Samuel J. F. Thayer Explained

Birth Date:August 15, 1842
Birth Place:Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Date:February 28, 1893
Death Place:Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Practice:Ropes & Thayer; Martin & Thayer; S. J. F. Thayer
Significant Buildings:Nevins Memorial Library
Providence City Hall; Wilson Hall, Dartmouth College

Samuel J.F. Thayer (1842–1893) was an American architect, notable for designing buildings such as the Providence City Hall and the Cathedral of St. George, as well as the town halls of Brookline, Stoughton, and Methuen, Massachusetts.[1] He was part of the architecture firms, Martin & Thayer and Ropes & Thayer.

Biography

Thayer studied under John D. Towle. He lived for a time in South Boston, Massachusetts, and enlisted in the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers during the American Civil War, serving from October 1862 to July 1863.[2]

After the war, Thayer collaborated briefly with Boston architect Abel C. Martin, forming the firm Martin & Thayer. This firm designed the Centenary Methodist Church in Stanstead, Quebec, a Gothic Revival structure, in 1866–1869. In 1867 they designed a large summer hotel on Lake Memphremagog, Quebec near the American border.

By 1869 the partnership with Martin had ended, and both opened separate offices. In 1875, African American William Augustus Hazel worked as a draftsman for Thayer, Hazel went on to later be a prominent architect in his own right.[3] Thayer then designed the Town Hall of Brookline, Massachusetts, Providence City Hall in 1878, and the Dartmouth College library in 1885.

Thayer shot himself in a fit of despondency, dying on February 28, 1893.[4] [5] He had been "in ill health for some time," and reportedly had money troubles. He left behind a suicide note, along with a wife and son.

Notable works

! Year !! Project !! Address !! City !! State !! Notes !! Image !! Reference
1864 Broadway Orthodox Congregational Church 404 Broadway Burned in 1866.[6] The church was rebuilt in 1871, which building now forms part of the Broadway Winter Hill Congregational Church. [7]
1864 Emmanuel Episcopal Church 147 Summer St Demolished. [8]
1865 House for Samuel J. F. Thayer 170 Dorchester St Designed by Thayer has his own residence. A contributing property to the Dorchester Heights Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. [9]
1869 Centenary Methodist Church 430 W Broadway Demolished. [10]
1870 Arlington House 125 Causeway St [11]
1870 Brookline Town Hall 333 Washington St Demolished. [12]
1870 Charlestown High School (former) 30 Monument Sq Demolished. [13]
1870 Damon School Readville St Demolished. [14]
1870 Morse School Summer and Craigie Sts Demolished. [15]
1870 New Church of Yarmouth 266 Main St [16]
1870 Trinity Methodist Church Main and Chandler Sts Demolished. [17]
1871 Fairmount School (former) 85 Williams Ave Demolished. [18]
1871 Henry Grew School (former) 40 Gordon Ave Demolished.
1871 Somerville High School (former) 81 Highland Ave Demolished. [19]
1871 Windsor Avenue Congregational Church (former) 2030 Main St Presently the Faith Congregational Church. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. [20]
1872 Chapel for the First Congregational Church of Canandaigua 58 N Main St Built as an annex to the original 1812 church. A contributing property to the North Main Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. [21]
1872 Harvard School (former) 20 Devens St
1872 Second Hawes Congregational Church, Unitarian (former) 523 E Broadway Presently the St. George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral. The church anchors the Cathedral of St. George Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. [22]
1872 Springfield High School (former) State St Later the State Street Grammar School. Demolished. [23]
1872 State Street Methodist Church 319 State St Demolished.
1872 Winchester Home for Aged Women 10 Eden St Demolished.
1873 Mercantile building for George T. Bigelow 77 Bedford St Built by Bigelow in his role as trustee of the Miller estate. Destroyed by fire in 1879,[24] and rebuilt in 1880[25] by Anna Smith (Miller) Bigelow, again to a design by Thayer.[26] [27]
1873 Nashua High School (former) 30 Spring St Later the Spring Street School. Demolished. [28]
1874 Engine House No. 25 High St and Fort Hill Sq Demolished. [29]
1875 25 Dorrance St Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. [30]
1876 6 Smiths Point Rd Demolished. [31]
1877 Atlantic House 37 Oceanside Dr Burned in 1927. [32]
1880 House for Mary F. Mallon Mount Bowdoin Green Demolished. [33] [34]
1880 Jordan, Marsh & Company Department Store 450 Washington St Demolished. [35]
1880 Stoughton Town Hall 10 Pearl St [36]
1881 House for Edward H. Gilman Elm St Moved from Court Street in 1924 to serve as faculty housing for the Phillips Exeter Academy. Now known as Cushwa House.[37] [38]
1881 House for Daniel H. Lane 291 Beacon St A contributing property to the Back Bay Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. [39]
1881 House for John G. Phinney 81 Summer St [40]
1881 House for Nathaniel L. Ripley 618 Centre St [41]
1881 Jordan Building 77 Bedford St Destroyed in the "Thanksgiving Day Fire" in 1889.
1881 Lyceum Hall 206 Main St Altered.
1881 Nevins Building 78 Chauncy St Gutted in the "Thanksgiving Day Fire" in 1889. In 1890 the granite facades were reused for a new Nevins Building on site, also designed by Thayer.
1882 Farragut Hotel Ocean Blvd Demolished in 1975. [42]
1882 House for Isaac P. T. Edmands 28 Atlantic Ave Demolished. [43]
1883 305 Broadway Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. [44]
1884 Built as the college library, and more recently part of the Hood Museum of Art. [45]
1885 The Tudor 34 1/2 Beacon St
1885 Brattle St and Brattle Sq In addition to an interior remodeling, Thayer added several floors and a turret to the existing structure, as well as a new wing along Brattle Square. Demolished in 1935. [46]
1885 Wauban Building 184 Boylston St Demolished.
1886 Chadwick Building 7 Tremont St Demolished.
1886 Potter Building 202-212 Boylston St Demolished. [47]
1886 The Thorndike 240 Boylston St Demolished.
1887 Boston Tavern 14-16 Province Ct Demolished.
1887 107 Washington Ave [48]
1891 Remodeling of the Norwood Hotel 37 Bridge St Mostly demolished, but a fragment was moved to 11 Bridge Street, which is a contributing property to the Pomeroy Terrace Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[49] [50]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Victorian Boston today: twelve walking tours. 177. Mary Melvin Petronella. Edward W. Gordon . UPNE. 2004. 978-1-55553-605-3.
  2. Book: Thayer , Bezaleel . Memorial of the Thayer name. 36. R.J. Oliphant. 1874.
  3. Book: Wilson, Dreck Spurlock . African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 . March 2004 . Routledge . 978-1-135-95629-5 . 273–278 . en.
  4. Book: History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888. 4. Oliver Ayer Roberts. A. Mudge & son, printers. 1901.
  5. News: SHOT HIMSELF. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604182526/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/323038782.html?dids=323038782:323038782&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Mar+19,+1893&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=SHOT+HIMSELF.&pqatl=google. dead. June 4, 2011. March 19, 1893. 16. Los Angeles Times.
  6. "Somerville," Boston Daily Advertiser, December 11, 1866, 4.
  7. "Church Dedication in Somerville," Boston Daily Advertiser, July 21, 1864, 1.
  8. "Episcopal Church in Somerville," Boston Daily Advertiser, February 10, 1865, 1.
  9. Dorchester Heights Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2001)
  10. "The Laying of the Corner Stone of a Church," Boston Daily Advertiser, April 23, 1869, 1.
  11. "BOS.1642", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  12. Proceedings at the Dedication of the Town Hall, Brookline, February 22, 1873 (Cambridge, MA: John Wilson & Son, 1873)
  13. James F. Hunnewell, A Century of Town Life: A History of Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1787-1887 (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1888)
  14. Third Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the Town of Hyde Park, with the Reports of the Town Officers, for the Year Ending January 15th, 1871 (Hyde Park, MA: Hildreth and Getchell, 1871)
  15. "Dedication of the Morse Schoolhouse," Boston Daily Advertiser, March 1, 1870.
  16. Marion Vuilleumier, The Town of Yarmouth, Massachusetts: A History, 1639-1989 (Yarmouth, MA: Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, 1989)
  17. "Business in the East," Architectural Review and American Builders Journal 2, no. 2 (May 1870): 674.
  18. Fourth Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the Town of Hyde Park, with the Reports of the Town Officers, for the Year Ending January 15th, 1872 (Boston: Lyman Rhodes, 1872)
  19. City of Somerville, Annual Reports. 1872 (Boston: W. F. Brown & Company, 1873)
  20. Cathedral of St. George Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1998)
  21. History of Ontario County, New York (Philadelphia: Everts, Ensign & Everts, 1878): 111-112.
  22. Windsor Avenue Congregational Church NRHP Registration Form (1993)
  23. Springfield City Directory and Business Advertiser for 1872-73 (Springfield, MA: Clark W. Bryan & Company, 1872)
  24. "A Big Blaze," Boston Daily Globe, December 29, 1879.
  25. King's Hand Book of Boston (Cambridge, MA: Moses King, 1881): 293-294.
  26. Charles S. Damrell, A Half Century of Boston Building (Boston: Louis P. Hager, 1895)
  27. "Warehouse No. 91 and 93 Federal St., Boston," American Architect and Building News 3, no. 107 (January 12, 1878): 13.;
  28. Twenty-first Annual Report of the Municipal Government of the City of Nashua, for the Municipal Year 1873-74 (Nashua, NH: Whittemores' Press, 1874)
  29. Auditor of Accounts' Annual Report of Receipts and Expenditures of the City of Boston and the County of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, for the Financial Year 1874-1875 (Boston: Rockwell & Churchill, 1875)
  30. Providence City Hall NRHP Registration Form (1975)
  31. "Sea-shore House at Manchester, Mass.," American Architect and Building News 1 (May 6, 1876): 149.
  32. "S. J. F. Thayer," Architecture and Building 18, no. 9 (March 4, 1893): 102.
  33. "House of Mrs. Mary F. Mallon, Bowdoin Ave., Dorchester, Mass.," American Architect and Building News 36, no. 849 (April 2, 1892): 14.
  34. "BOS.DP", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  35. Engineering News (August 28, 1880): 294.
  36. Engineering News (July 10, 1880): 238.
  37. Carol Walker Aten, Postcards from Exeter (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2003): 142.
  38. American Architect and Building News 10, no. 309 (November 26, 1881): ix.
  39. "291 Beacon", backbayhouses.org, Back Bay Houses, n.d.
  40. American Architect and Building News 9, no. 282 (May 21, 1881): x.
  41. American Architect and Building News 9, no. 281 (May 14, 1881): 240.
  42. Building 1, no. 3 (December 1882): 42.
  43. American Architect and Building News 12, no. 353 (November 4, 1882): 4.
  44. Nevins Memorial Library NRHP Registration Form (1984)
  45. Bryant F. Tolles Jr. and Carolyn K. Tolles, New Hampshire Architecture: An Illustrated Guide (Hanover, NH and London: University Press of New England, 1979)
  46. Boston Daily Globe, April 26, 1885, 11.
  47. "The Potter Building, Boylston Street," Boston Daily Advertiser, February 11, 1887, 8.
  48. Cambridge (MA) Tribune, August 6, 1887, 8.
  49. Pomeroy Terrace Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2018)
  50. Engineering Record 24, no. 14 (September 5, 1891): 227.

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