Edward Arista Vincent was an architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, cartographer, and civil engineer

Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...

, known for his design for Atlanta's antebellum railroad depot Union Station

Atlanta Union Station (1853)

Atlanta's first Union Station, also known as Union Depot was the original depot of Atlanta, Georgia. It was designed by architect Edward A. Vincent. It stood in the middle of State Square, the city's main square at the time, where Wall Street now is between Pryor Street and Central Avenue...

 destroyed by the Union Army during the occupation of Atlanta in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Biography

Vincent was probably born in 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...

, immigrating to the United States in 1849. Living first in New York City, he moved to Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

, in 1851. He became a U.S. citizen in 1852. That year he launched himself into the public eye, advertising his services as a civil engineer and architect in Savannah, Macon, and Augusta newspapers. According to Caldwell, he was more likely an engineer rather than an architect. He had offices in Macon, Augusta, and Atlanta. Vincent fell suddenly ill in November 1856 and died twelve days later. He was about thirty years old. His body was interred in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta.

Architecture

Vincent was hired by the Western and Atlantic Railroad

Western and Atlantic Railroad

The Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia' is a historic railroad that operated in the southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee....

 in 1852 to design a modern passenger depot in Atlanta. It was built by Henry Franklin Jeffries and was completed in April 1853. It was 300 feet long and 100 feet wide included a ticket office, baggage storage rooms, waiting rooms, and a food stand. According to Caldwell, "no structure could have spoken more eloquently for the new city than this purely utilitarian" building.

In 1864, the depot was demolished by Federal troops under the command of General Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...

 during the occupation of Atlanta. Neither Vincent nor Jeffries lived to witness the depot's destruction. Although Vincent advertised himself widely as an architect, no other examples of his work are currently known.

A scaled-down copy of Vincent's Depot has been recreated in Atlanta's Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock in Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet amsl and 825 feet above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain granite extends underground at its longest point into Gwinnett County...

 Park.

Cartography

Vincent's first and most ambitious cartographic project was his 1853 city map

City map

A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduced to generally understood symbology.Depending upon its target group or...

of Savannah. Measuring fifty-one inches wide and fifty inches tall, the detailed map included outlines of all structures in the city, both public and private. Brick and wood buildings were identified by different fill patterns. It was delivered to the Savannah city council by March 24, 1853.

On February 16, 1853, the Atlanta city council approved Vincent's proposal to produce a map of that city. It was completed by November 18, 1853, because the city council resolved that copies should be sent to the mayors of Georgia's other major cities.

Following the completion of his Atlanta map, the city of Macon hired Vincent to survey the city, produce a map, and direct the construction of a new sewer system. The city council challenged Vincent's survey methods and required that the city survey be re-staked. The city paid Vincent for fifty copies of his map, but required that a disclaimer be written on each one indemnifying the city from any legal challenge based on errors in the map.

External references

• Atlanta. City Council Minutes. Atlanta History Center.
• Caldwell, Wilbur W. 2001. The Courthouse and the Depot: The Architecture of Hope in an Age of Despair. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press. ISBN 0865547483.
• Johnston, James Houston. 1932. Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia. Atlanta: Georgia Public Service Commission.
• Lankevich, George J. 1978. Atlanta: A Chronological and Documentary History, 1813-1976. New York: Oceana Publications.
• Pioneer Citizens' Society of Atlanta. 1902. Pioneer Citizens' History of Atlanta: 1833-1902. Atlanta: Byrd Printing Company.
• Railga.com. "Atlanta Union Station of 1853." http://railga.com/Depots/atlun1853.html.
• Sneden, Robert Knox. 1864. Atlanta, Georgia and Its Rebel Defences (sic). Map. Virginia Historical Society.