Norcross Brothers, Contractors and Builders was a nineteenth-century American construction company, especially noted for its work, mostly in stone, for the architectural firms of H.H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White. The company was founded in 1864 by brothers James Atkinson Norcross (1831-1903) and Orlando Whitney Norcross (1839-1920). It won its first major contract in 1869, and is credited with having completed over 650 building projects.
The Norcross brothers, James Atkinson (b. 24 March 1831) and Orlando Whitney (b. 26 October 1839), were born in Maine to Jesse Springer Norcross, proprietor of the Norcross Mills, and his wife, Margaret Ann Whitney. [1] The brothers moved to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1868. Their pedigree descends from Philip Norcross and his wife, Sarah [Jackson], the brothers' paternal great - great grandparents, originally of Watertown, MA. [2]
Skilled construction carpenters, the brothers formed their own construction company in 1864, and three years later contracted to build the new Worcester high school. The architect of the school was a young, but soon to be famous, Henry Hobson Richardson, and from then on Norcross Brothers became Richardson's favorite contractor, ultimately building more than thirty of his designs, including three considered by many his best work: Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts; the Marshall Fields & Company building in Chicago, Illinois; and the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Following the death of Richardson, the brothers became the contractor for many of McKim, Mead & White's projects. When MM&W opened a new office in New York City, in 1894, the Norcross Brothers had their own space within it. As had been the case with Richardson, much of the value of the Norcross Brothers to MM&W, and other architects derived from Orlando Norcross's engineering skill. Though largely self-taught, he had developed the skills needed to solve the vast engineering problems brought to him by his clients. For example, the size of the dome at the Rhode Island Capitol was expanded very late in the design process, perhaps even after construction had begun, so that it would be larger than the one just completed by Cass Gilbert for the Minnesota Capitol.
Because of their need for stone, a primary building material of the time, was outpacing the supply the brothers eventually acquired their own stone quarries, first in Connecticut (Branford) (now on the National Register of Historic Places) and in Massachusetts, and later in Westchester County, New York and in Georgia. They also established a factory in Worcester where they manufactured architectural building parts
Henry Bacon was an American Beaux-Arts architect who oversaw the engineering and design of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., built between 1915 and 1922, which was his final project before his 1924 death.
Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one of "the recognized trinity of American architecture."
Charles Allerton Coolidge (1858–1936) was an American architect best known as a partner in the architecture firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge of Boston and Chicago, successors to the firm of architect Henry Hobson Richardson and one of the best-known architecture firms in the United States. Coolidge was also senior partner in that firm's successors, Coolidge & Shattuck and Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbott of Boston and Coolidge & Hodgdon of Chicago.
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic, religious, and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry Hobson Richardson.
Shepley Bulfinch is an international architecture, planning, and interior design firm with offices in Boston, Hartford, Houston, and Phoenix. It is one of the oldest architecture firms in continuous practice in the United States, and was recognized by the American Institute of Architects with its highest honor, the AIA Architecture Firm Award, in 1973.
Woodland station is a light rail stop on the MBTA Green Line D branch, located off Washington Street (MA-16) between the Newton Lower Falls and Auburndale villages of Newton, Massachusetts, United States. It serves as access to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital, as well as a park and ride station for nearby Route 128.
Wellesley Square station is a commuter rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line, located just north of the MA 16-MA 135 intersection in downtown Wellesley, Massachusetts. It serves both walk-up and park-and-ride commuters, with a 224-space parking lot for the latter group. The station has low-level platforms and is not accessible.
The Newton Railroad Stations Historic District in Newton, Massachusetts is composed of three geographically separate historic railroad stations and one baggage/express building on the former Boston and Albany Railroad Highland branch, which was converted to MBTA Green Line D branch in 1959.
Fairlawn is a historic mansion at 189 May Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is now part of the main building of the Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital. The mansion were the property of James Norcross, a nationally prominent builder whose Norcross Brothers firm was engaged in construction projects involving famous architects, including H. H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White. The Norcross brothers were also locally prominent, building a number of Worcester landmarks and operating a factory in the city which produced architectural parts.
Walnut Hills Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Grove Street and Allandale Road in Brookline, Massachusetts. It encompasses 45.26 acres (18.32 ha), with mature trees and puddingstone outcrops, and was laid out in 1875 in the then-fashionable rural cemetery style. Many past prominent citizens of the town, including architect H. H. Richardson, are buried here. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
George Foster Shepley was an American architect. He was the senior partner in the firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge of Boston and Chicago, the successor to the firm of architect Henry Hobson Richardson.
The Public Library of New London is a historic library located at 63 Huntington Street at the corner of State Street, New London, Connecticut. The library was given to the city by Henry Philomen Haven. It was constructed in 1889-92 and was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in the Richardsonian Romanesque style; George Warren Cole was the project supervisor.
Jacob Adolphus Holzer (1858–1938) was a Swiss-born designer, muralist, mosaicist, interior designer, and sculptor who was associated with both John La Farge and Augustus Saint-Gaudens before he left to direct the mosaic workshops of Louis Comfort Tiffany, where he was preceded by his friend from La Farge's studio, the German immigrant Joseph Lauber (1855—1948). Holzer worked with Tiffany until 1898.
Charles Hercules Rutan was an American architect best known as a partner in the firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge of Boston and Chicago, successors to the firm of architect Henry Hobson Richardson.
Rutan & Russell was an American architectural firm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, active from 1896 to 1922. The named partners were Frank E. Rutan (1863–1911) and Frederick A. Russell (1861–1921), with the later additions of Edward P. Russell (1868–1920) and Eric Fisher Wood (1889–1962), a notable architect in his own right.
Warder Public Library is a historically significant building in Springfield, Ohio, United States. A robust example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, it was a gift to the city from industrialist Benjamin H. Warder, and served as the main branch of the Clark County Public Library from 1890 to 1989. It now houses the Clark County (Warder) Literacy Center.
Benjamin Head Warder was an American manufacturer of agricultural machinery, based in Springfield, Ohio, for much of his career. After he had retired, in 1902 the company he co-founded merged with four others to form International Harvester. Warder commissioned and donated a new library for Springfield in 1890, as a memorial to his parents.
A. H. Davenport and Company was a late 19th-century, early 20th-century American furniture manufacturer, cabinetmaker, and interior decoration firm. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it sold luxury items at its showrooms in Boston and New York City, and produced furniture and interiors for many notable buildings, including The White House. The word "davenport," meaning a boxy sofa or sleeper-sofa, comes from the company.
Domingo Mora (1840–1911) was a Spanish-American sculptor and architectural sculptor.
The Flour and Grain Exchange Building is a 19th-century office building in Boston. Located at 177 Milk Street in the Custom House District, at the edge of the Financial District near the waterfront, it is distinguished by the large black slate conical roof at its western end. It is referred to as the Grain Exchange Building and sometimes as the Boston Chamber of Commerce Building.