1889 in architecture explained

The year 1889 in architecture involved some significant events.

Events

• May 6–October 31 – Exposition Universelle in Paris, with the Eiffel Tower as its entrance arch. The Galerie des machines, designed by architect Ferdinand Dutert and engineer Victor Contamin, at 111 m, spans the longest interior space in the world at this time.
• August 10 – At the Vienna Hofburg, the grand opening ceremony is held for the Imperial Natural History Museum, begun in 1871; from August 13 to the end of December, the museum counts 175,000 visitors.

Buildings and structures

Buildings opened

• March 31 – Eiffel Tower in Paris, designed by Gustave Eiffel.^[1] At 300 m, its height exceeds the previous tallest structure in the world by 130 m.
• April 10 – A star is placed on the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, Italy, designed by Alessandro Antonelli, bringing the building's total height to 167.5m (549.5feet), making it the tallest brick building in Europe.^[2]
• April 27 – The Ilha Fiscal Customs House, Brazil
• June 30 — Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence, Rhode Island, designed by Patrick Keely, is consecrated.^[3]
• October 15 – Amsterdam Centraal railway station in the Netherlands, designed by Pierre Cuypers with roof engineered by L. J. Eijmer
• December 9 – Auditorium Building in Chicago, United States, designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler

Buildings completed

• July 12 – Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (Sacramento, California), United States, designed by Bryan J. Klinch
• Custom House, Brisbane, Australia, designed by Charles McLay
• Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, United States, designed by Edbrooke and Burnham
• Lillesand Church, Norway, designed by Henrik Thrap-Meyer^[4]
• First Presbyterian Church (Detroit, Michigan), United States, designed by George D. Mason and Zachariah Rice
• St George's Church, Lisbon, Portugal, designed by John Medland and Charles Edward Powell
• St. Lawrence Anglican Cathedral Ambohimanoro on Madagascar, designed by William White
• Palau Güell in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudí
• Science Hall in University of Minnesota Old Campus Historic District, Minneapolis, United States, designed by Leroy Buffington and his assistant Harvey Ellis
• Germania Bank Building in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, designed by J. Walter Stevens assisted by Harvey Ellis
  • Corbin Building in New York City, United States, designed by Francis H. Kimball St. James Episcopal Church (Cambridge, Massachusetts), United States, designed by Henry M. Congdon^[5]

Awards

• RIBA Royal Gold Medal – Charles Thomas Newton.^[6]

Births

• May 10 – Mihran Mesrobian, Armenian-born American (died 1975)
• May 21 – R. Harold Zook, American architect (died 1949)
• June 24 – Charles Cowles-Voysey, English architect (died 1981)
• August 26 – Jan Buijs, Dutch architect (died 1961)
• October 25 – Sven Markelius, Swedish architect (died 1972)
• December 23 – Joseph Emberton, English modernist architect (died 1956)

Deaths

• March 10 – John Rhind, Scottish architect (born 1836)^[7]
• June 1 – Charles Lanyon, English architect working in Northern Ireland (born 1813)^[8]
• unknown date – James Hardie, American architect active in Natchez, Mississippi^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Selwood. Dominic. On this day in 1889: Paris' dramatic icon, the Eiffel Tower, opens. The Telegraph. 13 May 2018. 31 March 2017.
2. Web site: Mole Antonelliana . www.museocinema.it . July 7, 2016 . Museo Nazionale del Cinema . December 21, 2017 .
3. News: Bodo . Sandor . 2. Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul . 4 November 2018 . The Providence Journal . 13 December 2015.
4. Web site: Lillesand kirke . 2021-01-17 . Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen.
5. Web site: MACRIS inventory record for St. James Episcopal Church. Commonwealth of Massachusetts . 2014-03-22.
6. Book: Allinson. Kenneth. The Architects and Architecture of London. 2008. Routledge. 9780750683371. 10. en.
7. Web site: Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report. 4 March 2024.
8. Book: The Times Register of Events in . 1889. xxiii.
9. Book: Patti Carr Black

   . Art in Mississippi 1720-1980 . registration . Patti Carr Black . Patti Carr Black . University Press of Mississippi . 1998 . 59–60. 9781578060849 .