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User:JPRiley/Joseph R. Richards

< User:JPRiley
Joseph Ruggles Richards
BornFebruary 18, 1828[1]
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedSeptember 28, 1900[1]
Cambridge, Massachusetts
NationalityUnited States
OccupationArchitect
PracticeJ. R. Richards; Richards & Park; J. R. & W. P. Richards

Joseph R. Richards (1828-1900) was an American architect, practicing in Boston during the nineteenth century. He was responsible for the first permanent building of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, now the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as buildings for Dartmouth and Williams and several public libraries.

Early life and career edit

Joseph R. Richards was born in Boston on February 18, 1828 to Wyatt and Sarah Page (Ruggles) Richards. He attended public schools and graduated from the English High School in 1845. In October of that year he entered the office of Gridley J. F. Bryant, then one of the city's best-known architects.[1] Richards remained with Bryant until he opened his own office, on January 1, 1853. At various times he was associated in his business with his brother, Samuel W. Richards, and William S. Park, both of whom had also worked in Bryant's office.[2]

Park would eventually marry Richards' sister, and Richards and Park formed a partnership in July, 1865. This ended with Park's death in July, 1872.[3] Richards was alone again until 1880, when he established a partnership with his son, William P. Richards. This firm, J. R. & W. P. Richards, lasted until the elder's death, which occured on September 28, 1900.[1]

In September, 1867 Richards was elected a Fellow of the Boston Society of Architects, which had been organized a few montht prior. He remained a member until his death, but was never a member of the national American Institute of Architects. In 1880 he was elected an Associate of the American Society of Civil Engineers.[1] In addition to these professional affiliations, he was also a member of several fraternal organizations.[1]

Personal life edit

Richards married in 1851, to Mary Ann Phillips of South Natick, Massachusetts. They lived in Boston but soon relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the family would remain for the remainder of Richards' life. They had three children, two sons and a daughter. At his death, he was survived by his wife, daughter, and younger son, William Phillips Richards.[1]

William Phillips Richards was born in Cambridge on February 1, 1855. He attended Harvard University, graduating with the class of 1876. He worked for his father and in the office of Peabody & Stearns until joining his father in partnership in 1880. In 1881 he married Alice Sarah Goodale of Elgin, Illinois.[4] After his father's death, William P. Richards maintained a private practice in Boston until his retirement in 1918. He died at his home in Somerville on April 8, 1925.[5]

Legacy edit

Architectural works edit

Year Building Address City State Notes Image Reference
1855 Mercantile Building 30 Summer St Boston Massachusetts Home to the library of the Mercantile Library Association among other uses. Destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872.   [6]
1856 School Street School 50 School St Haverhill Massachusetts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.   [7]
1856 Winter Street School 165 Winter St Haverhill Massachusetts [7]
1858 Interior of the Vermont State House 115 State St Montpelier Vermont Richards was appointed architect after the resignation of architect Thomas W. Silloway, who had largely completed the exterior. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.   [8]
1860 Phoenix Block 13-33 Central St Woodstock Vermont [9]
1862 Goodnow Library 21 Concord Rd Sudbury Massachusetts Expanded in 1885 and 1894. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.   [6]
1864 Goodrich Hall,
Williams College		 Williamstown Massachusetts Demolished. Not to be confused with the present Goodrich Hall. [10]
1865 Bissell Hall,[a]
Dartmouth College		 Hanover New Hampshire Demolished in 1958.   [11][12]
1866 South College,
University of Massachusetts		 Amherst Massachusetts Burned in 1885. [13][14]
1867 Wells School[a] Blossom and McLean Sts Boston Massachusetts Demolished as part of the clearance of Boston's West End. [15]
1868 House for Albion K. P. Welch[a] 26 Craigie St Cambridge Massachusetts Later owned by Denman Ross.   [16]
1868 Second Congregational Church[a] 16 Court Sq Greenfield Massachusetts   [17]
1872 Franklin County Courthouse (former) 425 Main St Greenfield Massachusetts Altered beyond recognition in 1954.[18] Presently the Greenfield City Hall.   [19]
1873 Engine House,
Woburn Water Works		 5 Cove St Woburn Massachusetts [20]
1874[21] Crawford House Court and Brattle Sts Boston Massachusetts Demolished in 1962.   [22]
1878 Greenfield Library (former) 7 Franklin St Greenfield Massachusetts   [23]
1880 Merriam-Gilbert Public Library (former) 3 W Main St West Brookfield Massachusetts   [24]
1884 House for Henry F. Pitman[b] 72 Pleasant St Marblehead Massachusetts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Marblehead Historic District in 1984. [25]
1885 Additions to the Vermont State House[b] 115 State St Montpelier Vermont Addition of a three-story west wing for the Vermont Supreme Court and State Library. Now used for offices. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.   [26][27]
1887 The Stanstead[b] 19 Ware St Cambridge Massachusetts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.   [28]
1887 House for Samuel Usher[b] 11 Hillside Ave Cambridge Massachusetts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Avon Hill Historic District in 1983. [29]
1887 Woburn Five Cents Savings Bank Building[b] 19 Pleasant St Woburn Massachusetts Demolished.   [30]
1889 House for Richard Hapgood[b] 382-392 Harvard St Cambridge Massachusetts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.   [31]
1889 The Commonwealth[b] 362-366 Commonwealth Ave Boston Massachusetts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Back Bay Historic District in 1973. [32]
1890 The Jarvis[b] 27 Everett St Cambridge Massachusetts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.   [33]
1890 House for Edward L. Shaw[b] 30 Agassiz St Cambridge Massachusetts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Avon Hill Historic District in 1983. [34]
1892 Cottage for Dr. Walter Woodman[b] 34 Crescent Ave Great Diamond Island Maine   [35]
1894 Additions to the Goodnow Library[b] 21 Concord Rd Sudbury Massachusetts Addition of a south wing and a new front-facing vestibule. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.   [6]
1895 House for S. H. Bartlett[b] 4 Hurlbut St Cambridge Massachusetts [36]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d Credited to Richards & Park.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Credited to Joseph R. Richards and William P. Richards.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g William P. Richards, "Joseph Ruggles Richards," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, January to December, 1901 (New York: American Society of Civil Engineers, 1901): 183-186.
  2. ^ Roger G. Reed, Building Victorian Boston: The Architecture of Gridley J. F. Bryant (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2006)
  3. ^ "Joseph Ruggles Richards", backbayhouses.org, Back Bay Houses, n.d.
  4. ^ "William Phillips Richards," Harvard College, Class of 1876, Triennial Report of the Secretary (Boston: Franklin Press, 1882): 40.
  5. ^ Boston Daily Globe, April 9 1925, 11.
  6. ^ a b c Goodnow Library NRHP Registration Form (2002)
  7. ^ a b School Street School NRHP Registration Form (1986)
  8. ^ David Lowenthal, George Perkins Marsh: Prophet of Conservation (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000)
  9. ^ Bellows Falls Times (Bellows Falls, VT), June 22 1860.
  10. ^ "Williams College Commencement.; Generous Donations, Degrees Conferred," New York Times, August 7 1864, 4.
  11. ^ "Dartmouth College," Boston Post, September 27 1865, 3.
  12. ^ Scott Meacham, Dartmouth College: An Architectural Tour (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008)
  13. ^ "To Builders," Boston Post, March 30 1866, 1.
  14. ^ "Massachusetts Agricultural College: Its History and Present Condition," Boston Daily Advertiser, July 4 1867, 5.
  15. ^ Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of Boston. 1868 (Boston: Alfred Mudge & Son, 1869)
  16. ^ Christopher Hail, Cambridge Buildings and Architects, 2001.
  17. ^ "GRE.310", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  18. ^ "GRE.83", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  19. ^ History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1879): 566-567.
  20. ^ "WOB.66", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  21. ^ "Building Improvements," Boston Daily Globe, June 7 1874, 8.
  22. ^ Richard Herndon, "Richards, Joseph R.," Boston of To-day (Boston: Post Publishing Company, 1892): 368.
  23. ^ "GRE.68", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  24. ^ Address at the Dedication of the Town Library Building, Erected for the West Brookfield Free Library and Reading Room (Springfield, MA: Weaver, Shipman & Company, 1882)
  25. ^ "MAR.34", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  26. ^ "State Library Building," Inland Architect and Builder 5, no. 6 (July 1885): xix.
  27. ^ "Montpelier, VT," Library Journal 12, no. 8 (August 1887): 390.
  28. ^ The Stanstead NRHP Registration Form (1986)
  29. ^ "CAM.796", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  30. ^ "Woburn Five Cents Savings Bank Building," American Architect and Building News 22, no. 624 (December 10 1887): 278.
  31. ^ Richard Hapgood House NRHP Registration Form (1986)
  32. ^ "362-366 Commonwealth", backbayhouses.org, Back Bay Houses, n.d.
  33. ^ The Jarvis NRHP Registration Form (1986)
  34. ^ "CAM.1010", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
  35. ^ "A Summer Cottage," Scientific American, Architects and Builders Edition 14, no. 2 (August 1892): 17.
  36. ^ American Architect and Building News 68, no. 1012 (May 18 1895): xv.
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