Edmund George Lind
Encyclopedia
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Atlanta, and the American south.
Lind was born in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, now a part of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; his father, Alexander Lind, was an engraver who had fought on the British side at the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
. When he was young the family moved to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where drawing and painting became his favorite amusements. After an attempt at studying law, he studied architecture at the London School of Design, then worked for several years in architects' offices in London.
In 1855 Lind emigrated to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he found employment as chief draftsman for N. G. Starkweather, designer of the First Presbyterian Church in Baltimore (at Madison Street and Park Avenue). Lind moved to Baltimore to supervise its construction, but in 1856 left Starkweather's office to partner with William T. Murdoch, with whom he was associated until about 1860. He married his partner's cousin, Margaret Murdoch.
In the late 1850s Lind & Murdoch were selected to design the Peabody Institute
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
in Baltimore. Its west wing was begun in 1858, completed in 1861, and dedicated in 1866, containing Peabody Hall, conservatory rooms, and a picture gallery. In 1875 its east wing was begun and in 1878 finished under Lind's supervision. Its most impressive feature is its large central reading room, rising to the full height of the building under a skylight, with six stories of alcoves giving room for 300,000 volumes. Other examples of Lind's Baltimore work include the Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church at Bolton Street and Lafayette Avenue, a church at the southwest corner of Dolphin and Etting streets, and the monument to Capt. John Gleason, of the 5th Maryland Infantry, in Cathedral Cemetery.
In 1882 Lind transferred his practice to Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, where for a decade he designed mansions, factories, libraries, courthouses, hotels, Masonic lodges, commercial buildings, textile mill housing, and churches in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and elsewhere. His finest building in these years was the Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta (1884). He also designed the Gwinnett County Courthouse
Gwinnett County Courthouse
The Gwinnett Historic Courthouse is an historic government building located at 185 West Crogan Street in Lawrenceville in Gwinnett County, Georgia. The original county courthouse burned in 1872. The present day Courthouse was built in 1885. It served as the center of county business for over a...
in Lawrenceville, Georgia
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, in the United States. The Census Bureau estimates the 2008 population at 29,258...
; the Mary Willis Library
Mary Willis Library
The Mary Willis Library is a historic public library located in the city of Washington, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The library, located at 204 East Liberty Street in downtown Washington, is the designated public library for Wilkes County and headquarters of the Bartram Trail Regional Library...
in Washington, Georgia
Washington, Georgia
Washington is a city in Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,295 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Wilkes County...
; and the Milton Candler House
Milton A. Candler
Milton Anthony Candler was an American politician and lawyer.Candler was born in Campbellton, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens in 1854. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1856 and began practice in Cassville, Georgia...
in Decatur, Georgia
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
; as well as a combined market and city hall for Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. Following the severe economic depression of 1893, Lind retired to Baltimore where he continued to practice on a limited basis. He died in 1909.
During his career, Lind was active in both national and professional roles. He served as assistant supervising architect for the United States during the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant. He became a member of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
in 1857, and a Fellow in 1870. Lind was a founding member of the Baltimore Chapter AIA in 1870 and he also served as president in 1871, and then from 1876 to 1882. He also served as vice president of the national AIA organization on two occasions. His interests extended beyond architecture. In 1894 he wrote an essay on the relationship between music and color, and transposed Yankee Doodle, The Star-Spangled Banner, and a number of other popular songs from music into color. He also investigated the importance of the number seven in acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, based on the seven colors of the rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
and the seven sounds of the diatonic scale
Diatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note, octave-repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps...
.
Selected works
- 1858-1861: Peabody Institute BuildingsPeabody InstituteThe Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
, Baltimore, Maryland - 1872: Gwinnett County CourthouseGwinnett County CourthouseThe Gwinnett Historic Courthouse is an historic government building located at 185 West Crogan Street in Lawrenceville in Gwinnett County, Georgia. The original county courthouse burned in 1872. The present day Courthouse was built in 1885. It served as the center of county business for over a...
, Lawrenceville, GeorgiaLawrenceville, GeorgiaLawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, in the United States. The Census Bureau estimates the 2008 population at 29,258... - 1881: LauretumLauretumLauretum is a historic home located at Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland, United States. It is a large, three story late Victorian stuccoed frame house built in 1881 for Chestertown lawyer Harrison W. Vickers . It features irregular massing, multiple roof forms, clipped gables, an oriel window,...
, Chestertown, MarylandChestertown, MarylandChestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,746 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. The ZIP code is 21620 and the area codes are 410 and 443... - 1884: Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...