Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge

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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.

Contents

History

The firm grew out of Richardson's architectural practice. After Richardson's death at age 47 in 1886, a trio consisting of George Foster Shepley (1860–1903), Charles Hercules Rutan (1851–1914), and Charles Allerton Coolidge (1858–1936) gained control of the firm and completed all of its nearly two dozen pending projects, including the John J. Glessner House in Chicago. Many of Richardson's projects were completed and modified in stages over years, making exact attribution difficult for such buildings as the Ames Gate Lodge in North Easton, Massachusetts, and even Richardson's masterwork Trinity Church, Boston.

Two of the principals had been educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Shepley (class of 1882) and Coolidge (class of 1883). Shepley married Richardson's daughter; and Coolidge later married Shepley's sister.

In 1888, the firm was commissioned by Senator and Mrs. Leland Stanford to join landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in planning the campus for Stanford University. For major commissions in Chicago and the World's Columbian Exposition, Coolidge moved to Chicago and the firm opened its branch office there in 1893, in which many Prairie School architects received their early professional training, notably Hermann V. von Holst who was head draughtsman. A St. Louis branch office began the career of John Mauran; a Pittsburgh branch office developed into several firms, including Rutan & Russell formed by Frank E. Rutan, the younger brother of Charles. Other Pittsburgh firms developed by branch office employees include Longfellow, Alden & Harlow and Frank Irving Cooper; Pasadena architect Myron Hunt spent three years with them in Boston as draftsman.

Stylistically, the firm continued to work mainly in the architectural vocabulary of Richardsonian Romanesque, although with less imagination—for instance, Richardson's asymmetry disappears. The firm continued as Shepley Rutan and Coolidge through 1915, then became Coolidge and Shattuck (Boston) and Coolidge and Hodgdon (Chicago) concurrently from 1915 through 1924, then Coolidge Shepley Bulfinch and Abbott from 1924 through 1952, Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott from 1952, and is still in operation as Shepley Bulfinch.

Work

ImageBuildingLocationYearNotesRef
Franklin MacVeagh Residence Chicago, Illinois 1885–1887Completed work started by Richardson. Razed in 1922.
Stanford University Main Quad - 7 June 2009.jpg Stanford University Main Quad Stanford, California 1887–1906Also designed Encina Hall and the Leland Stanford Residence.
Bell Telephone Building in 1889 (St. Louis, Missouri).jpg Bell Telephone Building St. Louis, Missouri 1889
Hartford Union Station 1913 postcard.jpg Hartford Union Station Hartford, Connecticut Executed a design by George Keller [1]
New London Public Library, December 2018.JPG New London Public Library New London, Connecticut 1889
ShadysidePresbyterianChurchPHLF.jpg Shadyside Presbyterian Church Shadyside, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1890
Williams Memorial Institute, New London CT.jpg Williams Memorial Institute New London, Connecticut 1891
Chicago Cultural Center (51574888388).jpg Chicago Public Library Chicago, Illinois 1892Now the Chicago Cultural Center
2017 Flour and Grain Exchange Building.jpg Flour and Grain Exchange Building Boston, Massachusetts 1892
LS&MRR SANDUSKY.jpg Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Station Sandusky, Ohio 1892 [1]
Medfield State Hospital, buildings (cropped).jpg Medfield State Hospital Medfield, Massachusetts 1892
Montreal Board of Trade Building Montreal, Quebec 1892Destroyed in 1902.
"Ames Building" (13623776063).jpg Ames Building Boston, Massachusetts 1893
Art Institute of Chicago from south.jpg Art Institute of Chicago Built as the "World's Congress Auxiliary Building" for the World's Columbian Exposition.
North Union Station, 1897.png North Union Station 1893Razed in 1927.
Conant Hall, Harvard University.jpg Conant Hall Cambridge, Massachusetts 1894Built on the Harvard University campus
Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts LCCN2011630431.jpg Trinity Church Boston, Massachusetts 1894–1897Completed work started by Richardson.
Tilden-Thurber building, Providence, Rhode Island.jpg Tilden-Thurber Building Providence, Rhode Island 1895
Train-Station-Post-Card-early20th.jpg Coraopolis Station Coraopolis, Pennsylvania 1896 [1]
Euclid Avenue, the North Side, Looking West Toward E. 6th Street - DPLA - fc8f53ab4a9c3bdd7be39ce9ba6800d4.jpg Guardian Bank Building Cleveland, Ohio 1896
Glassport P&LE Railroad Station Glassport, Pennsylvania c.1896
Medill/McCormick Residence Cantigny Park, Illinois 1896
New Castle Junction P&LE Railroad Station New Castle, Pennsylvania c.1896Destroyed
South-bend-indiana-courthouse.jpg Third St. Joseph County Courthouse South Bend, Indiana 1897
14 Beacon Street (Fish, Cage, & McBeal) (7183315650).jpg Congregational Library & Archives Boston, Massachusetts 1898
South Station from Dewey Square, September 2011.jpg South Station Boston, Massachusetts 1898 [1]
Albany Union Station Postcard.png Albany Union Station Albany, New York 1899 [1] [2]
Chestnut Hill Pump Station Boston, Massachusetts 1900Built for the Metropolitan Water Board.
CarnegiePublicLibrarySedaliaMissouri.jpg Sedalia Public Library Sedalia, Missouri 1900
Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building and Agriculture Building Buffalo, New York 1901For the Pan-American Exposition,
University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 1901–1915Master plan and designs for more than fifteen buildings.
Bartlett Gymnasium.jpg Bartlett Gymnasium Chicago, Illinois 1904Built for the University of Chicago.
Brown university john carter brown lib.JPG John Carter Brown Library Providence, Rhode Island 1904Built for Brown University.
AllSaintsChurchAppletonLeStreet(StephenHorncastle)May2006.jpg All Saints Episcopal Church Appleton, Wisconsin 1905
Hildene manchester vermont 2006.jpg Hildene Manchester Center, Vermont 1905Mansion built for Robert Todd Lincoln.
Harvard Medical School HDR (cropped).jpg Harvard Medical School 1906
Langdell Hall, Harvard Law School.jpg Langdell Hall 1907Commissioned by James Barr Ames of the Harvard Law School.
Corn Exchange Bank Building Chicago, Illinois 1908Also known as National Republican Bank. Razed c.1985.
Boston Safe Deposit Building Boston, Massachusetts 1908–1911
Hampden County Courthouse MA.jpg Hampden County Courthouse Springfield, Massachusetts 1908–1912Additions to building designed by Richardson.
John Hay Library (Brown).jpg John Hay Library Providence, Rhode Island 1910 Brown University library. [3]
Union Station, Springfield, Mass. - 1.jpg Union Station Springfield, Massachusetts 1910
Harper Memorial Library, University of Chicago (NBY 2946).jpg Harper Memorial Library Chicago, Illinois 1910–1912 University of Chicago library.
YMCABoshq.JPG YMCA Boston Boston, Massachusetts 1911
First Congregational Church, Fall River, Mass (61471).jpg First Congregational Church of Fall River Fall River, Massachusetts 1912
Dallas Hall on the campus of Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas LCCN2015630915.jpg Dallas Hall University Park, Texas 1915On the campus of Southern Methodist University.
Ida Noyes Hall Courtyard.JPG Ida Noyes Hall Chicago, Illinois 1916Located on the University of Chicago campus.
Rockland Railroad Station.jpg Rockland Station Rockland, Maine 1917As Coolidge and Shattuck. [1]
Freemason's Hall Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Destroyed
Washington Building - Washington, D.C.jpg Washington Building Washington, D.C. 1927Contributing property to the Financial Historic District

Boston & Albany Railroad stations

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge also designed 23 stations for the Boston & Albany Railroad (1886 through 1894): [4]

Sources

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Potter, Janet Greenstein (1996). Great American Railroad Stations. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 66, 81, 85, 92, 97, 190, 396. ISBN   9780471143895.
  2. Liebs, Chester H. (July 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Albany Union Station". Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2009. and Accompanying two photos, exterior, from 1905 and undated
  3. Lovecraft, H. P. (October 1, 2013). The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories. Penguin. ISBN   9781101663035.
  4. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl (June 1988). "Architecture for the Boston & Albany Railroad: 1881-1894". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 47 (2): 109–131. doi:10.2307/990324. JSTOR   990324.