Renwick Jr., James (1818-1895)

James Renwick Jr. (1818-1895)

Sources

Architect

Influence . Like his contemporaries Richard Upjohn and Alexander Jackson Davis, James Renwick Jr. was a champion of the Gothic revival style in architecture. He sought to make American architecture reflect the styles of the Middle Ages, with massive, turreted, castle- and cathedral-like structures. His success at pleasing rich clients made him a wealthy man at a young age, the owner of an extensive art collection and two steam yachts.

Making a Reputation . James Renwick was born on 3 November 1818 in Bloomingdale, New York, the second son of James and Margaret Brevoort Renwick. His father was a prominent Columbia College science professor who had a love for architecture. James Renwick Jr. inherited his father’s taste and was given every opportunity to develop his genius. At age fourteen Renwick entered Columbia College, where he studied engineering. After his graduation in 1836, he became an assistant engineer on the Croton aqueduct in New York City, supervising the building of a distribution reservoir between Fortieth and Forty-second streets. During this period he also designed and supervised the erection of a fountain in Union Square. Appointed to construct Grace Church on Broadway and Tenth Street (1843-1846), Renwick won praise for his elegant neo-Gothic design with its rich ornamentation and decorative scrollwork.

Accomplishments . His reputation established, Renwick soon acquired a large and lucrative architectural business. He was architect of Calvary Church, Fourth Avenue, the Church of the Puritans, Union Square, and many businesses and private residences in New York City. In 1847 Renwick embarked upon his most ambitious project to date, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Two years before the Smithsonian was completed in 1855, Renwick entered plans in competition for a Roman Catholic cathedral in New York City. He received the appointment, and between 1858 and 1879 he supervised the construction of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, probably his best-known work. The monumental structure occupied the entire block bounded by Fifth and Madison Avenues, and Fiftieth and Fifty-first Streets; it remains one of the most imposing churches in the country.

Other Work . Among Renwick’s other accomplishments are the Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington, D.C. (1859); the first Vassar College building in Poughkeepsie, New York (1865); and Booth Theater, New York City (1869). Until 1874 Renwick served as chief architect to the board of charities and correction of the city of New York, supervising the building of the City Hospital, Smallpox Hospital, Workhouse, Lunatic and Inebriate asylums on Ward’s Island, the Catholic archbishop’s residence on Madison Avenue, and the Young Men’s Christian Association. He also loved fine art and collected paintings from all over Europe. He was known as one of the best art connoisseurs in the nation, and many of his paintings were masterpieces. Renwick married Anna Aspinwall in 1852; he died in his native city on 23 June 1895.

Sources

John Burchard and Albert Bush-Brown, The Architecture of America: A Social and Cultural History (Boston: Little, Brown, 1961);

David P. Handlin, American Architecture (London: Thames & Hudson, 1985);

Vincent Scully, American Architecture and Urbanism, revised edition (New York: Holt, 1988).