William L. Coulter
Encyclopedia
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...
who came to Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
in the spring of 1896 in an effort to cure his tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and stayed to design some of the finest Adirondack
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
Great Camps
Great Camps
Great camps refer to the grandiose family compounds of cabins that were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century on lakes in the Adirondacks such as Spitfire Lake and Rainbow Lake. The camps were summer homes for the wealthy, where they could relax, host or attend parties, and enjoy the...
and Cure Cottages
Cure Cottages of Saranac Lake
Between 1873 and 1945, Saranac Lake, New York became a world renowned center for the treatment of tuberculosis, using a treatment that involved exposing patients to as much fresh air as possible under conditions of complete bed-rest...
in the area. Among the camps he designed were Knollwood Club
Knollwood Club
Knollwood Club is an Adirondack Great Camp on Shingle Bay, Lower Saranac Lake, near the village of Saranac Lake, New York. It was built in 1899–1900 by William L. Coulter, who had previously created a major addition to Alfred G. Vanderbilt's Sagamore Camp...
, Camp Eagle Island
Camp Eagle Island
Camp Eagle Island, also known as Eagle Island Camp or simply EIC, is a resident summer camp located on Eagle Island in Upper Saranac Lake in New York’s Adirondack region and operated by the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey, part of Girl Scouts of the USA. The camp was not opened during summers 2009...
and Prospect Point Camp
Prospect Point Camp
Prospect Point Camp is an Adirondack Great Camp notable for its unusual chalets inspired by European hunting lodges. William L. Coulter's design is a significant example of the Adirondack Rustic style. It is located on a bluff overlooking the northern reaches of Upper Saranac Lake, near Eagle...
; Camp Eagle Island has been designated a US National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. In Saranac Lake, in 1903, he designed a house at 147 Park Avenue for Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Thomas Bailey Aldrich was an American poet, novelist, travel writer and editor.-Early life and education:...
, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, that wits dubbed "The Porcupine" because it had so many fine points and belonged to a "quill pusher". He also designed the Coulter Cottage
Coulter Cottage
Coulter Cottage is a historic cure cottage located at Saranac Lake, town of North Elba in Essex County, New York. It was built between 1897 and 1899 and is a -story wood-frame structure on a stone foundation and topped by a gambrel roof in the Shingle Style. It features a sitting out porch and...
, built between 1897 and 1899.
Coulter was born in Norwich, Connecticut
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
to William and Hanna Coulter. He worked in an architect's office in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
starting at 16, while a night student at Cooper Institute
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
. When he arrived in Saranac Lake in 1896, he had fifteen years experience in architectural work. His firm sent him north for his health and to help James Aspinwall, nephew of Dr. Edward L. Trudeau, design additions to the Adirondack Cottage Sanitorium that Trudeau had started in 1884. Within five years, he was working on Swiss chalet style Moss Ledge
Moss Ledge
Moss Ledge is an Adirondack Great Camp designed by William L. Coulter in 1898 for Isabel Ballantine of New York City. Ballantine was the daughter of Newark beer baron, John Holmes Ballantine....
and rustic Camp Pinebrook on Upper Saranac Lake
Upper Saranac Lake
Upper Saranac Lake is one of three connected lakes, part of the Saranac River, in the towns of Santa Clara and Harrietstown, near the village of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks in northern New York. Upper Saranac Lake is the sixth largest lake in the Adirondacks. With Middle Saranac Lake and...
, the latter for New York Governor Levi P. Morton
Levi P. Morton
Levi Parsons Morton was a Representative from New York and the 22nd Vice President of the United States . He also later served as the 31st Governor of New York.-Biography:...
, and Knollwood Club on Lower Saranac Lake
Lower Saranac Lake
Lower Saranac Lake is one of three connected lakes, part of the Saranac River, near the village of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks in northern New York. With Middle Saranac Lake and Upper Saranac Lake, a paddle with only one portage is possible. The Saranac Lake Islands Public Campground provides...
. According to a 1900 newspaper account, his plans had generated more than $600,000 worth of work and kept an "army of workmen" busy.
In 1902, he hired Max Westhoff, an experienced architect who soon became his partner. With Westhoff, he produced a number of homes in Saranac Lake and lake camps in the Adirondacks along with two in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
; he also worked on additions to Paul Smith's Hotel
Paul Smith's Hotel
Paul Smith's Hotel, formally known as the Saint Regis House, was founded in 1859 by Apollos Smith in the town of Brighton, Franklin County, New York in what would become the village of Paul Smiths; it was one of the first wilderness resorts in Adirondacks...
and the Lake Placid Club
Lake Placid Club
The Lake Placid Club was a social and recreation club founded 1895 in Lake Placid, New York by Melvil Dewey, and intended as a place where educators might find health, strength and inspiration at modest cost...
. Prospect Point Camp
Prospect Point Camp
Prospect Point Camp is an Adirondack Great Camp notable for its unusual chalets inspired by European hunting lodges. William L. Coulter's design is a significant example of the Adirondack Rustic style. It is located on a bluff overlooking the northern reaches of Upper Saranac Lake, near Eagle...
, on Upper Saranac Lake
Upper Saranac Lake
Upper Saranac Lake is one of three connected lakes, part of the Saranac River, in the towns of Santa Clara and Harrietstown, near the village of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks in northern New York. Upper Saranac Lake is the sixth largest lake in the Adirondacks. With Middle Saranac Lake and...
, was built for Adolph Lewisohn
Adolph Lewisohn
Adolph Lewisohn was a German-Jewish immigrant born in Hamburg who became a New York City investment banker, mining magnate, and philanthropist. He is the namesake of the former School of Mines building on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University, as well as the former Lewisohn Stadium...
, for whom they also designed a house in Ardsley
Ardsley, New York
Ardsley is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Greenburgh. The village's population was 4,452 at the 2010 census. The current mayor of Ardsley is Jay Leon....
and another dwelling in the city.
Sources
- Gallos, Phillip L., Cure Cottages of Saranac Lake, Historic Saranac LakeHistoric Saranac LakeHistoric Saranac Lake is a non-profit, membership organization dedicated to the preservation of the history and architectural heritage of the Saranac Lake area of New York State in the Adirondacks. -History:...
, 1985, ISBN 0-9615159-0-2. - Gilborn, Craig. Adirondack Camps: Homes Away from Home, 1850-1950. Blue Mountain Lake, NY: Adirondack Museum; Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000.