American architectural firm
Reid & Reid,
also known as
Reid Brothers,
was an American
architectural
and
engineering
firm that was active from 1880 to 1932.
[1]
Established in Indiana by
Canadian
immigrants, the firm moved to the
West Coast
and became was the most prominent firm in
San Francisco, California
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
[2]
[1]
History
[
edit
]
Brothers
James William Reid
(1851-1943),
Merritt Jonathan Reid
(1855-1932), and
Watson Elkinah Reid
(1858?1944) were born in
Harvey, Albert County, New Brunswick
, Canada, three of the eight children of Lucinda Robinson and William James Reid, a farmer and house
joiner
.
[3]
[4]
[5]
James worked as a house joiner and studied industrial arts at the
Lowell School of Practical Design
in
Boston
before attending
McGill University
in
Montreal
and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
[5]
He also studied at the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts
in
Paris
1874.
[5]
before graduating from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and
Ecole des Beaux-Arts
in
Paris
.
[6]
[7]
Merritt also graduated from
Ecole des Beaux-Arts
.,
In the late 19th?century, James and Merritt immigrated to
Evansville, Indiana
from and worked at the architectural firm of Boy and Brickley.
[2]
[6]
In 1879, they purchased the contracts from Boyd & Brickley and opened Reid Brothers.
[2]
One of their early clients was the Terre Haute Railroad which helped develop their reputation.
[6]
Their most notable work in Evansville is the
Willard Library
which was executed in the
Gothic revival style
.
[2]
[6]
Banker Aaron Guard Cloud commissioned two projects with the Reid Brothers: the
Cloud State Bank
in the
Second Empire
and
French Baroque
style and his private home which are both in McLeansboro, Illinois.
[6]
In 1886, the brothers moved to the
San Diego, California
with the client
Charles T. Hinde
to design the
Hotel Del Coronado
for the Coronado Beach Company.
[6]
Although the Coronado Beach Company was not financially successful, the project helped build the
West Coast
reputation of the Reid Brothers.
[6]
Their younger brother,
Watson Elkinah Reid
moved to California and joined the firm around 1888.
[2]
Watson attended
Mount Allison University
in
Sackville, New Brunswick
, Canada and worked as a house joiner.
[4]
He served as the supervising architect for the
Hotel Del Coronado
.
[8]
James and Merritt became Fellows of the
American Institute of Architects
in 1889.
[6]
That same year, Merritt moved to San Francisco to open an office, followed shortly by James.
[6]
Watson remained in San Diego to run that office.
[6]
[8]
In 1891, Watson was joined by
William Sterling Hebbard
, an architect who had trained in
Chicago
.
[6]
In 1892, the Reid Brothers were hired to design the
Portland, Oregon
newspaper's Oregonian Building. It was the first steel-frame building west of Chicago.
[6]
In 1894, Mrs. M. L. Selfridge hired the firm to design six houses on the corner of California and Pierce in San Francisco.
[6]
Newspaperman
Claus Spreckels
hired them to design a headquarters for
The San Francisco Call
in 1895.
[6]
Architect Charles William Dickey joined the firm's San Francisco office from 1895 to 1896.
[9]
He was from Oakland but had attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
[9]
They also hired draftsman John Walter Dolliver as a designer; draftsman Emile Schroeder Lemme, and architect
Albert L. Farr
.
[10]
[11]
[12]
Completed in 1897, the
Call Building
was the tallest building west of Chicago at 315 feet.
[6]
The top of the Call Building was a four-story dome; there, the Reid Brothers established their new office on the eighteenth floor.
[6]
The Call Building dominated the San Francisco skyline and became its "most recognizable" landmark.
[6]
Spreckels continued to work with Reid & Reid for other projects including the Spreckels Car House, several family mansions, and
Spreckels Temple of Music
, a music stand that Spreckels donated to
Golden Gate Park
.
[6]
[13]
In 1892, Watson Reid left the firm and moved back to New Brunswick. Watson Reid was commissioned to build what's known as Victoria Manor, completed in 1893 for Lt. Gov. Abner Reid McClellan.
[6]
Hebbard then became head of the San Diego office and oversaw its work.
[6]
In addition to the
Spreckels Temple of Music
, Reid & Reid designed the Caretaker's Cottage at Golden Gate Park.
[2]
[13]
In 1908, they also designed a Stadium at the Polo Fields for Golden Gate Park, but the project ended early in the construction phase.
[2]
Only a small section of the bleachers was constructed.
[2]
Reid & Reid was hired to design the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill in 1902.
[6]
Although damaged by the
1906 San Francisco earthquake
, the hotel opened a year later, on April 18, 1907.
[6]
They also designed the First Congregational Church, the W. & J. Sloane Building, and two
Hale Brothers Co.
department stores.
[6]
They also created the third version of
Cliff House
.
[6]
They also designed many mansions in the
Pacific Heights
, although many were lost in the
1906 San Francisco earthquake
and fire.
[6]
Two surviving houses located at 2083 and 2099 Pacific were built for Spreckels as wedding gifts for his son.
[6]
Those survive today, along with 1919 Sacramento, 2770 Broadway, and 2646 Vallejo.
[6]
Another residential project was the
Classical Revival
Irwin mansion which was located at 2190 Washington.
[6]
Reid & Reid designed numerous movie theaters in San Francisco, including the Alexandria Theatre, the Balboa Theatre, the Coliseum Theatre, the Metropolitan, and the
New Mission Theatre
.
[2]
[14]
[6]
They also designed the
Golden State Theatre
in
Monterey, the
Grand Lake Theater
in
Oakland
, the
New Sequoia Theater Building
in
Redwood City, and Sequoia Theatre in
Mill Valley, California
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
In 1929, they designed a 20-unit cooperative apartment building in
Russian Hill
.
[6]
James moved into the apartment building, living there until he died in 1943.
[6]
When Merritt died on February 4, 1932, James retired and closed the firm.
[6]
Selected works
[
edit
]
Building
|
Date
|
Place
|
Reference
|
Willard Library
|
1877
|
Evansville, Indiana
|
[19]
|
Cloud State Bank
|
1880
|
McLeansboro, Illinois
|
[6]
|
Aaron G. Cloud house
|
1884
|
McLeansboro, Illinois
|
[6]
|
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
|
1886
|
Evansville, Indiana
|
|
Hotel del Coronado
|
1888
|
San Diego, California
|
[19]
|
Grein Building
|
1889
|
Evansville, Indiana
|
[19]
|
Germond Block
|
1890
|
Spokane, Washington
|
|
Oregonian Building
|
1892
|
Portland, Oregon
|
[19]
[20]
|
Selfridge houses, 2603 through 2611 California
|
1894
|
San Francisco
, California
|
[6]
|
Residence, 1919 Sacramento
|
1895
|
Pacific Heights, San Francisco
, California
|
[6]
|
The Call Building
(now
Central Tower
)
|
1898
|
San Francisco, California
|
[19]
|
Spreckels Car House (aka.
Geneva Car Barn
), 2301 San Jose
|
1899
|
San Francisco, California
|
[6]
|
Spreckels Temple of Music
,
Golden Gate Park
|
1900
|
San Francisco, California
|
[13]
|
Irwin Mansion, 2190 Washington
|
1901
|
San Francisco, California
|
[6]
|
Hale Brothers Department Store
, 989 Market
|
1902
|
San Francisco, California
|
[6]
|
Residence, 2770 Broadway
|
1904
|
Pacific Heights, San Francisco
, California
|
[6]
|
Spreckels Mansion, 2083 Pacific
|
1904
|
Pacific Heights, San Francisco
, California
|
[6]
|
Spreckels Mansion, 2099 Pacific
|
1905
|
Pacific Heights, San Francisco
, California
|
[6]
|
Fairmont San Francisco
|
1907
|
San Francisco, California
|
[19]
|
Merritt Building
|
1907
|
San Francisco, California
|
|
1 Sixth Street
|
1908
|
San Francisco, California
|
[19]
|
Garfield Building
, 938?942 Market Street
|
1908
|
San Francisco, California
|
[21]
|
W. & J. Sloane Furniture
Building, 222 Sutter
|
1908
|
San Francisco, California
|
[6]
|
222 Sutter Street
|
1909
|
San Francisco, California
|
[19]
|
Marshall Hale House, 26 Presidio Terrace
|
1909
|
San Francisco, California
|
[2]
|
Cliff House
|
1909
|
San Francisco, California
|
|
Yeon Building
|
1911
|
Portland, Oregon
|
[19]
|
Hale Brothers Department Store
expansion, 901 Market
|
1912
|
San Francisco, California
|
[19]
[6]
|
The Oregon Journal Building (now
Jackson Tower
)
|
1912
|
Portland, Oregon
|
[19]
|
First Congregational Church
|
1913
|
San Francisco, California
|
[2]
|
1915
Merritt Building
|
1915
|
Los Angeles, California
|
[19]
|
New Mission Theater
|
1916
|
San Francisco, California
|
[14]
|
Residence, 2646 Vallejo
|
1917
|
Pacific Heights, San Francisco
, California
|
[6]
|
The Coliseum Theatre, 745 Clement
|
1918
|
San Francisco, California
|
[6]
[2]
|
Sweasey Theatre (now
Arkley Center for the Performing Arts
)
|
1920
|
Eureka, California
|
[22]
|
United Building
|
1920
|
Los Angeles, California
|
[19]
|
Orpheus Theatre
|
1920
|
San Rafael, California
|
[23]
|
Grand Rapids Hotel
|
1922
|
Wabash County
,
Illinois
|
|
Alexandria Theatre, 5400 Geary
|
1923
|
San Francisco, California
|
[6]
[2]
|
Fitzhugh Building
|
1923
|
San Francisco, California
|
[24]
|
Metropolitan Theatre
, 2055 Union
|
1924
|
San Francisco, California
|
[6]
|
Roosevelt Theatre (now Brava Women's Theater Arts)
|
1924
|
San Francisco, California
|
[25]
|
Balboa Theatre, 3630 Balboa
|
1926
|
San Francisco, California
|
[26]
[6]
|
Golden State Theatre
|
1926
|
Monterey, California
|
[19]
[18]
|
Grand Lake Theater
|
1926
|
Oakland, California
|
[17]
|
Sequoia Theatre
|
1929
|
Mill Valley, California
|
[15]
|
New Sequoia Theater Building
|
1929
|
Redwood City, California
|
[16]
|
La Miranda Apartments, 1100 Union
|
1929
|
Russian Hill, San Francisco
, California
|
[19]
|
State Theater
|
1931
|
San Francisco
, California
|
|
Sebastiani Theatre
|
1934
|
Sonoma, California
|
[27]
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Michelson, Alan.
"Reid Brothers, Architects"
.
Pacific Coast Architecture Database
. University of Washington
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
Western Neighborhoods Project.
"The Reid Brothers"
.
Outside Lands
. Retrieved
2022-02-19
.
- ^
Michelson, Alan.
"Merritt Jonathan Reid"
.
Pacific Coast Architecture Database
. University of Washington
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
Michelson, Alan.
"Watson Elkinah Reid"
.
Pacific Coast Architecture Database
. University of Washington
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
c
Michelson, Alan.
"James William Reid"
.
Pacific Coast Architecture Database
. University of Washington
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
ag
ah
ai
aj
ak
al
am
an
ao
ap
aq
ar
as
at
au
av
aw
Parry, Dave (2010-11-08).
"Architects' Profiles: Pacific Heights Architects #31 - Reid Brothers"
.
McGuire Real Estate
. Way Back Machine. Archived from
the original
on November 8, 2010
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
"PCAD - James William Reid"
.
pcad.lib.washington.edu
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
"Reid, Watson Elkinah | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada"
.
dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
Michelson, Alan.
"Charles William Dickey"
.
Pacific Coast Architecture Database
. University of Washington
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
Michelson, Alan.
"John Walter Dolliver Sr"
.
Pacific Coast Architecture Database
. University of Washington
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
Michelson, Alan.
"Albert Lincoln Farr"
.
Pacific Coast Architecture Database
. University of Washington
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
Michelson, Alan.
"Emile Schroeder Lemme"
.
Pacific Coast Architecture Database
. University of Washington
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Speckes' Gift To The Park"
.
The San Francisco Examiner
. San Francisco, California. 25 Feb 1899. p. 7
. Retrieved
2022-01-14
.
- ^
a
b
Melnick, Ross; Haas, Howard B.
"Alamo Drafthouse New Mission Cinema in San Francisco, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
"CineArts Sequoia in Mill Valley, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
"Fox Theatre in Redwood City, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
"Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
"Golden State Theatre in Monterey, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
"Reid & Reid"
.
Emporis
. Archived from
the original
on February 20, 2015
. Retrieved
July 24,
2022
.
- ^
Demolished in 1950
- ^
"San Francisco Landmark 244: Garfield Building"
.
noehill.com
. Retrieved
2024-01-20
.
- ^
Melnick, Ross.
"Arkley Center for the Performing Arts in Eureka, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
"Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
Demolished
- ^
"Brava Women's Theater Arts in San Francisco, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
"Balboa Theatre in San Francisco, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
- ^
"Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma, CA - Cinema Treasures"
.
cinematreasures.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-24
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Cynthia Barwick Malinick, "The Lives and Works of the Reid Brothers, Architects 1852-1943". (M.A. thesis, University of San Diego, 1992)