R. Brognard Okie | |
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| Born | June 26, 1875 Camden, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | 27 December 1945 (aged 70) |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Years active | 1898-1945 |
Richardson Brognard Okie Jr. (1875-1945) was an American architect. He is noted for his Colonial-Revival houses and his sensitive restorations of historic buildings.
Okie was born in Camden, New Jersey, to Dr. Richardson B. and Clara Mickle Okie. [1] He grew up in Chester County, Pennsylvania, graduated from the architecture program at the University of Pennsylvania in 1897, and briefly studied in Europe. [2] He gained practical experience from a summer (1896) spent with William L. Price. After college he was employed by Arthur S. Cochran and soon became his associate. [1] In 1899, he formed a partnership with architects H. Louis Duhring Jr. and Carl Ziegler, that lasted until 1918. He practiced independently until his death in 1945. In his later years he was joined by his son Charles (b. 1915). [2]
He designed a re-creation of George Washington's "President's House" as an attraction at the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia; a re-creation of Pennsbury Manor, William Penn's manor house on the Delaware River, as a museum for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and restored the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia as a museum. He also designed dozens of exquisitely-detailed Colonial-Revival houses in the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia. He bought his own house, "Hillside" in Radnor, Pennsylvania, in 1901, and tinkered with it periodically. It remains in his family's possession. [3]
A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. [4] Okie's papers are held by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. [5]
Willistown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,497 at the 2010 census. At the 1860 census, the population of Willistown was 1,521, and in 1980 it was 8,269.
Newtown Township, also referred to by the name of its post office of Newtown Square, is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Prior to 1789, it was part of Chester County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,002.
Wyncote is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It borders the northwestern and northeastern section of Philadelphia. Wyncote is located 11 miles from Center City Philadelphia at the southeasternmost tip of Montgomery County. The Jenkintown-Wyncote SEPTA station is the fifth busiest regional rail station in the SEPTA system.
Radnor Township, often called simply Radnor, is a first class township with home rule status in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2019 United States census estimate, the township population is 31,875. Radnor Township is the largest municipality in Delaware County by land area and the fourth-largest by population, following Upper Darby Township, Haverford Township, and Chester.
Wayne is an unincorporated community centered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, on the Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and one of the wealthiest areas in the nation. While the center of Wayne is in Radnor Township, Wayne extends into both Tredyffrin Township in Chester County and Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County. The center of Wayne was designated the Downtown Wayne Historic District in 2012. Considering the large area served by the Wayne post office, the community may extend slightly into Easttown Township, Chester County, as well.
Pennsbury Manor is the colonial estate of William Penn, founder and proprietor of the Colony of Pennsylvania, who lived there from 1699 to 1701. He left it and returned to England in 1701, where he died penniless in 1718. Following his departure and financial woes, the estate fell into numerous hands and disrepair. Since 1939 it has been the name of a reconstructed manor on the original property.
The Betsy Ross House is a landmark in Philadelphia purported to be the site where the seamstress and flag-maker Betsy Ross (1752–1836) lived when she is said to have sewed the first American Flag. The origins of the Betsy Ross myth trace back to her relatives, particularly her grandsons, William and George Canby, and the celebrations of the Centennial of 1876. Evidence for the precise location of Ross's home came from verification provided by several surviving family members, although the best archival evidence indicates the house would have been adjacent to the one that still stands today as The Betsy Ross House. The 1937 Philadelphia Guide noted that, after the current Betsy Ross House was selected as the Flag House, the adjacent building where Ross may have indeed lived "was torn down to lessen the hazards of fire, perhaps adding a touch of irony to what may well have been an error in research." Although the house is one of the most visited tourist sites in Philadelphia, the claim that Ross once lived there, and that she designed and sewed the first American flag, sometimes called the Betsy Ross flag, are considered false by most historians.
Theophilus Parsons Chandler Jr. was an American architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He spent his career at Philadelphia, and is best remembered for his churches and country houses. He founded the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania (1890), and served as its first head.
St. David's Episcopal Church, also known as St. David's at Radnor or Old St. David's, is a parish of the Episcopal Church located at 763 South Valley Forge Road in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. The church property contains the original church built in 1715, a chapel, church offices, school and cemetery. The property straddles the borders of Radnor Township and Newtown Township in Delaware County and the majority of the cemetery is in Easttown Township, Chester County. It was founded c. 1700 in the Welsh Tract section of the Province of Pennsylvania by Welsh settlers and has grown to be the largest congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania with approximately 3,000 members. The original church and cemetery were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Strasburg Road was an early road in Pennsylvania connecting Philadelphia to Strasburg in Lancaster County. The route was surveyed by John Sellers and others in 1772-3 under the colonial administration of Governor Richard Penn and completed under the new administration of the independent state of Pennsylvania. The route started at the "second ferry" on the Schuylkill River, today's Market Street in Philadelphia, and went through West Chester, East Fallowfield Township, and Gap, before ending in Strasburg. Earlier roads travelled much the same route, including a Native American path in use as early as 1620.
The Radnor Friends Meetinghouse is an historic, American Quaker meeting house that is located on Sproul and Conestoga Roads in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Herman Louis Duhring Jr. was an American architect from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He designed several buildings that are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Furness & Evans was a Philadelphia architectural partnership, established in 1881, between architect Frank Furness and his former chief draftsman, Allen Evans. In 1886, other employees were made partners, and the firm became Furness, Evans & Company. George Howe worked in the firm and later became a partner at Mellor & Meigs, another Philadelphia firm.
White Horse Historic District, also known as White Horse Village, is a national historic district located in Willistown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses 15 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure in the crossroads village of White Horse. They were built between 1798 and about 1950 and are mostly 2 1/2 or 3-story masonry structures clad in stucco. Seven of the contributing buildings are residences. The other contributing buildings include the former blacksmith shop, , White Horse Store and residence (1798), and White Horse Tavern. A number of the houses were renovated in the 1930s and 1940s by architect R. Brognard Okie (1875-1945).
The Reading Furnace Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Warwick Township and East Nantmeal Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Merestone, also known as the John S. Reese, IV, House, is an American historic estate that is located in New Garden Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and New Castle County, Delaware. Spanning the border of the two states, the estate encompasses the Merestone House, the guest house/garage, a milk house, and a stone shed.
South Brook Farm, also known as the Charles A. Higgins Estate and New Bolton Center for Veterinary Medicine, is a historic estate located in East Marlborough Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The original section of the house was built in 1717, and expanded in the 19th century. In 1940, it was modernized and enlarged by architect R. Brognard Okie in the Colonial Revival style. Also on the property are a former stable or carriage house transformed into a cottage and photographic studio; an English bank barn; early 20th century terra cotta silo; and one-story garage (1940).
Bolingbroke Mansion is an 18th-century mansion located in Radnor, Pennsylvania, now used as a party house.
Letitia Street House is a modest eighteenth-century house in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. It was built along the Delaware riverfront about 1713, and relocated to its current site in 1883. The house was once celebrated as the city residence of Pennsylvania's founder, William Penn (1644–1718); however, later historical research determined that he never lived there.
James B. Garrison, Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of R. Brognard Okie, Rizzoli, New York, 2013. ISBN 978-0-8478-4078-6
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