Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge explained

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.

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 ResidenceChicago, Illinois1885–1887Completed work started by Richardson. Razed in 1922.
Stanford University Main QuadStanford, California1887–1906Also designed Encina Hall and the Leland Stanford Residence.
Bell Telephone BuildingSt. Louis, Missouri1889
Hartford Union StationHartford, ConnecticutExecuted a design by George Keller[1]
New London Public LibraryNew London, Connecticut1889
Shadyside Presbyterian ChurchShadyside, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania1890
Williams Memorial InstituteNew London, Connecticut1891
Chicago Public LibraryChicago, Illinois1892Now the Chicago Cultural Center
Flour and Grain Exchange BuildingBoston, Massachusetts1892
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern StationSandusky, Ohio1892
Medfield State HospitalMedfield, Massachusetts1892
Montreal Board of Trade BuildingMontreal, Quebec1892Destroyed in 1902.
Ames BuildingBoston, Massachusetts1893
Art Institute of ChicagoBuilt as the "World's Congress Auxiliary Building" for the World's Columbian Exposition.
North Union Station1893Razed in 1927.
Conant HallCambridge, Massachusetts1894Built on the Harvard University campus
Trinity ChurchBoston, Massachusetts1894–1897Completed work started by Richardson.
Tilden-Thurber BuildingProvidence, Rhode Island1895
Coraopolis StationCoraopolis, Pennsylvania1896
Guardian Bank BuildingCleveland, Ohio1896
Glassport P&LE Railroad StationGlassport, Pennsylvania
Medill/McCormick ResidenceCantigny Park, Illinois1896
New Castle Junction P&LE Railroad StationNew Castle, PennsylvaniaDestroyed
Third St. Joseph County CourthouseSouth Bend, Indiana1897
Congregational Library & ArchivesBoston, Massachusetts1898
South StationBoston, Massachusetts1898
Albany Union StationAlbany, New York1899[2]
Chestnut Hill Pump StationBoston, Massachusetts1900Built for the Metropolitan Water Board.
Sedalia Public LibrarySedalia, Missouri1900
Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building and Agriculture BuildingBuffalo, New York1901For the Pan-American Exposition,
University of ChicagoChicago, Illinois1901–1915Master plan and designs for more than fifteen buildings.
Bartlett GymnasiumChicago, Illinois1904Built for the University of Chicago.
John Carter Brown LibraryProvidence, Rhode Island1904Built for Brown University.
All Saints Episcopal ChurchAppleton, Wisconsin1905
HildeneManchester Center, Vermont1905Mansion built for Robert Todd Lincoln.
Harvard Medical School1906
Langdell Hall1907Commissioned by James Barr Ames of the Harvard Law School.
Corn Exchange Bank BuildingChicago, Illinois1908Also known as National Republican Bank. Razed .
Boston Safe Deposit BuildingBoston, Massachusetts1908–1911
Hampden County CourthouseSpringfield, Massachusetts1908–1912Additions to building designed by Richardson.
John Hay LibraryProvidence, Rhode Island1910Brown University library.[3]
Union StationSpringfield, Massachusetts1910
Harper Memorial LibraryChicago, Illinois1910–1912University of Chicago library.
YMCA BostonBoston, Massachusetts1911
First Congregational Church of Fall RiverFall River, Massachusetts1912
Dallas HallUniversity Park, Texas1915On the campus of Southern Methodist University.
Ida Noyes HallChicago, Illinois1916Located on the University of Chicago campus.
Rockland StationRockland, Maine1917As Coolidge and Shattuck.
Freemason's HallPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaDestroyed
Washington BuildingWashington, 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

Notes and References

  1. Book: Potter, Janet Greenstein . Great American Railroad Stations . John Wiley & Sons, Inc. . 1996 . 9780471143895 . New York . 66, 81, 85, 92, 97, 190, 396.
  2. Web site: Liebs . Chester H. . July 1970 . National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Albany Union Station . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110914100549/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=348 . 2011-09-14 . 2009-04-18. and Accompanying two photos, exterior, from 1905 and undated
  3. Book: Lovecraft, H. P. . The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories . 2013-10-01 . Penguin . 9781101663035 . en.
  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 . 10.2307/990324 . 990324.

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