Adrian Boucher Explained

Adrian Boucher
Nationality:French
Significant Buildings:City Exchange, Savannah, Georgia

Adrian Boucher (–1804) was a French architect who came to prominence after emigrating to the United States in the late 18th century. He was considered amongst the top European talent involved in the construction of post-colonial America,[1] and became the first architect to work in Savannah, Georgia.[2]

Life and career

Boucher was born in France around 1760.[3] He left his homeland for the United States, in the late 18th century, as a refugee of the French Revolution.[4] He arrived in New York City,[5] where he worked as a draftsman for noted architect brothers and his compatriots Joseph-François and Charles Mangin.[6]

In 1799, one of Boucher's works, the City Exchange, in Savannah, Georgia, was completed.[7] He had arrived in the city to assist in its reconstruction after the 1796 fire and became one of the early influencers of the growth of the city, along with cartographer John William Gerard de Brahm.[8]

Boucher designed the second of three incarnations of Savannah's Christ Church, the construction of which began in 1801 but was leveled during the 1804 Antigua–Charleston hurricane.[9]

He was included on 1799 and 1802 lists of defaulters in Chatham County.[10] [11]

Death

Boucher died in 1804, aged around 44.

Notes and References

  1. August 1991 . America's Romance with Greek Revival . Greek-American Review . 17.
  2. Book: Early American Life . Cowles Magazines . 1978 . 20.
  3. Book: Kennedy, Roger G. . Greek Revival America . Stewart, Tabori & Chang . 1989 . 9781556700941 . 129.
  4. Book: Rauers, Betty . Sojourn in Savannah: An Official Guidebook and Map of Savannah and the Surrounding Countryside . 1976 . 14.
  5. Book: Nichols, Frederick Doveton . The Architecture of Georgia . Beehive Press . 1976 . 27.
  6. Book: Kennedy, Roger G. . Greek Revival America . Stewart, Tabori & Chang . 1989 . 9781556700941 . 79.
  7. Book: Spracher, Luciana M. . Lost Savannah: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society . . 2003 . 9780738514871 . 47.
  8. Book: Morrison, Mary Lane . Historic Savannah: Survey of Significant Buildings in the Historic and Victorian Districts of Savannah, Georgia . XI . Mary Lane Morrison.
  9. Book: Wheeler, Mary Bray . Eugenia Price's South: A Guide to the People and Places of Her Beloved Region . . 1993 . 9781563520716 . 144.
  10. News: April 14, 1803 . A List of Defaulters of Chatham County for the year 1802 . Georgia Republican & State Intelligencer.
  11. News: September 27, 1799 . A List of Defaulters . Columbian Museum & Savannah Advertiser.