Edward Clark (architect)
Encyclopedia
Edward Clark was an American architect who served as Architect of the Capitol
from 1865 to 1902.
Edward Clark was Thomas U. Walter
's student, chief assistant, and successor. Prior to working with Walter, he had received training in freehand and mechanical drawing as well as engineering. Clark was the superintendent of construction on the Patent Office and Post Office additions under Walter. He belonged to the American Institute of Architects.
Clark was appointed Capitol architect by President Andrew Johnson
upon his mentor's resignation on 30 August 1865 and completed the extension project in 1868. A year earlier, the old Capitol and the Grounds, as well as the extensions, were placed under the control of the Architect when the office of Commissioner of Public Buildings was abolished. Clark introduced many technological improvements to the Capitol, including electricity, steam heat, and elevators. During Clark's tenure, the Capitol Grounds were greatly enlarged and Frederick Law Olmstead, the greatest landscape architect of the day, was commissioned to design the grounds and terraces. Also during his administration, the Library of Congress moved to its own building, and the west central interior of the Capitol was reconstructed.
Edward Clark died in office on January 6, 1902.
Architect of the Capitol
The Architect of the Capitol is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex, and also the head of that agency. The Architect of the Capitol is in the legislative branch and is responsible to the United States...
from 1865 to 1902.
Edward Clark was Thomas U. Walter
Thomas U. Walter
Thomas Ustick Walter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was an American architect, the dean of American architecture between the 1820 death of Benjamin Latrobe and the emergence of H.H. Richardson in the 1870s...
's student, chief assistant, and successor. Prior to working with Walter, he had received training in freehand and mechanical drawing as well as engineering. Clark was the superintendent of construction on the Patent Office and Post Office additions under Walter. He belonged to the American Institute of Architects.
Clark was appointed Capitol architect by President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
upon his mentor's resignation on 30 August 1865 and completed the extension project in 1868. A year earlier, the old Capitol and the Grounds, as well as the extensions, were placed under the control of the Architect when the office of Commissioner of Public Buildings was abolished. Clark introduced many technological improvements to the Capitol, including electricity, steam heat, and elevators. During Clark's tenure, the Capitol Grounds were greatly enlarged and Frederick Law Olmstead, the greatest landscape architect of the day, was commissioned to design the grounds and terraces. Also during his administration, the Library of Congress moved to its own building, and the west central interior of the Capitol was reconstructed.
Edward Clark died in office on January 6, 1902.