James H. Windrim
Encyclopedia
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, he apprenticed under John Notman
John Notman
John Notman was a Scottish-born American architect, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is remembered for his churches, and for popularizing the Italianate style and the use of brownstone.-Career:...
, and opened his own office in 1867. That same year, at age 27, he won the design competition for the Philadelphia Masonic Temple
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
, the building for which he is best remembered.
In 1871, he was named architect for the Stephen Girard Estate, and designed several buildings at Girard College
Girard College
Girard College is an independent boarding school on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Girard is for academically capable students, grades one through 12, and awards a full scholarship with a yearly value of approximately $42,000 to every child admitted to the...
, and a complex of stores that later became Snellenburg's Department Store
N. Snellenburg & Company
N. Snellenburg & Company, commonly known as Snellenburg's, was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based middle class department store and wholesale clothing manufacturer, established in 1869. The company became the largest clothing manufacturer in the world and at one time employed 3,000...
. As Supervising Architect
Office of the Supervising Architect
The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939....
for the U.S. Treasury Department, 1889–91, he was responsible for all federal construction. He designed at least sixteen federal buildings across the country that consolidated post offices, federal offices and federal courts. He returned to his native city, and served as Director of Public Works for the City of Philadelphia, 1891-95.
He served as president of the Philadelphia Chapter 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...
, 1879-86. His son, John T. Windrim
John T. Windrim
John Torrey Windrim was an American architect.He trained in the office of his father, architect James H. Windrim. He was elected to the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1901, and became a Fellow of the Institute in 1926...
, joined his architectural firm in 1882 (James H. Windrim & Son), and took over after the father's retirement. Windrim died in Philadelphia at age 79.
The Smith Memorial Arch
Smith Memorial Arch
Smith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument at South Concourse and Lansdowne Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built on the former grounds of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, it serves as a gateway to West Fairmount Park...
in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, includes a bronze bust of James H. Windrim by sculptor Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray
Samuel Aloysius Murray was an American sculptor, and protégé of the painter Thomas Eakins.-Murray and Eakins:...
(1898–1901).
Philadelphia buildings
- Philadelphia Masonic TempleGrand Lodge of PennsylvaniaThe Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
, NE corner Broad & Filbert Sts. (1868–73). - Academy of Natural SciencesAcademy of Natural SciencesThe Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...
, 1900 Logan Square (now Logan CircleLogan Circle (Philadelphia)Logan Circle, also known as Logan Square, is an open-space park in Center City Philadelphia's northwest quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city grid. The circle itself exists within the original bounds of the square; the names Logan Square and Logan Circle are...
) (1868–72). - Kemble-Bergdoll Mansion, 2201-05 Green Street, (ca. 1885). Windrim added the carriage house in 1889.
- Falls Bridge over Schuylkill RiverFalls BridgeThe Falls Bridge is a steel Pratt truss bridge that spans the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It connects Kelly Drive at Calumet Street with Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive at Neill Drive...
, Fairmount Park (1894–95), with George S. Webster, chief engineer, City of Philadelphia. - Smith Memorial Playground & PlayhouseSmith Memorial Playground & PlayhouseSmith Memorial Playground & Playhouse is a free young children's playground near North 33rd Street and Oxford Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, within the borders of Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, Reservoir Dr., East Fairmount Park (1898–99). - Smith Memorial ArchSmith Memorial ArchSmith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument at South Concourse and Lansdowne Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built on the former grounds of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, it serves as a gateway to West Fairmount Park...
(Civil War Memorial), South Concourse & Lansdowne Drive, West Fairmount Park (1898–1912), with John T. Windrim. - North American BuildingNorth American BuildingThe North American Building is a historic high-rise building at 121 South Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by Philadelphia architect James H. Windrim , it was built in 1900 as the headquarters of the Philadelphia newspaper The North American . The building was commissioned by...
, 121 S. Broad St. (1900). Until the 1901 completion of City Hall TowerPhiladelphia City HallPhiladelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...
, this was the tallest building in Philadelphia. - Commonwealth Title & Trust Company Building, 1201-05 Chestnut St. (1901–06), with John T. Windrim.
- Lafayette Building, NE corner 5th & Chestnut Sts. (1907–08), with John T. Windrim.
Demolished Philadelphia buildings
- Philadelphia Trust, Safe Deposit and Insurance Company, 415 Chestnut St. (1873–74, demolished 1959).
- Agricultural Hall, Centennial ExpositionCentennial ExpositionThe Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...
, West Fairmount Park (1875–76, demolished). - Snellenberg's Department StoreN. Snellenburg & CompanyN. Snellenburg & Company, commonly known as Snellenburg's, was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based middle class department store and wholesale clothing manufacturer, established in 1869. The company became the largest clothing manufacturer in the world and at one time employed 3,000...
, 1100-42 Market Sts. (1886–87, demolished 1960s). Built by the Stephen Girard Estate. - Western Saving Fund Society, 1000-08 Walnut St. (ca. 1887, demolished 1967).
- Bank of North America, 305-07 Chestnut St. (1893–95, demolished 1972), with John T. Windrim.
Buildings elsewhere
- National Saving And Trust CompanyNational Saving And Trust CompanyThe National Saving And Trust Company is a historic bank building located at the corner of New York Avenue and 15th Street, NW in Downtown Washington, D.C....
, New York Ave. & 15th St. NW, Washington, DC (1888). - U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (now Paul Laxalt State Building), 401 Carson St., Carson City, NV (1888–91), designed by Mifflin E. BellMifflin E. BellMifflin Emlen Bell was an American architect who served from 1883 to 1886 as Supervising Architect of the US Treasury Department...
, completed by Windrim. - Altoona Masonic Temple, 1111-19 Eleventh St., Altoona, PA (1889–90).
- U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (now Abingdon Police Department), 425 W. Main St., Abingdon, VA (1889–90), with Will A. Freret.
- U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (now Lancaster Municipal Building), 120 N. Duke St., Lancaster, PA (1889–92).
- U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (now Mississippi River Commission Building), 1400 Walnut St., Vicksburg, MS (1890–92).
- U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Scranton, PA (1890–94, demolished 1930).
- U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (Detroit Federal Building), Shelby & Fort Sts., Detroit, MI (1890–97, demolished 1931).
- U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (now Springfield City Hall), 830 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO (1891–94), with Willoughby J. EdbrookeWilloughby J. EdbrookeWilloughby James Edbrooke was an American architect and a bureaucrat who remained faithful to a Richardsonian Romanesque style into the era of Beaux-Arts architecture in the United States, supported by commissions from conservative federal and state governments that were spurred by his stint in...
. - U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Sacramento, CA (1891–94, demolished 1966).
External links
- James H. Windrim from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.