Joseph Miller Huston
Encyclopedia
Joseph Miller Huston was an architect
notable for designing the third (and current) Pennsylvania State Capitol
in Harrisburg
. Construction started in 1902 of his Beaux-Arts design. He was one of five people convicted of graft
in 1910 after a state investigation of cost overruns in association with construction and furnishing the capitol.
, an influential architect based in Philadelphia, before starting his own firm. In 1898–99, Huston toured Europe and Asia, seeing a range of historic styles which greatly influenced his later designs.
Huston designed the Pennsylvania State Memorial at Gettysburg Battlefield
.
Joseph Huston was one of nine competitors in the design competition for a new Pennsylvania State Capitol building and won the commission at the age of 36. In the end, the total cost of the project was nearly triple what the legislature had appropriated, in part because of inflated costs for construction and furnishings due to the state's purchasing mechanism. Huston and four other officials were convicted of graft in 1910 and sentenced to up to two years in prison for their parts in the overruns. Although he appealed, Huston lost his case in 1911 and went to prison.
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...
notable for designing the third (and current) Pennsylvania State Capitol
Pennsylvania State Capitol
The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is in downtown Harrisburg. It was designed in 1902 in a Beaux-Arts style with Renaissance themes throughout...
in Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. Construction started in 1902 of his Beaux-Arts design. He was one of five people convicted of graft
Graft (politics)
In general graft is an unscrupulous use of one’s authority for personal gain. However, the gain may also end up in party coffers...
in 1910 after a state investigation of cost overruns in association with construction and furnishing the capitol.
Early life and education
Joseph Miller Huston was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1866. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1895.Career
Huston first worked with Frank FurnessFrank Furness
Frank Heyling Furness was an acclaimed American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his eclectic, muscular, often idiosyncratically scaled buildings, and for his influence on the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan...
, an influential architect based in Philadelphia, before starting his own firm. In 1898–99, Huston toured Europe and Asia, seeing a range of historic styles which greatly influenced his later designs.
Huston designed the Pennsylvania State Memorial at Gettysburg Battlefield
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
.
Joseph Huston was one of nine competitors in the design competition for a new Pennsylvania State Capitol building and won the commission at the age of 36. In the end, the total cost of the project was nearly triple what the legislature had appropriated, in part because of inflated costs for construction and furnishings due to the state's purchasing mechanism. Huston and four other officials were convicted of graft in 1910 and sentenced to up to two years in prison for their parts in the overruns. Although he appealed, Huston lost his case in 1911 and went to prison.