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Horace Trumbauer

 
Art Encyclopedia: Horace Trumbauer
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(b Philadelphia, 1868; d Philadelphia, 1938). American architect. He served a six-year apprenticeship in the office of George and William Hewitt in Philadelphia before opening his own firm in 1890. He was the designer of many residences for wealthy families in the suburbs of Philadelphia as well as town houses there, in New York and at Newport, RI, in addition to a number of commercial buildings, churches and clubs. His work was invariably based on careful adaptations of historic precedents, most often from the Renaissance, but also drawing on Gothic and ancient Greek sources. His large-scale works included the Harry Widener Library (1914) at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, the Free Library (1917-27) of Philadelphia and the Museum of Art (1931-8; with C. Clark Zantzinger and Charles Borie), Philadelphia. The library is almost a copy of one of the 18th-century classical buildings by Ange-Jacques Gabriel on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, while the museum is developed as a linked group of Greek temples. His Irvine Auditorium (1927) for the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia was an effort (widely regarded as failed) to adapt the supposed design of the Elizabethan Globe Theatre in London to a large college hall. His major work was the design of the campuses (1927-38) of Duke University in Durham, NC, in Gothic style. Although Trumbauer was highly successful professionally in his eclectic work, his reputation always suffered from the critical view that his slavish respect for historic precedents robbed it of creativity.

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Wikipedia: Horace Trumbauer
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Horace Trumbauer, c. 1901

Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – November 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of Duke University. Trumbauer's massive palaces flattered the egos of his "robber baron" clients, but were dismissed by his professional peers. His work made him a wealthy man, but his buildings rarely received positive critical recognition.

Trumbauer was born in Philadelphia, the son of a salesman.[1] He completed a 6-year apprenticeship with G. W. and W. D. Hewitt, and opened his own architectural office at age 21. He did some work for developers Wendell and Smith, designing homes for middle-class planned communities, including the Overbrook Farms development.

Grey Towers Castle, Glenside, PA (1893). Now Arcadia University.

Trumbauer's first major commission was Grey Towers Castle (1893), designed for the sugar magnate William Welsh Harrison. Its exterior was based on Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, England, although its interiors were French, ranging in style from Renaissance to Louis XV. Harrison introduced him to the streetcar and real estate developer Peter A. B. Widener, whose 110-room Georgian-revival palace, Lynnewood Hall (1897-1900), launched Trumbauer's successful career.[1] For the Wideners, the Elkinses and their circle, he designed mansions in Philadelphia, New York, and Newport, RI, office buildings, hospitals, and the main library at Harvard University.

In 1903, he married Sara Thomson Williams and became stepfather to Agnes Helena. Architectural Record published a survey of his work in 1904.

In 1906, Trumbauer hired Julian Abele, the first African-American graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Architecture School, and promoted him to chief designer in 1909. Trumbauer's later buildings are sometimes attributed to Abele, but this is speculation. With the exception of the chapel at Duke University (1934), Abele never claimed credit for any of the firm's buildings designed during Trumbauer's lifetime.

Philadelphia Museum of Art (1916-28). This was a collaboration between Trumbauer's firm and Zantzinger, Borie and Medary.

The commission for the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1916-28) was shared between Trumbauer's firm and Zantzinger, Borie and Medary. Trumbauer architect Howell Lewis Shay is credited with the building's plan and massing, although the perspective drawings appear to be in Abele's hand.[2] When it opened in 1928, the building was criticized as being vastly overscaled and nicknamed "the great Greek garage". But, perched on Fairmount Hill and terminating the axis of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, it is now considered the most magnificently-sited museum in the United States.

Despite tremendous success and his apparent ability to impress wealthy clients, Trumbauer suffered from overwhelming shyness and a sense of inferiority about his lack of formal education. He had a number of commissions until the Great Depression, but began to drink heavily to help bear his burdens. He died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1938,[1] and is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Contents

Selected Buildings

Philadelphia and its suburbs

Residences

  • Grey Towers Castle (William Welsh Harrison mansion), Glenside, PA (1893)
  • Chelten House (George W. Elkins mansion), Elkins Park, PA (1896, rebuilt 1909)[1]
  • Lynnewood Hall (Peter A. B. Widener mansion), Elkins Park, PA (1897-1900)
  • Elstowe Manor (William L. Elkins mansion), Elkins Park, PA (1898)
  • Edward C. Knight townhouse, 1629 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA (1902)
  • Georgian Terrace (George F. Tyler mansion), Elkins Park, PA (1905) (now Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art, Temple University)
  • Isle Field (mansion), Villanova, PA (1911) (now home office of American Missionary Fellowship)
  • Androssan (Robert L. Montgomery mansion), Villanova, PA (1913)[2]
  • Whitemarsh Hall (Edward T. Stotesbury mansion), Wyndmoor, PA (1916-21, demolished 1980)
  • Ronaele Manor (Fitz Eugene Dixon mansion), Elkins Park, PA (1923-26, demolished 1974).[3][4][5] Mrs. Dixon was Eleanor Widener; the mansion's name is hers spelled backward. LaSalle College Christian Brothers owned the mansion 1950-74, renaming it Anselm Hall.[6]

Commercial

  • St. James Apartment House, 13th & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1901)[3]
  • Land Title Building, 100 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA (1902)
  • Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Philadelphia, SE corner Broad & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1911, altered beyond recognition)[4]
  • Widener Building, South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA (1914)[5]
  • Adelphia Hotel, 1229 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA (1914)[6]
  • Beneficial Savings Fund Society Building, SW corner 12th & Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1916)[7]
  • Bankers' Trust Office Building, 12th & Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1922)
  • Public Ledger Building, 6th & Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1923)
  • Benjamin Franklin Hotel, 834 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA (1925)[7]
  • Chateau Crillon Apartment House, Locust St. & Rittenhouse Square West, Philadelphia, PA (1928)[8]
  • Jenkintown Train Station, Jenkintown, PA (1932)

Cultural, Medical and Educational

Buildings Elsewhere

Gallery

Lynnewood Hall (Peter A. B. Widener mansion), Elkins Park, PA (1897-1900). Photo: May 2007.

The Elms (Edward Julius Berwind mansion), Newport, RI (1899-1901).

The Elms, Staircase and Entrance Hall.

Carriage House from High Gate (James E. Watson mansion), Fairmont, WV (1910-13). The adjacent manor house is now a funeral home.

James B. Duke mansion, New York, New York (1912) (now Institute of Fine Arts, New York University).

Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (1915).

Whitemarsh Hall (Edward T. Stotesbury mansion), Wyndmoor, PA (1916-21, demolished 1980).

Gardens of Whitemarsh Hall, looking east from Mansion. Jacques Greber designed the gardens, including this mile-long allee. Photo: c. 1922.

Free Library of Philadelphia, Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA (1925-27).

Irvine Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania, 34th & Spruce Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1926-32).

Shadow Lawn (Hubert Templeton Parson mansion), Long Branch, NJ (1927). Now Woodrow Wilson Hall, Monmouth University.

Duke Chapel, Duke University, Durham, NC (1934). This was the only building designed by the firm during Trumbauer's lifetime for which Julian Abele claimed credit.

References

  1. ^ a b c Baltzell, Edward Digby. Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia (Transaction Publishers, 1996), pp. 332-33. ISBN 156000830X
  2. ^ David B. Brownlee, Making a Modern Classic: The Architecture of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1997), pp. 60-61, 72-73.
  3. ^ Ronaele Manor, Elkins Park, PA from Library of Congress
  4. ^ Ronaele Manor 2, Elkins Park, PA from Library of Congress
  5. ^ Ronaele Manor 3, Elkins Park, PA from Library of Congress
  6. ^ Robert C. Nugent, A House Lives and Dies: The Story of Anselm Hall (Abington, PA: Cassidy Printing, 1974)
  7. ^ Beneficial Savings Fund Society from Flickr
  8. ^ Chateau Crillon nomination for National Register of Historic Places
  9. ^ Whelan, Frank (May 29, 2005), "West Park the iconic home for Allentown bands.", The Morning Call: E.1, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=847329201&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=53705&RQT=309&VName=PQD 
  10. ^ Elkins Memorial YMCA from Free Library of Philadelphia
  11. ^ Rose Terrace from Grosse Pointe Historical Society

External links


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