James Gamble Rogers
Encyclopedia
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, and elsewhere.
Rogers was born in Bryan Station
Bryan Station
Bryan Station was an early fortified settlement in Lexington, Kentucky...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, to James M. and Katharine Gamble Rogers. Rogers attended Yale University, where he was a member of Scroll and Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
, a senior society whose membership included several other notable architects. He received his B.A. in 1889, and is responsible for many of the gothic revival structures at Yale University built in the 1910s through the mid 1930s, as well as the university's master plan in 1924. He designed for other universities as well, such as the Butler Library at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, many of the original buildings at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center (now the Columbia University Medical Center
Columbia University Medical Center
Columbia University Medical Center is an academic medical center that includes Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, College of Dental Medicine, School of Nursing and Mailman School of Public Health...
), and several buildings at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, notably Deering Library
Deering Library
Charles Deering Library is located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Deering Library houses the Government Publications Department and the Northwestern University Archives on the first floor, the Music Library on the second floor, and the Map Collection,...
.
Rogers was philanthropist Edward Harkness
Edward Harkness
Edward Stephen Harkness was an American philanthropist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four sons to Stephen V. Harkness, a harness-maker who invested in the forerunner of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller's oil company. Harkness inherited a fortune from his father...
's favorite architect, and Harkness would often condition a gift for a new academic or medical building upon the institution's agreement to hire Rogers for the project. It is thus no coincidence that Rogers' work is abundant at Yale, Columbia and the other institutions Harkness supported lavishly. Though Harkness loved Rogers's work, when Harkness donated a new home for Wolf's Head
Wolf's Head
Wolf's Head may refer to:* Wolf's Head , founded at Yale University in 1883* Wolf's Head is a peak in Wyoming's Cirque of the Towers* Wolf's Head , company founded in 1879...
, his society at Yale, another architect (Bertram Goodhue
Bertram Goodhue
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was a American architect celebrated for his work in neo-gothic design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for the Merrymount Press.-Early career:...
) was chosen, for obvious reasons, according to many sources in architectural histories.
Rogers' Collegiate Gothic designs for Yale lent an air of instant heritage and authenticity to the campus. Rogers was criticized by other prominent Gothic-revival Ameican architects, namely Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
, for his use of steel frames underneath stone cladding, and tricks such as splashing acid on stone walls to simulate age. Rogers was also criticized by the growing Modernist movement of the time. The 1927 Sterling Memorial Library
Sterling Memorial Library
Sterling Memorial Library is the largest library at Yale University, containing over 4 million volumes. It is an example of Gothic revival architecture, designed by James Gamble Rogers, adorned with thousands of panes of stained glass created by G. Owen Bonawit.The Library has 15 levels, each with...
came under especially vocal attack from Yale students for its historicist spirit and its lavish use of ornament.
Rogers's nephew, James Gamble Rogers II
James Gamble Rogers II
James Gamble Rogers II was a celebrated American architect practicing primarily in Winter Park, Florida in the middle years of the twentieth century. He is noted for suavely elegant residential and commercial work, in the Spanish Revival, Mediterranean Revival, French Provincial and Colonial...
(1901–1990) was also an architect, who designed homes in Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
for the Rogers family architecture firm Rogers, Lovelock and Fritz, where Rogers II's son John (Jack) Rogers is a principal architect.
Rogers II's other son, James Gamble Rogers IV
James Gamble Rogers IV
James Gamble Rogers IV was a folk artist known for the recurring theme in his songs and stories about characters and places in a fictional Florida county. He died a heroic death and was honored by his native state....
(1937–1991) was also trained as an architect. After working in the family firm as a young man, James Gamble Rogers IV decided to pursue his passion for music. He became a noted Florida folksinger, composer and guitarist, now memorialized by the Gamble Rogers Memorial Foundation, Gamble Rogers Middle School, and Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach
Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach
Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area is a Florida State Park located at Flagler Beach, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intra-Coastal Waterway on SR A1A. It is about north of Daytona Beach and about south of St. Augustine. The park is named for Gamble Rogers, a Florida folk singer....
on Florida's east coast.
James Gamble Rogers' architectural drawing
Architectural drawing
An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building that falls within the definition of architecture...
s and photographs are now held in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives in the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is one of twenty-five libraries in the Columbia University Library System and is located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the City of New York. It is the largest architecture library in the world...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York.
Buildings
- Lees Building, Chicago, 1893 (now demolished)
- Hyde Park Union Church, Chicago, 1906
- The Harkness Mansion, 1 East 75th Street at Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. Constructed as the residence of EdwardEdward HarknessEdward Stephen Harkness was an American philanthropist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four sons to Stephen V. Harkness, a harness-maker who invested in the forerunner of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller's oil company. Harkness inherited a fortune from his father...
and Mary Stillman Harkness in 1908. Currently the home of The Commonwealth Fund. Designated a landmark in 1967. - Federal Courthouse, New Haven, 1913
- Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TennesseeMemphis Brooks Museum of ArtMemphis Brooks Museum of Art is an art museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The Brooks Museum, which was founded in 1916, is the oldest and largest art museum in the state of Tennessee. The museum is a privately funded nonprofit institution located in Overton Park in Midtown Memphis.The original...
, 1913 - The Yale Club of New York CityYale Club of New York CityThe Yale Club of New York City, commonly called the Yale Club, is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Its membership is restricted almost entirely to alumni and faculty of Yale University, University of Virginia and Dartmouth College...
, Midtown Manhattan, 1915 - Burnham Park Plaza, Chicago, 1915
- Plan and buildings of The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, Tulane UniversityTulane UniversityTulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, New Orleans, 1913 - Harkness Memorial Quadrangle (later renovated and subdivided by Rogers in 1933 into BranfordBranford CollegeBranford College is the oldest of the 12 residential colleges at Yale University.-The Founding of Branford:Branford College was founded in 1933 by partitioning the Memorial Quadrangle into two parts: Saybrook and Branford...
and Saybrook CollegeSaybrook CollegeSaybrook College is one of the 12 residential colleges at Yale University. It was founded in 1933 by partitioning the Memorial Quadrangle into two parts: Saybrook and Branford....
s) and Harkness Memorial Tower, Yale University, 1921 - The Goodwyn, Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, 1922 - Shelby County CourthouseShelby County, TennesseeShelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the state's largest both in terms of population and geographic area, with a population of 927,644 at the 2010 census...
, Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, 1909 - Yale's General Plan, 1924
- Bob Cook Boat House, Yale University, 1924
- Ryan Field, Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, 1926 - Wieboldt Hall, Northwestern University, Chicago campus, 1926
- Ward Memorial Building, Northwestern University, Chicago campus, 1926 (funded by Elizabeth Ward in honor of her late husband, mail order and department store magnate Aaron Montgomery WardAaron Montgomery WardAaron Montgomery Ward was an American businessman notable for the invention of mail order.The mail-order industry was started by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872 in Chicago...
.) - Beta Theta PiBeta Theta PiBeta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...
, Fraternity Row, Yale University, 1927 - Psi UpsilonPsi UpsilonPsi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only...
, later the Fence Club, Fraternity Row, Yale University, 1928 - Harkness Pavilion, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 1928
- Vanderbilt School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 1928
- Neurological Institute of New York, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 1928
- College of Physicians and SurgeonsColumbia University College of Physicians and SurgeonsColumbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 1928 - Presbyterian Hospital Building, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 1928
- Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 1929
- School of Education, New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, Greenwich VillageGreenwich VillageGreenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, 1930 - Sterling Memorial LibrarySterling Memorial LibrarySterling Memorial Library is the largest library at Yale University, containing over 4 million volumes. It is an example of Gothic revival architecture, designed by James Gamble Rogers, adorned with thousands of panes of stained glass created by G. Owen Bonawit.The Library has 15 levels, each with...
, Yale University, 1930 - Delta Kappa EpsilonDelta Kappa EpsilonDelta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
, Fraternity Row, Yale University, 1930 - Sterling Law Building, Yale University, 1931
- Alpha Delta PhiAlpha Delta PhiAlpha Delta Phi is a Greek-letter social college fraternity and the fourth-oldest continuous Greek-letter fraternity in the United States and Canada. Alpha Delta Phi was founded on October 29, 1832 by Samuel Eells at Hamilton College and includes former U.S. Presidents, Chief Justices of the U.S....
, 215 Park Street, Fraternity Row, Yale University, 1931 - University Theater and Drama SchoolYale School of DramaThe Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
, Yale University, 1931 (renovation) - Phi Gamma DeltaPhi Gamma DeltaThe international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
/ Vernon Hall, 217 Park Street, Fraternity Row, Yale University, 1932 - Hall of Graduate Studies, Yale University, 1932
- Jonathan Edwards CollegeJonathan Edwards CollegeJonathan Edwards College is a residential college at Yale University. Established in 1932, it is the oldest of Yale's residential colleges. Members of the Yale community refer to it informally as J.E....
including Weir Hall addition, Yale University, 1932 - Pierson CollegePierson CollegePierson College is a residential college founded in 1933 at Yale University. The College takes its name from Abraham Pierson , one of the founders of the Collegiate School, which later became Yale University. A statue of Abraham Pierson stands on Yale's Old Campus...
, Yale University, 1932 - Davenport CollegeDavenport CollegeDavenport College is one of the twelve residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade. The college was named for John Davenport, who founded Yale's home city of New Haven, Connecticut...
, Yale University, 1932 - Deering LibraryDeering LibraryCharles Deering Library is located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Deering Library houses the Government Publications Department and the Northwestern University Archives on the first floor, the Music Library on the second floor, and the Map Collection,...
, Northwestern University, Evanston campus, 1933 - Trumbull CollegeTrumbull CollegeTrumbull College is one of twelve undergraduate residential colleges of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.The college is named for Jonathan Trumbull, the last governor of the Colony of Connecticut and first governor of the State of Connecticut, serving from 1769 until 1784, and a friend and...
, Yale University, 1933 - Berkeley CollegeBerkeley College (Yale)Berkeley College is a residential college at Yale University, constructed in 1934. The eighth of Yale's 12 residential colleges, it was named in honor of Reverend George Berkeley , dean of Derry and later bishop of Cloyne, in recognition of the assistance in land and books that he gave to Yale in...
, Yale University, 1933 - Butler LibraryButler LibraryThe Nicholas Murray Butler Library, commonly known simply as Butler Library, is the largest single library in the Columbia University Library System, which contains over 9.3 million books, and is one of the largest buildings on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University.Proposed as...
, Columbia University, 1934 (as South Hall; renamed in 1946 in honor of Nicholas Murray Butler, president of the University from 1902 to 1945) - Timothy Dwight CollegeTimothy Dwight CollegeTimothy Dwight College, commonly abbreviated and referred to as "TD", is a residential college at Yale University named after two university presidents, Timothy Dwight IV and Timothy Dwight V. The college was designed in 1935 by James Gamble Rogers in the Federal-style architecture popular during...
, Yale University, 1935 - Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center, 1939
- Scott Hall / Cahn Auditorium, Northwestern University, Evanston campus, 1940
- Harkness Chapel, Connecticut CollegeConnecticut CollegeConnecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
, New London, 1940 - Laurel Court Mansion, Cincinnati, 1907 (residence of his aunt Laura Gamble Thomson)
Sources
- James Gamble Rogers and the Architecture of Pragmatism, Aaron Betsky, MIT, 1994.
- The Architecture of James Gamble Rogers II in Winter Park, Florida, Patrick and Debra McClane , 2004. ISBN 0-8130-2770-5
- The Campus Guide: Yale University, Patrick L. Pinnell, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1999.
- Yale: A Pictorial History, Reuben A. Holden, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1967.