American architect (1845-1903)
Bruce Price
|
---|
|
Born
| (
1845-12-12
)
December 12, 1845
|
---|
Died
| May 29, 1903
(1903-05-29)
(aged 57)
Paris, France
|
---|
Nationality
| American
|
---|
Alma mater
| Princeton University
|
---|
Occupation
| Architect
|
---|
Spouse
| Josephine Lee
|
---|
Children
| 2, including
Emily Post
|
---|
Bruce Price
(December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the
Shingle Style
. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in
Tuxedo Park, New York
, influenced
Modernist
architects, including
Frank Lloyd Wright
and
Robert Venturi
.
[1]
He also designed
Richardsonian Romanesque
institutional buildings,
Beaux-Arts
mansions, and Manhattan skyscrapers. In Canada, he designed
Chateauesque
railroad stations and grand hotels for the
Canadian Pacific Railway
, including
Windsor Station
in Montreal
[2]
and
Chateau Frontenac
in Quebec City.
Life and career
[
edit
]
William Kent Cottage, Tuxedo Park, New York (1886, demolished).
Price was born in
Cumberland, Maryland
, the son of William and Marian Bruce Price. He studied for a short time at
Princeton University
. After four years of internship in the office of the
Baltimore
architects
Niernsee
&
Neilson
(1864?68), he began his professional work in Baltimore with
Ephraim Francis Baldwin
as a partner.
[3]
Following a brief study trip to Europe, he opened an office in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
, where he practiced from 1873 to 1876.
He settled in New York City in 1877, where he worked on a series of domestic projects. These culminated in the design and layout of the exclusive 7,000-acre planned community of
Tuxedo Park
(1885?86), created by
Pierre Lorillard IV
. The striking buildings Price designed there, with their severe geometry, compact massing and axial plans, were highly influential in the architectural profession. Eight of Price's houses – including five from Tuxedo Park – were among the one hundred buildings selected for
George William Sheldon
's landmark survey of American domestic architecture:
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
[4]
The most famous of these, the Pierre Lorillard V cottage ("Cottage G"), though demolished and now known only through photographs, remains an icon of American architecture. Price's daughter wrote in 1911:
"In beginning Tuxedo, the architect's idea was to fit buildings with the surrounding woods, and the gate-lodge and keep were built of graystone with as much moss and lichen as possible. The shingled cottages were stained with the color of the woods—russets and grays and dull reds—ugly to the taste of a quarter century later, though this treatment did much to neutralize the newness of the buildings—Old World and tradition-haunted as it looks, it is new, incredibly new."
[5]
Among the Manhattan office buildings he designed were the
American Surety Building
, the St. James Building, the
Bank of the Metropolis
and the International Bank. He also collaborated with sculptor
Daniel Chester French
on the
Richard Morris Hunt Memorial
(1898) in
Central Park
. He designed a lecture hall and a dormitory at
Yale University
. His grandest residential commission was
Georgian Court
, the neo-
Georgian
estate of
George Jay Gould I
in
Lakewood, New Jersey
.
Price invented, patented, and built the parlor bay-window cars for the
Pennsylvania Railroad
and the
Boston and Albany Railroad
.
[6]
This work prompted the Canadian Pacific Railways to consider his portfolio. He designed the
Chateau Frontenac
in Quebec City for the Canadian Pacific (arguably the structure Price is most identified with), as well as the first
Banff Springs Hotel
in Alberta, and many other hotels and stations.
He was a Fellow of the
American Institute of Architects
(1890) and belonged to the
Architectural League of New York
. In 1900, he entered into a partnership with French architect
Jules Henri de Sibour
, who had earlier worked in his office. The firm continued to use the name "Bruce Price & de Sibour" until 1908, five years after Price's death.
In 1871, Price married Josephine Lee, the daughter of a Wilkes-Barre coal baron. They had two children:
Emily Price Post
, who became a novelist and the American authority on
etiquette
, and William, who died in infancy. Price is buried, along with his wife and son, in Hollenback Cemetery in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Selected works
[
edit
]
United States and Canada
[
edit
]
- 10 East Chase Street
, Baltimore, Maryland (c. 1870).
- Coryell Apartment Building, 21 East 21st Street, Manhattan, New York (1878).
[7]
- James Alfred Roosevelt Estate
, Cove Neck, New York (1881).
- "
Cleftstone
" (Charles T. How cottage), Bar Harbor, Maine (1881). Now Cleftstone Manor Hotel.
[8]
- "Seacroft", Rumson, NJ (1881)
- "Far Niente" (William B. Rice cottage), Bar Harbor, Maine (1882, demolished 1943).
- J. M. Wayne Neff residence, Cincinnati, Ohio (1882, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
- "Seaverge" (George F. Baker residence),
Monmouth Beach, New Jersey
(c. 1884, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
- Cordelia Sterling residence
, Stratford, Connecticut (1886). Listed in Sheldon's
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
- Osborn Hall,
Yale University
, New Haven, Connecticut (1887?88, demolished 1926).
[9]
- Welch Hall
, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (1891).
- Main Building,
Hotchkiss School
, Lakeville, Connecticut (1892, demolished 1970).
- Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, Sharon, Connecticut (1893)
- Elizabeth Train Station
, Elizabeth, New Jersey (1893?94). Built as
Central Railroad of New Jersey
Depot.
- American Surety Building
, 100 Broadway, Manhattan, New York (1894, altered). Architect
Herman Lee Meader
widened the building and added additional stories in 1922.
- "
The Turrets
" (John J. Emery house), Bar Harbor, Maine (1895). Now part of
College of the Atlantic
.
[10]
- St. James Building, 1133 Broadway, Manhattan, New York (1896).
- "Georgian Court" (
George Jay Gould I
mansion), Lakewood, New Jersey (1896). Now
Georgian Court University
.
- Richard Morris Hunt Memorial
,
Fifth Avenue
between 70th & 71st Streets,
Central Park
, New York City (1898), with sculptor
Daniel Chester French
.
- Daniel B. Wesson
residence, Springfield, Massachusetts (1898, destroyed by fire 1966).
[11]
[12]
- Old Washington County Library
, Hagerstown, Maryland (1900).
- Whittier Hall Dormitories,
Teachers College, Columbia University
, Manhattan, New York (1901), with J. M. Darragh.
[13]
- Audrain Building
, 220-30 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island (1902).
- Bank of the Metropolis
, 31 Union Square West, Manhattan, New York (1902?03).
- Northfield Chateau
, Northfield, Massachusetts (1903, demolished 1963).
Tuxedo Park, New York
[
edit
]
- Tuxedo Park Post Office, Tuxedo Park (1885).
- Gate-Lodge and Keep, Tuxedo Park (1885?86).
[14]
[15]
[16]
- Erie Railroad
Tuxedo Park Station
, Tuxedo Park (1885).
[17]
- "Cottage G" (Pierre Lorillard V Cottage), Tuxedo Park (1885?86, demolished).
[18]
Listed in Sheldon's
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
- William Kent Cottage, Tuxedo Park (1885?86, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
Vincent Scully
argues that
Frank Lloyd Wright
modeled his
Oak Park house and studio
after this and the Chanler cottage.
[19]
- W. Chanler Cottage, Tuxedo Park (1885?86, altered).
[20]
Scully identifies the client as "W. Chandler," but it was likely Winthrop Astor Chanler.
[21]
- The Tuxedo Club
, Tuxedo Park (1886, demolished 1927).
- Pierre Lorillard IV
Cottage, Tuxedo Park (1886, altered). Listed in Sheldon's
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
- Henry I. Barbey Cottage, Tuxedo Park (1886, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
- Travis Van Buren Cottage, Tower Hill Road, Tuxedo Park (1886, altered beyond recognition).
[22]
Listed in Sheldon's
Artistic Country-Seats
(1886?87).
- Francis D. Carley Cottage, West Lake Road, Tuxedo Park (1886, moved from original site 1896).
- Tuxedo Park School (first building), Tuxedo Park (c. 1887, demolished).
- M. G. Barnwell Stable, Clubhouse Road, Tuxedo Park (1889?90).
- Meta K. Cruger Cottage, Tower Hill Road, Tuxedo Park (c. 1890).
- Japanese Cottage, 16 Summit Road, Tuxedo Park (1891).
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, Route 17, Tuxedo Park (1895, burned 1897).
- Bruce Price Cottage
, Pepperidge Road, Tuxedo Park (1897).
- Voss Cottage, Pepperidge Road, Tuxedo Park (c. 1897). One of four cottages Price built for rental.
Samuel Clemens
rented it in 1907.
- Emily Post cottage, Tuxedo Park (c. 1897). One of four cottages Price built for rental. His daughter Emily inherited it.
- Addison Cammack House, Tuxedo Park (1900).
- Price Collier House, West Lake Road, Tuxedo Park (1900).
- Tuxedo Park Association Offices, Route 17, Tuxedo Park (1900).
- Tuxedo Stores (Business Block), Route 17, Tuxedo Park (c. 1900).
- Tuxedo Park Library, 227 Route 17, Tuxedo Park (1901).
- Methodist Episcopal Church, 7 Hospital Road, Tuxedo Park (1902). Now Tuxedo Historical Society.
[23]
- R. M. Gillespie House, Tuxedo Park (1903).
Canada
[
edit
]
- Windsor Station
, Montreal, Quebec (1887?89).
[2]
- Banff Springs Hotel
,
Banff National Park
, Alberta (1888, demolished 1925). Price's wood-and-shingle hotel was replaced by one of stone and concrete.
[24]
- James Ross
House, Montreal, Quebec (1892). Now known as Old Chancellor Day Hall at the
McGill University Faculty of Law
.
- Chateau Frontenac
, Quebec City, Quebec (1893).
- Place Viger
, Montreal, Quebec (1897). A combined railroad station and hotel.
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
Coryell Apartment Building, 21 East 21st Street, Manhattan, New York (completed 1878).
-
Osborn Hall, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (built 1887?88; demolished 1926).
-
Windsor Station
, Montreal, Quebec (built 1887?89).
-
Banff Springs Hotel
,
Banff National Park
, Alberta (completed 1888; demolished 1925).
-
Main Building,
Hotchkiss School
, Lakeville, Connecticut (completed 1892; demolished 1970).
-
James Ross
House, Montreal, Quebec (completed 1892).
-
Place Viger
, Montreal, Quebec (completed 1897).
-
Bruce Price Cottage
, Tuxedo Park, New York (completed 1897).
-
Richard Morris Hunt Memorial
, Central Park, New York City (completed 1898), with sculptor
Daniel Chester French
.
-
Salon fireplace,
Northfield Chateau
, Northfield, Massachusetts (completed 1903; demolished 1963).
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Samuel Hulet Graybill, Jr.,
Bruce Price, American Architect (1824?1903)
(PhD dissertation, Yale University, May 1957).
- Vincent J. Scully, Jr.,
The Shingle Style and The Stick Style (Revised Edition)
(Yale University Press, 1971).
- ^
"Venturi, like [Louis] Kahn, starts from the beginning. Again that beginning recalls Wright's, and in Venturi's case derives (I am pleased to say) from the Shingle Style. Wright started in 1889 with a simple gabled house, as a child might draw a house but with a kind of vestigial Palladian motif in the gable. I made a great deal in
The Shingle Style
of Wright's dependence upon two houses by Bruce Price in this design. So Venturi: he presents an ur-house with a Palladian gesture literally drawn on it." Vincent Scully,
Modern Architecture and Other Essays
(Princeton University Press, 2003), p. 150.
- ^
a
b
"Bruce Price - Library Archival Catalogue"
.
archivalcollections.library.mcgill.ca
. Retrieved
January 30,
2018
.
- ^
"Baltimore Architecture Foundation ≫ Bruce Price"
.
Bruce Price
. Baltimore Architecture Foundation. March 21, 2009.
- ^
McKim, Mead and White
was the only firm to have more buildings listed in Sheldon.
- ^
Emily Post, "Tuxedo Park: An American Rural Community,"
Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine
vol. 82 (October 1911), pp. 795-805.
- ^
Railroad Gazette
. Railroad gazette. January 1, 1887.
- ^
Coryell Apartment Building
from The New York Times.
- ^
Cleftstone Manor
- ^
Osborn Hall
Archived
October 30, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
from Yale University.
- ^
"The Turrets"
Archived
April 27, 2015, at the
Wayback Machine
from College of the Atlantic.
- ^
"Wesson Mansion Destroyed by Fire"
.
The Boston Globe
. February 21, 1966. p. 4
. Retrieved
September 20,
2019
– via newspapers.com.
- ^
"House for D. B. Wesson, Esq., Springfield Mass. Mr. Bruce Price, architect, New York, N. Y."
The American Architect and Building News
.
XLII
(932): 63. November 4, 1893 – via
HathiTrust
.
online document pages 509 and 511 of 762
- ^
Whittier Hall
from Flickr.
- ^
Gate-Lodge and Keep
from Hudson River Magazine.
- ^
Gate-Lodge
from Flickr.
- ^
Keep
from Flickr.
- ^
Potter, Janet Greenstein (1996).
Great American Railroad Stations
. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 184.
ISBN
978-0471143895
.
- ^
Lorillard House
from University of Vermont.
- ^
"The Yale architectural historian Vincent Scully believes, for instance, that the house Wright designed for himself in 1889 was closely modeled on two houses built by another architect, Bruce Price, in Tuxedo Park, New York, three or four years before (1885?86). Professor Scully has published photographs to show the similarities between Wright's facade and that of Price's Kent house." Meryle Secrest,
Frank Lloyd Wright:A Biography
(University of Chicago Press, 1992), p. 117.
- ^
Chandler House
from Great Buildings Online.
- ^
Scully, p. 159 and fig. 156.
- ^
Van Buren House
from University of Vermont.
- ^
Tuxedo Historical Society
- ^
Barnes, Christine (1999).
Great Lodges of the Canadian Rockies
. W.W. West.
ISBN
0-9653924-2-2
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|