Edward Sargent (architect)

Edward A. Sargent (November 1, 1842 – February 25, 1914) was an English-born American architect, known for his work on New York City schools, churches, office buildings, clubs, armory and country homes.

Former Cuyler Presbyterian Church, February 2011

Life and career edit

Sargent was born Ebenezer Alfred Sargent on November 1, 1842, in Hastings, England.[1] He later changed his first name to Edward. Emigrating to New York City in 1867,[2] he attended Cooper Union College.[citation needed]

Sargent married Mary Augusta Doubleday (daughter of Thomas D. Doubleday and niece of Abner Doubleday); together they had four daughters and one son. One daughter, Alice Sargent Johnson, became an illustrator. His brother was Daniel Wycliffe Sargent, an explorer in Africa.

His first work was as a watercolor artist. He worked as a delineator (illustrator) for Frederick Law Olmsted in the designs for Central Park and again as delineator worked on the Corn Exchange Building and the Protestant Welfare Building on Park Avenue.[citation needed] He made the plans for the 9th Regiment Armory, constructed the country home Lindenhurst for John Wanamaker at Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.[citation needed] In addition, he was the architect of public schools and private houses, including over 300 homes on Staten Island.[3]

Sargent also worked for George Post (who built the first building to have an elevator).[citation needed]

Works edit

Sargent designed the stone masonry pillars and wing walls of the entryways to the planned community of Rochelle Park in New Rochelle, New York in 1885.[4] He designed large and medium-sized residences in the metropolitan New York area, notably in the St. George/New Brighton historic district of Staten Island.[5][6]

Sargent has been credited with designing the Vanderzee-Harper House (circa 1887) at Westervelt Avenue (St. George/New Brighton historic district), although documentation for this attribution is lacking.[3] Among the many notable Sargent-designed homes in the St. George/New Brighton historic district is 103 St. Mark's Place, originally built by Sargent for banker Frederick A. Rodewald in 1890.[7]

In 1892, the firm of E. A. Sargent & Co. were the architects of the original American Yacht Club clubhouse on Milton Point (destroyed by fire in 1951).[8]

He designed the Cuyler Presbyterian Church (1892) in Brooklyn.[9] In 1894, the firm of W.E. Cable and E.A. Sargent won a competition from among nineteen bids to design and build the 9th Regiment Armory on 14th Street Manhattan.[10] Completed in 1896, the armory was razed in 1969.[11] Sargent also designed the Romanesque-style Mother A.M.E. Zion Church (1903-1904) at 127 West 89th Street, Manhattan (razed in 1934).[12][13]

References edit

  1. ^ "England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  2. ^ "1910 United States Federal Census". Ancestry.com.
  3. ^ a b Harrison, Tara (2009-11-17). The Vanderzee-Harper House. Designation List 4. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. p. 18.
  4. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for the Rochelle Park - Rochelle Heights Historic District". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  5. ^ New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1994-07-19). St. George Historic District, Staten Island (PDF). p. 79. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  6. ^ Sherry, Virginia N. (2016-05-16). "Queen Anne-style homes from the late 1800s/early 1900s". silive.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  7. ^ Walsh, Kevin (2009-02-08). "St. George/Fort Hill, Staten Island". Forgotten New York. Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  8. ^ "The American Yacht Club House, Milton Point". Scientific American Architects and Builders Edition: 3–4. July 1892.
  9. ^ Kathleen A. Howe (November 2000). "National Register of Historic Places Registration:Cuyler Presbyterian Church". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  10. ^ "Ninth Regiment Indignant. Col. Seward Not Present When the Plans For the New Armory Were Adopted". New York Times. 1894-03-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  11. ^ Todd, Nancy L. (2006). New York's Historic Armories: An Illustrated History. SUNY Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-7914-8099-1.
  12. ^ Dunlap, David W. (2004). "M". From Abyssinian to Zion. Columbia University Press. p. 148. doi:10.7312/dunl12542. ISBN 9780231500722. JSTOR 10.7312/dunl12542.20.
  13. ^ Miller, Tom (2016-05-30). "Daytonian in Manhattan: The Lost Mother Zion Church -- No. 127 W 89th St". Daytonian in Manhattan. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2020-10-05.

Sources edit