedediah Harris, and donated it as a public library. Harris had been Morrill’s partner at the village store, and the library housed the collection created by Harris’s own bequest. The gambrel-roofed building would eventually be outgrown and the town’s library moved into the new Morrill & Harris Memorial Library building when it was completed in 1929. Funding for the building is said to have been set aside in the will of Louise Swan, Senator Morrill’s sister-in-law, for the acquisition of land and building of a library. Built in 1929, the small Classical Revival style library is three bays wide and two bays deep with a pedimented entrance and Doric columns. The building retains much of its original detailing and has been lovingly preserved by the small town for nearly 100 years.

Tilden-Thurber Building // 1895

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The ornately ornamented Tilden-Thurber Building sits on Westminster Street in Downtown Providence, and served as somewhat of a jewel box for its original owners, the Tilden-Thurber Company. Tilden-Thurber was a prominent 19th- and 20th-century luxury goods retailer, jeweler, and silversmith, founded in 1856 by Henry Tilden and William Thurber, retailing fine timepieces, custom silverware, decorative art, and commemorative items. The company had its main store at the corner of Westminster and Mathewson streets built in 1895 from plans by the Boston architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, which resulted in this immaculate, four-story masonry block. Classically inspired, the design features large plate glass storefronts framed by an intricate carved stone surround at the street level and on the upper floors, colossal engaged and rusticated columns. The Tilden-Thurber Company filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and the future of this landmark was uncertain for years until the building sold in 2016 to former mayor and longtime developer Joseph Paolino.

George C. Arnold Building // 1923

Buildings of New England1 Comment

The narrowest commercial building in Downtown Providence, the George C. Arnold Building, is only just over 12-feet wide and is one of the lesser-known landmarks tucked away amongst the larger commercial blocks and civic buildings. The block was built in 1923 for owner, George C. Arnold (1868-1938) by the local firm of William R. Walker & Son, who designed buildings all over the state. Arnold owned considerable property in Downtown and following a street widening on Washington Street in 1917, he sought to make use of his diminished lot by building the current structure rather than sell the sliver of land for a loss. The brick-sheathed building runs seven bays along Washington Street with Chicago style windows in these bays to bring light inside the building. In 2013, the building was acquired by the Providence Revolving Fund which collaborated with developer-builders Lori Quinn and David Stem to rehabilitate the building. It is currently in use as mixed-use property with two commercial spaces on the street level and three residential units on the upper floors.

Union Trust Company Building // 1901

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Said to be the first skyscraper built in Providence, the Union Trust Company Building on Dorrance Street is one of the finest architectural masterpieces in Rhode Island. The twelve-story tower is finished in red brick with limestone trim and features the base-shaft-capital organization, a design standard for early skyscraper architects to make very tall buildings look balanced. The base here as the bottom two floors, entirely uses stone to show strength, holding the weight above and with large glass windows for the street edge; the shaft uses repeating window designs and showcases the height of the building, drawing your eyes upward; and the capital, which brings a strong cornice and intricate parapet serving as a crown, finishing the building. The architectural firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson furnished the plans for the building for Marsden J. Perry, the President of the Union Trust Company, as the company offices with a banking hall at the ground level. Above the entrance a sculpture, Indian and Puritan by Daniel Chester French, greets visitors along with the many stained glass medallion windows. The Union Trust Company Building is really a feast for the eyes!

Summerfield Building // 1913

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Built by the wealthy Harkness family as an investment property, this unique building on Weybosset Street in Downtown Providence, Rhode Island, takes its name from the Boston-based Summerfield Furniture Company, which occupied much of the building for many years. The six-story, reinforced concrete structure was designed by architect, Albert Harkness for his family, who gambled on the young designer who was seemingly inspired by the Chicago School of architecture, with its concrete and steel framing, large plate glass windows, ornamental terra cotta, and broad cornice. After Summerfield Furniture closed, the building was occupied in the mid-20th century by various companies until Johnson & Wales purchased the building, and have maintained the architecturally significant landmark ever-since.

Waite-Thresher Company Factory // 1911

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Waite-Thresher Company Factory sits on Pine Street between the commercial Downtown and former industrial Jewelry District of Providence.The factory here was built in 1911 and is an excellent example of a light-industrial building of the early 20th century in Providence. The steel-frame building is sheathed with brick walls and retains its double-hung windows set within brick arches and classically designed storefronts. The Waite-Thresher Company was one of many jewelry manufacturing companies in Providence. Founded in 1885 from the merging of multiple companies, the Waite-Thresher Co. began primarily manufacturing thimbles and later became a leader in the American jewelry world as the kings of delicate, ornate filigree rings, pins, and accessories. The company eventually closed in the 1930s and after later uses, the building was acquired by Johnson & Wales University who in the 1980s, restored the building and opened it as the centerpiece of the John Hazen White College of Arts & Sciences on campus.

Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Catholic Church and Rectory // 1909 & 1938

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

At the turn of the 20th century, Newton’s Upper Falls village was an industrial center in the region, with factories employing hundreds of workers, primarily recent immigrants from Ireland and Italy. A Catholic parish in Newton was originally established in the 1840s and within decades, the Roman Catholic church here included between 1,000-1,200 Catholics as far as Needham and Newton Centre. Originally known as St. Mary’s Catholic Church, the former structure was located on Chestnut Street in the village, but was eventually outgrown by the congregation. Ecclesiastical architect from Boston, Edward T. P. Graham, drew plans for the new church, which is unlike the typical Neo-Gothic edifices built in the early 20th century around Boston. The blending of Classical and Renaissance Revival styles works well with the design of Mary Immaculate of Lourdes in Newton, with its monumental classical portico and tympanum with figures in a bas-relief in the Classical style and the Italian Renaissance campanile with balconies and hipped roof towering over the structure. Inside, the sanctuary is illuminated by stained glass windows by Franz Xaver Zettler of Munich, Germany, which were custom-made for the church. On an adjoining lot, Timorthy G. O’Connell, a prominent Boston-area ecclesiastical architect, designed the parish rectory in 1938 in the Colonial Revival style.

Old Kent Memorial Library // 1899

Buildings of New England2 Comments

In 1897, Sidney A. Kent (1834-1900), a native of Suffield, Connecticut and later a successful Chicago businessman, sought to gift his hometown a library in the memory of his parents, Albert and Lucinda Kent, who died nearly a half-century earlier. A site was purchased from the Suffield Academy and funding was set aside for the new library before the turn of the 20th century. For the memorial building in Suffield, Sidney Kent hired architectural giant, Daniel Burnham, designer of the famous Flatiron Building in New York, who had also designed Kent’s home in Chicago. The Kent Memorial Library was dedicated in 1899 and is a stunning example of a library built in the Classical and Beaux Arts styles. Executed in smooth, granite ashlar, the facade has a central portico of two Ionic columns in antis and a shallow dome in the center of the copper clad roof. The library would eventually be outgrown and a contemporary library was built nearby on the town’s Main Street. The old Kent Memorial Library was acquired by Suffield Academy and renamed the S. Kent Legare Library.


Forest Hills Cemetery – Crematorium & Columbarium // 1893

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Separate from the main cemetery parcel, the Forest Hills Cemetery Crematory and Columbarium is architecturally significant and also historically significant as the the first crematory in New England. The cremation building was constructed in 1893 by the Massachusetts Cremation Society, an organization unaffiliated with the cemetery across the street. The original crematory building was designed by Ludvig Sandöe Ipsen, a Danish-American artist and designer who is best-known for his book illustrations. It is unclear why Ipsen, who had almost entirely given up architecture as a profession, was selected by the Massachusetts Cremation Society, but he showcased his design expertise for this handsome masonry building. The original crematory included a chapel, operating plant, guest area, and offices. Classical Revival in style, the building is constructed of granite with limestone trim and capped by a red slate roof. The first cremation in New England occurred here in 1894, when Lucy Stone, the important abolitionist and suffragist, passed away and was cremated here. The chapel inside the building was named after Lucy Stone. In 1905, the columbarium was added from plans by Ipsen, where cremated remains of the dead are stored and displayed in urns. In 1925, the property was sold to the Forest Hills Cemetery association and the building expanded to its current size.

Thayer Block – Home National Bank of Milford // 1912

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Thayer Block and its twin, the Claflin Block, on Main Street in Milford, Massachusetts, stand as prototypical early 20th century commercial blocks commonly found in nearly any city in New England. The two-story commercial block was built in 1912 and was long the location of the Home National Bank of Milford. The bank added the iconic clock on the facade, which is one of the remaining clocks made by the McClintock-Loomis Clock Company or successive company, O.B. McClintock Co., which specialized in sidewalk clocks for banking and financial institutions. The green marble storefront was likely added in the 1950s or 1960s and is an eye-catching change to the building. Today, the bank space is occupied by the Rail Trail Flatbread Co., a local restaurant and bar.

St. Mary’s Academy – Landmark Place Apartments // 1924

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

As the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church of Milford expanded, the diocese determined that an academy building was warranted to educate the pupils affiliated with the growing congregation. In 1924, Massachusetts ecclesiastical architect, John W. Donohue was hired to furnish plans for a new parochial school building. The two-story Colonial/Classical Revival style edifice was constructed of brick with limestone trim and follows the form of many school buildings constructed in New England in the early decades of the 20th century. In 1954, the building became the St. Mary’s Catholic High School and it was expanded in 1962 with a Modern addition. When the two local Catholic churches merged schools in the 1970s, this building was sold to the Town of Milford, who converted it to use as a public middle school, a use that remained until a new middle school was built elsewhere in town. With its future uncertain, in 2018, the Town of Milford sold the school building to developers, who demolished the 1960s additions and constructed a new addition to the rear, converting the entire building into elderly housing named, Landmark Place Apartments. Adaptive reuse is a great way to build additional housing while retaining local history and meet sustainability goals!

Former Milford Post Office – Milford Police Station // 1911

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The present Police Station in Milford, Massachusetts, faces the town’s Draper Memorial Park and was built in 1911-12 from locally quarried Milford “pink” granite. While currently a police station, the building was actually constructed as the town’s first purpose-built post office, and constructed after a years’ long planning process to find a suitable site, funding, and design review. When the site and funding was set, James Knox Taylor, supervising architect of the United States Department of the Treasury and supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings built throughout the United States during the period from 1897-1912, was hired to furnish designs. When his plans were unveiled, the community protested against the use of any granite other than the locally quarried “pink” Milford granite in the construction of the local post office. Mr. Taylor conceded and after two years of delays, the Post Office officially opened in 1914. Rectangular in plan, the granite structure is Classical Revival in style with its projecting cornice, symmetrical facade, and pilasters dividing the bays on the facade. The building also included a New Deal-era mural inside. The USPS moved into a contemporary building across the park in the 1960s and the Town of Milford purchased the old Post Office, converting it to the community’s Police Department Headquarters.

The Brimmer School – Park Street School // 1914

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Now functioning as the Park Street School, the handsome brick building at 63-69 Brimmer Street stands on the site of a former three-story brick livery stable and is an excellent example of the early 20th century revival of the Flat of Beacon Hill from the “horsey end of town”, to an upper-class enclave. The school building, which was completed in 1914, was designed by R. Clipston Sturgis, one of the premier architects of Boston, as one of the first “fireproof” schools in Boston. The school building originally had an open-air rooftop playground, and was designed with special attention to light and air ventilation, with a library, gymnasium, and recitation rooms inside. In 1939, the Brimmer School merged with the May School, which had been founded about 1900, creating the Brimmer & May School. The new institution then hired architect, Walter H. Kilham of the firm, Kilham & Hopkins, to enclose the rooftop playground, allowing for more usable space for the school. After the Brimmer & May School moved to Chestnut Hill in 1954, the building was bought by C.F. Burdett, as a new location for a private business school that had been operating since 1879. Burdett College remained in possession of the building until 1970 when Emerson College took over the building for its performing arts department. In 2003, Emerson College sold the building to Park Street Kids, a children’s organization begun by mothers at Park Street Church, located on the east end of the Boston Common and it has since been known as the Park Street School. The school was recently restored by Mills Whitaker Architects.

Amy Gore Iasigi Townhouse // 1906

Buildings of New England3 Comments

This granite-faced townhouse at 76 Beacon Street in Beacon Hill was built in 1906, and was designed as an early 20th century continuation of the Asher Benjamin-designed row of granite-faced townhomes to its east, built in 1829. The handsome residence was built in 1906, when Amy Gore Iasigi, the widow of merchant and statesman, Oscar Iasigi (1846-1884), purchased the site a year prior and hired architect, A. W. Longfellow, to design a new townhouse for the site. Ms. Iasigi resided here with her daughter, Nora Iasigi Bullitt, who with her mother, helped establish of a manual training school for girls in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Nora was also a prize-winning sculptor, having studied under Daniel Chester French. As a woman of exceptional means, Amy G. Iasigi had seven domestic servants maintain her city mansion and carriage house on Byron Street. After her death in 1927, the proeprty was owned and occupied by wool merchant Robert Hooper Stevenson. The relatively modest Iasigi Townhouse’s granite facade is of a slightly different color than the 1820s granite townhouses nextdoor, importantly distinguishing it from its neighbors, and it also features flared granite lintels with pronounced keystones.

Union Boat Club Building // 1910

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The three-story, masonry Union Boat Club facing Storrow Drive and the Charles River, was constructed in 1910 to replace a wood-frame boathouse the club had built in 1870. The western edge of Beacon Hill changed drastically when in 1910, the Charles River Dam regulated the water along the Charles River, removing its tidal nature. In the years before this, the Charles River Embankment was laid out as parkland along the riverfront, which in turn, made it so the original Union Boat Club site was no longer on the water’s edge. The original boathouse was moved to the Esplanade and this new clubhouse, with its high-fired brick exterior and cast stone trim, was designed in the Classical Revival style by the firm of Parker, Thomas & Rice on the original boat house site. The organization expanded its offerings, adding handball and squash to its members in the new, 1910 building. In 1928, a boxy rooftop addition was constructed adding two more squash courts which was later raised in height and covered in metal in 1996.