Alexander Parris (November 24, 1780 – June 16, 1852) was a prominent

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

. Beginning as a housewright, he evolved into an architect whose work transitioned from

Federal style architecture Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

to the later

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

. Parris taught

Ammi B. Young Ammi Burnham Young (June 19, 1798 – March 14, 1874) was a 19th-century American architect whose commissions transitioned from the Greek Revival to the Neo-Renaissance styles. His design of the second Vermont State House brought him fame and su ...

, and was among the group of architects influential in founding what would become the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

. He is also responsible for the designs of many

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...

along the coastal

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

Early life and work

Parris was born in

Halifax, Massachusetts Halifax is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,518 at the 2010 census. History Halifax was first settled by Europeans, most notably the Bosworth family from Bosworth Fields in England, in 1669, growing ...

. At the age of 16, he apprenticed to a housewright in Pembroke, but talent led him towards

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. Married to Silvina Bonney Stetson in 1800, he moved to

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, which was then experiencing a building boom. The city had been bombarded during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, reducing three-quarters to ashes in 1775. But following the war, its trade recovered, almost challenging

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

as the busiest port in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. Parris received numerous residential and commercial commissions, working in the fashionable style of architect

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

. Like most housewrights of the era, he often used elements derived directly from

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

architectural books, or those published in the United States by

Asher Benjamin Asher Benjamin (June 15, 1773July 26, 1845) was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal architecture and the later Greek Revival architecture. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities a ...

. Unfortunately, some of his designs were lost in the Great Fire of 1866, but early photographs and Parris' surviving drawings bespeak works of neoclassical artistry and taste. The boom would end, however, with Jefferson's

Embargo of 1807 The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. As a successor or replacement law for the 1806 Non-importation Act and passed as the Napoleonic Wars continued, it repr ...

, which lasted 14 months and devastated Portland's mercantile base. Merchants went bankrupt. The Portland Bank, its building designed by Parris, failed. By 1809, construction in the city had come to a halt. Parris left for

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, where he designed the Wickham House and the Executive Mansion. But architect

Benjamin Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...

examined Parris' preliminary plans for the Wickham House, which resembled his previous Federal style works in Portland, and gave it a blistering review. Latrobe's advice left a profound imprint on the future work of Parris, beginning with the building's revised design. Consequently, the Wickham House is considered a watershed design by Parris, marking the shift from his earlier

Adamesque The Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and James (173 ...

period towards his later, more severe, monumental and architectonic period. In the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, he served in

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

as a Captain of the Artificers (engineers), gaining knowledge of military requirements for engineering.

Boston and federal patronage

In 1815, he moved to Boston, where he found a position in the office of Charles Bulfinch. Like his famous employer, Parris produced refined residences, churches and commercial buildings. When in 1817 Bulfinch was called to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

to work on the

U.S. Capitol Building The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

, Parris helped complete the Bulfinch Building home of the

Ether Dome The Ether Dome is a surgical operating amphitheater in the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. It served as the hospital's operating room from its opening in 1821 until 1867. It was the site of the first public demonstra ...

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

. With Bulfinch's departure, Parris soon became the city's leading architect, and a proponent of what would be called "Boston

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

Style," with austere, monolithic stonework. Around 1818-1823 he kept an office on Court Street. He belonged to the

Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association (est.1795) of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founders included Paul Revere, Jonathan Hunnewell, ...

.Joseph Jenkins. An address delivered before the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanick Association, December 17, 1818, being the anniversary of the choice of officers, and fourth triennial celebration of their public festival. (Boston: Munroe & Francis, 1819) Quincy Market When Built

In 1824, however, he began a twenty-year association working for the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

in Charlestown. He would end his career as chief engineer at the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost town in t ...

. With the federal government as patron, Parris produced plans for numerous utilitarian structures, from storehouses to ropewalks, and was superintendent of construction at one of the nation's first

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

s, located at the Charlestown base. Today, he is fondly remembered for his stalwart stone lighthouses, commissioned by the

U.S. Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

. They are often of a tapered form termed "windswept." Parris balanced the delicacy of his "superb draftsmanship," as it was called, with the coarseness of his building material of choice: granite. His most famous building,

Quincy Market Quincy Market is a historic building near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was constructed between 1824 and 1826 and named in honor of mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt. The market is ...

, is made of it. Parris died in Pembroke, where he is interred in the Briggs Burying Ground.

Designs

* 1801 -

Joseph Holt Ingraham Joseph Holt Ingraham (January 26, 1809 – December 18, 1860) was an American author. Ingraham was born in Portland, Maine. He spent several years at sea, then worked as a teacher of languages in Mississippi. In the 1840s he published work in ' ...

House, Portland, Maine * 1803-1804 - Maine Fire & Marine Insurance Company Building, Portland, Maine * 1804 - James Deering House, Portland, Maine * 1805 - Commodore Edward Preble House, Portland, Maine * 1805 - Hunnewell-Shepley House, Portland, Maine * 1806-1807 - Portland Bank, Portland, Maine * 1807 -

St. John's Church St. John's Church, Church of St. John, or variants, thereof, (Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle or John the Evangelist) may refer to the following churches, former churches or other ...

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

* 1809-1810 - Moses Payson House,

Bath, New Hampshire Bath is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2020 census, unchanged from the 2010 census. Now a tourist destination and commuter town for Littleton, the town is noted for its historic architectu ...

* 1812 - Wickham House, Richmond, Virginia * 1813 - Executive Mansion, Richmond, Virginia * 1816 -

Watertown Arsenal The Watertown Arsenal was a major American arsenal located on the northern shore of the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts. The site is now registered on the ASCE's List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and on the US National ...

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Watertown ...

* 1818 - 39 and 40 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1819 - Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, Massachusetts * 1819 - David Sears House (now the

Somerset Club The Somerset Club is a private social club in Boston, Massachusetts, founded perhaps as early as 1826. It is a center of Boston Brahmin families - New England's upper class - and is known as one of the big four clubs in the country, the other th ...

), Boston, Massachusetts * 1819 -

Appleton-Parker House The Nathan Appleton Residence, also known as the Appleton-Parker House, is a historic house located at 39–40 Beacon Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designated a National Historic Landmark for its associ ...

, or

Nathan Appleton Residence The Nathan Appleton Residence, also known as the Appleton-Parker House, is a historic house located at 39–40 Beacon Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designated a National Historic Landmark for its assoc ...

, Boston, Massachusetts * 1822 - St. Paul's Episcopal Church,

Windsor, Vermont Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when ...

* 1824 -

Pilgrim Hall The Pilgrim Hall Museum at 75 Court Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts is the oldest public museum in the United States in continuous operation, having opened in 1824. History The Pilgrim Society, established in 1820, runs the museum. The museum ...

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

* 1824-1826 -

, Boston, Massachusetts * 1828 -

United First Parish Church United First Parish Church is a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Quincy, Massachusetts, established as the parish church of Quincy in 1639. The current building was constructed in 1828 by noted Boston stonecutter Abner Joy to designs by ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

*1831 -

Barnstable County Courthouse The Barnstable County Courthouse is an historic courthouse at 3195 Main Street in Barnstable, Massachusetts. The two-story Greek Revival building was built in 1831 to a design by architect Alexander Parris. It is built mostly out of Quincy gran ...

Barnstable, Massachusetts The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipaliti ...

* 1834 - St. Joseph's Church, Boston, Massachusetts * 1834 - Ropewalk, Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts * 1836 -

Chelsea Naval Hospital Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament cons ...

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. As of the 2020 census, Chelsea had a population of 40,787. With a total area of just 2.46 s ...

* 1837 -

Chelsea Naval Magazine Naval Hospital Boston Historic District is a historic district at the south end of Broadway in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The district encompasses the area around the former Chelsea Naval Hospital. It consists of five buildings, historically the or ...

, Chelsea, Massachusetts * 1839 - Saddleback Ledge Lighthouse, between the islands of Vinalhaven and

Isle au Haut, Maine Isle au Haut () is a New England town, town in Knox County, Maine, Knox County, Maine, United States, on an island of the same name in Penobscot Bay. The population was 92 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Home to portions of Acadia N ...

* 1847 - Mount Desert Rock Lighthouse, south of

Mount Desert Island, Maine Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

* 1848 -

Libby Island Light Libby Island Light is a lighthouse on Libby Island, marking the mouth of Machias Bay, in Machiasport, Maine. The light station was established in 1817 and is an active aid to navigation; the present granite tower was built in 1823 and improved ...

house,

Machiasport, Maine Machiasport is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 962 at the 2020 census. Machiasport is a historic seaport and tourist destination. History In 1633, the Plymouth Company established a trading post here to co ...

, at the entrance to Machias Bay * 1848 - Matinicus Rock Lighthouse, 6 miles south of Matinicus Island, Maine * 1848 - Whitehead Island Lighthouse, Whitehead Island, Maine—southern entrance to

Penobscot Bay Penobscot Bay (french: Baie de Penobscot) is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean in south central Maine. The bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River, downriver from Belfast, Maine, Belfast. Penobscot Bay has many ...

* 1849 - Execution Rocks Lighthouse,

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

, New York * 1850 - Monhegan Island Lighthouse, Monhegan Island, Maine Image:The Wickham House, Richmond, VA.jpg, Wickham House, 1812, Richmond, Virginia Image:Somerset Club, Boston, MA - front facade.JPG,

, 1819, Boston, Massachusetts Image:Pilgrim Hall Museum.JPG,

, 1824, Plymouth, Massachusetts Image:Executionrocks.jpg, Execution Rocks Light, 1849, Long Island Sound Image:Bulfinch Building.jpg, The Bulfinch Building: State of the Art from the Start.

References

* Richard M. Candee, "Maine Towns, Maine People -- Architecture and the Community, 1783-1820," a chapter in ''Maine in the Early Republic''; Maine Historical Society &

Maine Humanities Council The 'Maine Humanities Council (MHC) was founded in 1975 as a private nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is one of 56 humanities councils in the United States and its territories. The MHC is also home of the Harrie ...

; University Press of New England, Hanover & London 1988 * Arthur Gerrier, "Alexander Parris' Portland Years, 1801-1809," ''Landmarks Observer'' (Greater Portland Landmarks, Inc.), VIII, November–December 1981, pp. 10–11 * Edward F. Zimmer, Pamela J. Scott, "Alexander Parris, B. Henry Latrobe and the John Wickham House in Richmond, Virginia," ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', Vol. 41, No. 3 (October, 1982), pp. 202–211 *
The Bulfinch Building: State of the Art from the Start
', R. Tomsho, Massachusetts General Hospital Magazine, 2011

External links

Moses Payson House (1809-1810)

Quincy Market (1824-1826), Boston, Massachusetts

Wickham House (1812), Richmond Virginia

Wickham House -- The Valentine Richmond History Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parris, Alexander 1780 births 1852 deaths American civil engineers Architects from Boston People from Halifax, Massachusetts Federalist architects 19th century in Boston Architects from Portland, Maine Engineers from Maine Engineers from Massachusetts 19th-century American architects 19th-century American engineers