Samuel J. F. Thayer
Samuel J. F. Thayer | |
---|---|
Born | August 15, 1842 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | February 28, 1893 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Occupation | Architect |
Practice | Ropes & Thayer; Martin & Thayer; S. J. F. Thayer |
Buildings | Nevins Memorial Library; Providence City Hall; Wilson Hall, Dartmouth College |
Samuel J.F. Thayer (1842–1893) was an American architect, notable for designing buildings such as the Providence City Hall and the Cathedral of St. George, as well as the town halls of Brookline, Stoughton, and Methuen, Massachusetts.[1] He was part of the architecture firms, Martin & Thayer and Ropes & Thayer.
Biography
[edit]Thayer studied under John D. Towle.[2] He lived for a time in South Boston, Massachusetts, and enlisted in the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers during the American Civil War, serving from October 1862 to July 1863.[3]
After the war, Thayer collaborated briefly with Boston architect Abel C. Martin, forming the firm Martin & Thayer.[2] This firm designed the Centenary Methodist Church in Stanstead, Quebec, a Gothic Revival structure, in 1866–1869.[2] In 1867 they designed a large summer hotel on Lake Memphremagog, Quebec near the American border.[2]
By 1869 the partnership with Martin had ended, and both opened separate offices.[2] In 1875, African American William Augustus Hazel worked as a draftsman for Thayer, Hazel went on to later be a prominent architect in his own right.[4] Thayer then designed the Town Hall of Brookline, Massachusetts, Providence City Hall in 1878, and the Dartmouth College library in 1885.[2]
Thayer shot himself in a fit of despondency, dying on February 28, 1893.[5][6] He had been "in ill health for some time," and reportedly had money troubles.[7] He left behind a suicide note, along with a wife and son.[7]
Notable works
[edit]Year | Project | Address | City | State | Notes | Image | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1864 | Broadway Orthodox Congregational Church | 404 Broadway | Somerville | Massachusetts | Burned in 1866.[8] The church was rebuilt in 1871, which building now forms part of the Broadway Winter Hill Congregational Church. | [9] | |
1864 | Emmanuel Episcopal Church | 147 Summer St | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [10] |
1865 | House for Samuel J. F. Thayer | 170 Dorchester St | South Boston, Boston | Massachusetts | Designed by Thayer has his own residence. A contributing property to the Dorchester Heights Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. | [11] | |
1869 | Centenary Methodist Church | 430 W Broadway | South Boston, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [12] | |
1870 | Arlington House | 125 Causeway St | Boston | Massachusetts | [13] | ||
1870 | Brookline Town Hall | 333 Washington St | Brookline | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [14] | |
1870 | Charlestown High School (former) | 30 Monument Sq | Charlestown, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [15] | |
1870 | Damon School | Readville St | Hyde Park, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [16] | |
1870 | Morse School | Summer and Craigie Sts | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [17] | |
1870 | New Church of Yarmouth | 266 Main St | Yarmouth Port | Massachusetts | ![]() | [18] | |
1870 | Trinity Methodist Church | Main and Chandler Sts | Worcester | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [19] |
1871 | Fairmount School (former) | 85 Williams Ave | Hyde Park, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [20] | |
1871 | Henry Grew School (former) | 40 Gordon Ave | Hyde Park, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [20] | |
1871 | Somerville High School (former) | 81 Highland Ave | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [21] |
1871 | Windsor Avenue Congregational Church (former) | 2030 Main St | Hartford | Connecticut | Presently the Faith Congregational Church. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. | ![]() | [22] |
1872 | Chapel for the First Congregational Church of Canandaigua | 58 N Main St | Canandaigua | New York | Built as an annex to the original 1812 church. A contributing property to the North Main Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. | [23] | |
1872 | Harvard School (former) | 20 Devens St | Charlestown, Boston | Massachusetts | ![]() | [15] | |
1872 | Second Hawes Congregational Church, Unitarian (former) | 523 E Broadway | South Boston, Boston | Massachusetts | Presently the St. George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral. The church anchors the Cathedral of St. George Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. | ![]() | [24] |
1872 | Springfield High School (former) | State St | Springfield | Massachusetts | Later the State Street Grammar School. Demolished. | ![]() | [25] |
1872 | State Street Methodist Church | 319 State St | Springfield | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [25] | |
1872 | Winchester Home for Aged Women | 10 Eden St | Charlestown, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [15] | |
1873 | Mercantile building for George T. Bigelow | 77 Bedford St | Boston | Massachusetts | Built by Bigelow in his role as trustee of the Miller estate. Destroyed by fire in 1879,[26] and rebuilt in 1880[27] by Anna Smith (Miller) Bigelow, again to a design by Thayer.[28] | ![]() | [29] |
1873 | Nashua High School (former) | 30 Spring St | Nashua | New Hampshire | Later the Spring Street School. Demolished. | [30] | |
1874 | Engine House No. 25 | High St and Fort Hill Sq | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [31] |
1875 | Providence City Hall | 25 Dorrance St | Providence | Rhode Island | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. | ![]() | [32] |
1876 | House for J. Warren Merrill | 6 Smiths Point Rd | Manchester | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [33] | |
1877 | Atlantic House | 37 Oceanside Dr | Hull | Massachusetts | Burned in 1927. | ![]() | [34] |
1880 | House for Mary F. Mallon | Mount Bowdoin Green | Dorchester, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [35][36] | |
1880 | Jordan, Marsh & Company Department Store | 450 Washington St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [37] |
1880 | Stoughton Town Hall | 10 Pearl St | Stoughton | Massachusetts | ![]() | [38] | |
1881 | House for Edward H. Gilman | Elm St | Exeter | New Hampshire | Moved from Court Street in 1924 to serve as faculty housing for the Phillips Exeter Academy. Now known as Cushwa House.[39] | [40] | |
1881 | House for Daniel H. Lane | 291 Beacon St | Boston | Massachusetts | A contributing property to the Back Bay Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. | [41] | |
1881 | House for John G. Phinney | 81 Summer St | Stoughton | Massachusetts | [42] | ||
1881 | House for Nathaniel L. Ripley | 618 Centre St | Newton | Massachusetts | [43] | ||
1881 | Jordan Building | 77 Bedford St | Boston | Massachusetts | Destroyed in the "Thanksgiving Day Fire" in 1889. | [28] | |
1881 | Lyceum Hall | 206 Main St | Yarmouth Port | Massachusetts | Altered. | [43] | |
1881 | Nevins Building | 78 Chauncy St | Boston | Massachusetts | Gutted in the "Thanksgiving Day Fire" in 1889. In 1890 the granite facades were reused for a new Nevins Building on site, also designed by Thayer.[28] | [28] | |
1882 | Farragut Hotel | Ocean Blvd | Rye | New Hampshire | Demolished in 1975. | [44] | |
1882 | House for Isaac P. T. Edmands | 28 Atlantic Ave | Swampscott | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [45] | |
1883 | Nevins Memorial Hall and Library | 305 Broadway | Methuen | Massachusetts | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. | ![]() | [46] |
1884 | Wilson Hall, Dartmouth College | Hanover | New Hampshire | Built as the college library, and more recently part of the Hood Museum of Art. | [47] | ||
1885 | The Tudor | 34 1/2 Beacon St | Boston | Massachusetts | ![]() | [28] | |
1885 | Remodeling of the Quincy House | Brattle St and Brattle Sq | Boston | Massachusetts | In addition to an interior remodeling, Thayer added several floors and a turret to the existing structure, as well as a new wing along Brattle Square. Demolished in 1935. | ![]() | [48] |
1885 | Wauban Building | 184 Boylston St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [28] |
1886 | Chadwick Building | 7 Tremont St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [28] |
1886 | Potter Building | 202-212 Boylston St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [49] |
1886 | The Thorndike | 240 Boylston St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | ![]() | [28] |
1887 | Boston Tavern | 14-16 Province Ct | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. | [28] | |
1887 | House for John D. Long | 107 Washington Ave | Cambridge | Massachusetts | [50] | ||
1891 | Remodeling of the Norwood Hotel | 37 Bridge St | Northampton | Massachusetts | Mostly demolished, but a fragment was moved to 11 Bridge Street, which is a contributing property to the Pomeroy Terrace Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[51] | [52] |
References
[edit]- ^ Mary Melvin Petronella; Edward W. Gordon (2004). Victorian Boston today: twelve walking tours. UPNE. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-55553-605-3.
- ^ a b c d e f "Martin & Thayer". Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Thayer, Bezaleel (1874). Memorial of the Thayer name. R.J. Oliphant. p. 36.
- ^ Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (March 2004). African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 273–278. ISBN 978-1-135-95629-5.
- ^ Oliver Ayer Roberts (1901). History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888. Vol. 4. A. Mudge & son, printers.
- ^ "SHOT HIMSELF". Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1893. p. 16. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
- ^ a b "S.J.F. Thayer Suicided". Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Post. 1 March 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Somerville," Boston Daily Advertiser, December 11, 1866, 4.
- ^ "Church Dedication in Somerville," Boston Daily Advertiser, July 21, 1864, 1.
- ^ "Episcopal Church in Somerville," Boston Daily Advertiser, February 10, 1865, 1.
- ^ Dorchester Heights Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2001)
- ^ "The Laying of the Corner Stone of a Church," Boston Daily Advertiser, April 23, 1869, 1.
- ^ "BOS.1642", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
- ^ Proceedings at the Dedication of the Town Hall, Brookline, February 22, 1873 (Cambridge, MA: John Wilson & Son, 1873)
- ^ a b c James F. Hunnewell, A Century of Town Life: A History of Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1787-1887 (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1888)
- ^ Third Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the Town of Hyde Park, with the Reports of the Town Officers, for the Year Ending January 15th, 1871 (Hyde Park, MA: Hildreth and Getchell, 1871)
- ^ "Dedication of the Morse Schoolhouse," Boston Daily Advertiser, March 1, 1870.
- ^ Marion Vuilleumier, The Town of Yarmouth, Massachusetts: A History, 1639-1989 (Yarmouth, MA: Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, 1989)
- ^ "Business in the East," Architectural Review and American Builders Journal 2, no. 2 (May 1870): 674.
- ^ a b Fourth Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the Town of Hyde Park, with the Reports of the Town Officers, for the Year Ending January 15th, 1872 (Boston: Lyman Rhodes, 1872)
- ^ City of Somerville, Annual Reports. 1872 (Boston: W. F. Brown & Company, 1873)
- ^ Cathedral of St. George Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1998)
- ^ History of Ontario County, New York (Philadelphia: Everts, Ensign & Everts, 1878): 111-112.
- ^ Windsor Avenue Congregational Church NRHP Registration Form (1993)
- ^ a b Springfield City Directory and Business Advertiser for 1872-73 (Springfield, MA: Clark W. Bryan & Company, 1872)
- ^ "A Big Blaze," Boston Daily Globe, December 29, 1879.
- ^ King's Hand Book of Boston (Cambridge, MA: Moses King, 1881): 293-294.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Charles S. Damrell, A Half Century of Boston Building (Boston: Louis P. Hager, 1895)
- ^ "Warehouse No. 91 and 93 Federal St., Boston," American Architect and Building News 3, no. 107 (January 12, 1878): 13.;
- ^ Twenty-first Annual Report of the Municipal Government of the City of Nashua, for the Municipal Year 1873-74 (Nashua, NH: Whittemores' Press, 1874)
- ^ Auditor of Accounts' Annual Report of Receipts and Expenditures of the City of Boston and the County of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, for the Financial Year 1874-1875 (Boston: Rockwell & Churchill, 1875)
- ^ Providence City Hall NRHP Registration Form (1975)
- ^ "Sea-shore House at Manchester, Mass.," American Architect and Building News 1 (May 6, 1876): 149.
- ^ "S. J. F. Thayer," Architecture and Building 18, no. 9 (March 4, 1893): 102.
- ^ "House of Mrs. Mary F. Mallon, Bowdoin Ave., Dorchester, Mass.," American Architect and Building News 36, no. 849 (April 2, 1892): 14.
- ^ "BOS.DP", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
- ^ Engineering News (August 28, 1880): 294.
- ^ Engineering News (July 10, 1880): 238.
- ^ Carol Walker Aten, Postcards from Exeter (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2003): 142.
- ^ American Architect and Building News 10, no. 309 (November 26, 1881): ix.
- ^ "291 Beacon", backbayhouses.org, Back Bay Houses, n.d.
- ^ American Architect and Building News 9, no. 282 (May 21, 1881): x.
- ^ a b American Architect and Building News 9, no. 281 (May 14, 1881): 240.
- ^ Building 1, no. 3 (December 1882): 42.
- ^ American Architect and Building News 12, no. 353 (November 4, 1882): 4.
- ^ Nevins Memorial Library NRHP Registration Form (1984)
- ^ Bryant F. Tolles Jr. and Carolyn K. Tolles, New Hampshire Architecture: An Illustrated Guide (Hanover, NH and London: University Press of New England, 1979)
- ^ Boston Daily Globe, April 26, 1885, 11.
- ^ "The Potter Building, Boylston Street," Boston Daily Advertiser, February 11, 1887, 8.
- ^ Cambridge (MA) Tribune, August 6, 1887, 8.
- ^ Pomeroy Terrace Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2018)
- ^ Engineering Record 24, no. 14 (September 5, 1891): 227.
External links
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