Edward L. Palmer Jr. Explained

Edward L. Palmer Jr.
Birth Date:26 May 1877
Birth Place:Baltimore
Nationality:American
Death Place:Baltimore
Practice:Palmer, Willis & Lamdin; Palmer & Lamdin; Palmer, Fisher, Williams & Nes
Awards:Fellow of the American Institute of Architects

Edward Livingston Palmer Jr. (May 26, 1877 – May 13, 1952) was an American architect from Baltimore, Maryland,[1] [2] [3] credited with the design and development of several planned neighborhoods such as Homeland,[4] Roland Park,[5] Guilford,[6] Wawaset Park,[7] and the design of many buildings within Dundalk, Maryland, which were created specifically for the workers of Bethlehem Steel[8] [9]

Life and career

Edward Palmer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Johns Hopkins University.[1] Palmer was one of 38 in his graduating class on June 13, 1899.[10] While at Hopkins, he became a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.[11] Palmer then went into the insurance business in Washington, D.C. where he resided at 1516 H St in the NW section of the city.[12] Shortly after, Palmer began attending the University of Pennsylvania. Here he received his B.S. in architecture in 1903.[13]

After working for Hornblower & Marshall, in 1907 Palmer was appointed resident architect for the Roland Park Company.[14] [15] [16]

Notes and References

  1. News: Edward Palmer Succumbs At 74. May 14, 1952. ProQuest. The Baltimore Sun. 36.
  2. News: Edward L. Palmer Jr.. May 14, 1952. The Baltimore Sun. 14. ProQuest.
  3. Book: AIA Baltimore A Chapter History from 1870–2005. Charles Belfoure. 92.
  4. Roland Park Civic League Records. Series IV: Homeland Properties.Roland Park Roads & Maintenance Corp. 1903- 1977. University of Baltimore Archives (hereafter UBA)
  5. Roland Park Civic League Records. Series II: Roland Park Properties.Roland Park Roads & Maintenance Corp. 1903- 1977. University of Baltimore Archives (hereafter UBA)
  6. News: Guilford Work Begun. May 17, 1912. The Baltimore Sun. 16. ProQuest.
  7. United States Department of the Interior; National Park Service; National Register of Historic Places inventory Nomination Form. January 3, 1986. Section 7.
  8. News: Dundalk, Town Of Fact And Fancy. Robert G Breen. May 15, 1954. The Baltimore Sun. 6. ProQuest.
  9. Edward L. Palmer Jr., "The Emergency Fleet Corporation U-S-S-B Housing at Dundalk MD", Architectural Drawing, Governmental Agencies of House Construction U.S. Shipping Board, Emergency Fleet Corporation, http://ids.lib.harvard.edu (accessed November 4, 2010)
  10. News: Hopkins University: Twenty-Third Commencement In The Academy Of Music Many Degrees and Honors, Parting Words Of Wisdom By Instructors To Students--An Attractive Scene And Program. The Sun. June 14, 1889.
  11. Maxwell, W.J. General Alumni catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania General Alumni Association.
  12. The Beta Theta Pi. St. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Vol. 27. The Official Organ of the Fraternity. Pg. 493.
  13. Maxwell, W.J. 1917. General Alumni catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania General Alumni Association. Pg.209
  14. News: Marriage Announcement 2 No Title. Jun 30, 1907. The Baltimore Sun. 6. ProQuest.
  15. News: Real Estate Transaction 1 -- No Title. Jan 21, 1916. The Baltimore Sun. 10. ProQuest.
  16. News: Display Ad 41 -- No Title. Oct 27, 1945. The Baltimore Sun. 14. ProQuest.
  17. News: Two named to State Architects Board. The Washington Post. Jul 13, 1945. ProQuest. 3.
  18. News: ARCHITECTURE LEADER DIES AT HOME HERE. Feb 5, 1953. The Baltimore Sun. 32. ProQuest.
  19. "Charles M. Nes Jr. FAIA" in Architecture 78, no. 9 (September, 1989): 36.
  20. Maryland corporation records
  21. News: Architects Name Two To Honorary Membership. Jan 23, 1926. The Baltimore Sun. 7. ProQuest.
  22. News: Architects Fight Bad Construction. New York Times. Jun 25, 1948. ProQuest. 41.
  23. News: Riles Tomorrow For Mrs. Palmer. Feb 8, 1967. The Baltimore Sun. A13. ProQuest.
  24. News: Marriage Announcement 2 -- No Title. Jun 30, 1907. The Baltimore Sun. 6. ProQuest.
  25. News: To Build 42 Houses. Mar 20, 1909. The Baltimore Sun. 9. ProQuest.
  26. News: Other 34 -- No Title. Feb 14, 1937. The Baltimore Sun. SC12. ProQuest.
  27. News: Real Estate Deals And Building News. Apr 22, 1930. The Baltimore Sun. 18. ProQuest.
  28. The Baltimore Sun. "Article Collections." Anne L. Sinclair-Smith, 94, homemaker, volunteer. March 16, 2006. Available from http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-03-16/news/0603160163_1_roland-park-school-of-medicine-smith . Internet; accessed 5 December 2010.
  29. News: Married In London. Mar 18, 1951. The Baltimore Sun. B12. ProQuest.
  30. News: '47 Debutante To Be Married. Mar 18, 1951. ProQuest. The Baltimore Sun. B12.
  31. News: B. C. Sinclair-Smith Cardiologist, professor.. Jan 3, 1985. The Baltimore Sun. 4D. ProQuest.
  32. News: Edward L. Palmer Dead. Dec 18, 1917. ProQuest. The Baltimore Sun. 8.
  33. News: Died. Jan 31, 1911. ProQuest. The Baltimore Sun. 6.
  34. Web site: [{{MHT url|id=651}} Maryland Historical Trust]. 2008-10-05. National Register of Historic Places: Rockland. Maryland Historical Trust.
  35. Web site: [{{MHT url|id=1288}} Lake Drive Apartments, Baltimore City]. 2008-11-21. Maryland Historical Trust.
  36. News: Asheville Holds Out Welcome. Nov 30, 1924. The Baltimore Sun. R4. ProQuest.
  37. News: Goucher Prepares For Its New Sites. Oct 31, 1937. ProQuest. The New York Times. 49.
  38. News: 2 Buildings Get Awards.. Nov 6, 1953. The Baltimore Sun. 10. ProQuest.
  39. Fisher, L. M., Charles M. Nes and Carson M. Cornbrooks. The architectural firm of Edward L. Palmer Jr. and its successors, 1907–1982. [S.l.: s.n., (1983).</ref> Ten years later, in 1917, he established his own practice in Baltimore. In 1925 he formed the firm of Palmer, Willis & Lamdin in partnership with John S. Willis and William D. Lamdin. Willis left the partnership in 1929, but Palmer & Lamdin continued until Lamdin's death in 1945.<ref>Richard Striner and Melissa Blair, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=oFrCAwAAQBAJ Washington and Baltimore Art Deco: A Design History of Neighboring Cities] (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014): 201. Palmer then formed a new partnership with architects L. McLane Fisher, Carroll R. Williams Jr. and Charles M. Nes Jr.[16] He also replaced Lamdin on the State Board of Architects.[17] Palmer's second partnership lasted until his death in 1952.[18] The firm was then led by Fisher under the names Fisher, Williams, Nes & Campbell, Fisher, Nes, Campbell & Associates and Fisher, Nes, Campbell & Partners until his retirement in 1972 and then by Nes as Nes, Campbell & Partners and NCP Inc. until his own retirement in 1988.[19] The firm did not last long after Nes's retirement, and was forfeited in 1995.[20]

    Palmer was elected chapter president of the Baltimore American Institute of Architects in 1926.[21] He was also named a Fellow of the A.I.A. national organization in 1948.[22] He served the Baltimore community through participation in the Homewood Building Committee, The Johns Hopkins University Advisory Board, the Goucher College Architectural Advisory Board, Baltimore City Planning Commission, and the Maryland Board of Examiners and its committee for Registration of Architects.

    Personal life

    Palmer was married to Miss Jessie Loeffler, native of Pittsburgh and graduate of Goucher College.[23] The two were married in 1907 by the Rev. Dr. Partridge. The ceremony was held in the backyard of the bride's brother, George Loeffler, on Woodworth Ave. The guests in attendance of the wedding consisted of family and a few close friends.[24] Two years later he built a house for him and his wife on Longwood Rd. in Baltimore.[25]

    He lived in several neighborhoods throughout Baltimore, including Roland Park and Homeland. Later on in his life he held several residences on Gibson Island, including a home at 7 Midvale Rd.[26] and a home off Harbor Water Rd.[27]

    Palmer had one daughter, Anne Livingston Palmer, a 1931 graduate of The Bryn Mawr School. After earning a bachelor's degree in zoology in 1935 from Smith College, she studied sculpture and painting at the Phillips Gallery of Art in Washington.[28] Anne was married to the well-known cardiologist and professor, Dr. Bruce Sinclair-Smith, of Australia, in London, England on March 9, 1951.[29] The couple then resided in England where Dr. Sinclair-Smith had residency at London Heart Hospital.[30] In late 1951, the couple would then move to Australia and then eventually back to the US.[31] At the age of 65, Dr. Sinclair-Smith died on January 1, 1985, of stomach cancer. Anne Livingston Sinclair-Smith died at age 94 on March 9, 2006. The two were survived by their daughter Susanne Palmer Sinclair-Smith of Washington.

    Palmer had one brother, Albert G. Palmer or Montgomery County, Maryland, and three sisters. The three sisters were Carrol R. Williams of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mrs. Thomas Janney Brown of Washington, D.C., and Mrs. Robert E. Robinson of Greenwich, Conn.[32] His mother was Susan C. Palmer who died January 29, 1911.[33] On his father's side, Palmer Jr. had 2 uncles and an aunt. They were John M. Palmer of Baltimore, Arthur W. Palmer of Louisville, Kentucky, and Mrs. Mary Palmer Beal of Montgomery County, Maryland.

    Born in 1832, Palmer's father, Edward Livingston Palmer Sr. of Simpsonville, Howard County, Maryland, was one of Baltimore's widest known merchants in the late 1800s. His company of E.L. Palmer & Co. owned several fast moving clipper ships, of which Baltimore is known for. The company sailed all over the world, bringing back goods to the port of Baltimore. His business continued until the Baltimore Fire of 1904, when he retired the company to his partners creating Palmer, Harvey and Co. Edward Livingston Palmer Sr. died December 17, 1917.

    Selected works

    References