Asher Benjamin (June 15, 1773July 26, 1845) was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between

Federal architecture Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

and the later

Greek Revival architecture 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 ...

. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities and towns throughout New England until the Civil War. Builders also copied his plans in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

and in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

Life and work

Asher Benjamin was born in rural Hartland, Connecticut, shortly before the death of his father. He resided until the age of 30 in the Connecticut River Valley, where he received his first training from a local builder. Benjamin exhibited an aptitude for architecture by carving Ionic

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

for the 1794 modifications to the Oliver Phelps House at Suffield, Connecticut. In 1795-1796 he designed and built a stone

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:staircase in the Old State House at Hartford, which had been designed by Charles Bulfinch. The latter's use of overall

symmetry Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definit ...

, blind arches,

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

s and smooth brick greatly influenced Benjamin, who popularized the urbane Federal style in countryside estates. Gideon Granger wrote of Benjamin: :"From a poor boy unaided by friends, by his indefatigable industry and talents in a few years he has raised himself to the first rank of his profession." Upon leaving Connecticut, Benjamin settled in Greenfield, Massachusetts. There he built two large houses, including the Leavitt House (today's Leavitt-Hovey House) for Judge

Jonathan Leavitt Jonathan Leavitt (1764–1830) was a prominent Greenfield, Massachusetts attorney, judge, state senator and businessman for whom the architect Asher Benjamin designed the Leavitt House, now the Leavitt-Hovey House on Main Street, in 1797. ...

, and published his first handbook, ''The Country Builder's Assistant'' (1797). On November 30, 1797, he married Achsah Hitchcock of

Brookfield Brookfield may refer to: Australia *Brookfield, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Brookfield, Victoria Canada * Brookfield, Manitoba, on Manitoba Highway 11 *Brookfield, Newfoundland and Labrador *Brookfield, Nova Scotia *Brookfield, Ontario ...

, with whom he had four children. Benjamin relocated to Windsor, Vermont, where he built three large houses and the Old South Congregational Church (1798). By 1803, Benjamin was living in Boston, listed in the city directory as a housewright. He designed numerous churches and houses, and also appears to have conducted the country's first architecture school. Robert Henry Eddy, Elias Carter, Solomon Willard, Samuel Shepherd and Ithiel Town are credited among his pupils. After his first wife died on January 30, 1805, on July 24 he married Nancy Bryant of

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, whom he had four more children with. Mouldings at Large Asher Benjamin

In 1823 and 1824, Benjamin was elected alderman of Boston as part of the "Middling Interest": a coalition of middle class entrepreneurs and artisans opposed to the

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of d ...

, who supported Josiah Quincy for mayor. He assisted Mayor Quincy and Alexander Parris in the planning of Quincy Market. Finding himself under a financial strain that led him to declare

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1825, Benjamin's political ambitions were soon curtailed. From 1825 to 1827 he left Boston to supervise construction of locks, canals, roads and mill buildings for the

Nashua Manufacturing Company The Nashua Manufacturing Company was a cotton textile manufacturer in Nashua, New Hampshire that operated from 1823 to 1945. It was one of several textile companies that helped create what became the city of Nashua, creating roads, churches and its ...

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. Along with Manc ...

. He designed two churches there before returning to Boston. Benjamin's greatest influence is derived from his pattern books. The first written by an American architect, they introduced architectural history, style and geometry to ordinary builders in the field. He adapted many designs by James Gibbs and

Colen Campbell Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer, credited as a founder of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As well as his architectural ...

of Great Britain to fit the scale and finances of New England communities. These handbooks provided superb drawings and practical advice for full house plans, including such details as circular staircases, doorways, fireplace mantels, dormer windows, pilasters,

baluster A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

s and fences. He sketched proposals for dwellings and churches, even a courthouse. The archeological sources of his designs were scrupulously cited, from the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens to the Arch of Titus in Rome. Other architects, including Ithiel Town and Ammi B. Young, freely assimilated his plans, as did innumerable carpenters. Indeed, the charm of many early New England towns owes a debt to Asher Benjamin. The Ridge in

Orford, New Hampshire Orford is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,237 at the 2020 census, unchanged from the 2010 census. The Appalachian Trail crosses in the east. History First called "Number Seven" in a line of Connec ...

features a series of houses based on designs from his books, many of which remain in print. Although he helped disseminate the Federal style, he was not averse to changing fashions. In fact, his book published in 1830, ''The Architect, or, Practical House Carpenter'', helped redirect American taste towards the Greek Revival movement. Architectural historian

Talbot Hamlin Talbot Faulkner Hamlin (June 16, 1889 – October 7, 1956) was an American architect, architectural historian, writer and educator. Ginling College, Peking University, and the Wayland Academy were among his major work projects, particularly in C ...

writes: :"...he, more than any other person, is responsible for the character we roughly call 'Late Colonial'; his moldings, his doors and windows and his mantels and cornices decorate or at least inspire the decorations of numberless houses up and down the New England coast and in the New England river valleys."Florence Thompson Howe, "More About Asher Benjamin", ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' 1954, p. 16
/ref> Asher Benjamin died in

the age of 72.

Books

Greenfield Public Library, Greenfield, MA

*
The Country Builder's Assistant
', 1797 * ''The American Builder's Companion'', with Daniel Raynerd, 1806
3rd ed.
1816. *
The Rudiments of Architecture
', 1814 * ''The Architect, or, Practical House Carpenter'', 1830 *
The Practice of Architecture
', 1833 * ''The Builder's Guide'', 1838 * ''The Elements of Architecture'', 1843

Designs

* 1796—Luke Baldwin House, Brookfield, Massachusetts (demolished) * 1796—Samuel Hinckley House,

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

(demolished) * 1796-1797—Coleman-Hollister House, Greenfield, Massachusetts * 1797 -- Leavitt-Hovey House (now Greenfield Public Library), Greenfield, Massachusetts * 1797-1798—First Deerfield Academy Building (now Memorial Hall), Deerfield, Massachusetts * 1798-1799—Stebbins House, Deerfield, Massachusetts * 1798—Old South Congregational Church, Windsor, Vermont * 1800—Fullerton House, Windsor, Vermont (demolished) * 1802—Harriet Lane House, Windsor, Vermont (demolished) * 1803—Hubbard House, Windsor, Vermont (demolished) * 1804 --

Charles Street Meeting House The Charles Street Meeting House is an early-nineteenth-century historic church in Beacon Hill at 70 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The church has been used over its history by several Christian denominations, including Baptists, the Fir ...

, 70 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1806 -- Old West Church, 131 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1806 -- African Meeting House, 8 Smith Court, Boston, Massachusetts * 1807 -- Sumner Mansion, Hartland, Vermont * 1808 -- Headquarters House, 54-55 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1808—60 or 61 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1808—Fourth Meeting House of the First Church, Chauncy Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1809—First Parish Church, Ashby, Massachusetts * 1809 -- Exchange Coffee House, Boston * 1811—Alexander House, Springfield, Massachusetts * 1811-1812—Fourth Meeting House, Northampton, Massachusetts (demolished) * 1812-1814—Center Church, New Haven, Connecticut (with Ithiel Town) * 1817—Rhode Island Union Bank, Newport, Rhode Island (demolished) * 1818—Bulfinch Hall (originally called Brick Academy),

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

, Andover, Massachusetts * 1819—Boylston Villa,

Princeton, Massachusetts Princeton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is bordered on the east by Sterling and Leominster, on the north by Westminster, on the northwest by Hubbardston, on the southwest by Rutland, and on the southeast by Ho ...

(For

Ward Nicholas Boylston Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747–1828; born Ward Hallowell), a descendant of the physician Zabdiel Boylston, was an American merchant, a philanthropist, and benefactor of Harvard University. He was a brother of Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell Car ...

) * 1820�
Ransom Stiles House

Argyle, New York Argyle is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 3,782 at the 2010 census. The town was named by its m ...

* 1824-1827—The Black House, Ellsworth, Maine * 1825—Unitarian Church, Peterborough, New Hampshire * 1826-1832 -- Asa Waters Mansion, Millbury, Massachusetts * 1827—Unitarian Church, Canal Street, Nashua, New Hampshire * 1827�
Olive Street Church
Nashua, New Hampshire (demolished) * 1828—70-75 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1830—Isaac Munson House, South Wallingford, Vermont (demolished) * 1832—Cambridgeport Town Hall, Cambridgeport, Massachusetts (demolished) * 1833—Asher Benjamin House, 9 West Cedar Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1833—7 West Cedar Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1834 --

Thatcher Magoun Thatcher Magoun (June 17, 1775 – April 16, 1856) was a shipbuilder who specialized in large ships and brigs, 250-tons and larger, built for the Old China Trade, China trade. His reputation, according to the maritime historian Admiral Samuel Elio ...

Mansion,

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

(demolished) * 1835—Lexington-Concord Battle Monument,

Peabody, Massachusetts Peabody () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 54,481 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. Peabody is located in the North Shore region of Massachusetts, and is known for its rich industrial histo ...

* 1836—Dr. George Shattuck Monument,

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

, Massachusetts * 1836—William Ellery Channing House, 83 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1836 -- ''Forest Home'', the F. O. J. Smith House, Westbrook, Maine (demolished) * 1837—Proposal for the Custom House, Boston, Massachusetts (competition lost to Ammi B. Young) * 1838-1839—Fifth Universalist Church (now the Charles Playhouse), 74 Warrenton Street, Boston, Massachusetts * 1840—Richmond Street Church,

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester ...

(demolished) * 1841—Edmund Hastings House, Medford, Massachusetts (demolished)

Gallery of designs

File:Coleman Hollister House Greenfield Massachusetts Asher Benjamin.jpg, Coleman-Hollister House, 1796, Greenfield, Massachusetts File:Interior Coleman Hollister House Greenfield Massachusetts.jpg, Interior, Coleman-Hollister House, 1796, Greenfield, Massachusetts File:First Deerfield Academy Memorial Hall Deerfield Massachusetts.jpg, First Deerfield Academy building, later Memorial Hall, 1797–1798, Deerfield, Massachusetts File:Old South Congregational Church Windsor.jpg, Old South Congregational Church, 1798, Windsor, Vermont File:Charles Street Meeting House - Boston, MA - DSC05528.JPG,

, 1804, Boston File:Old West Church, Boston, Massachusetts, 2 April 2011 - Flickr - PhillipC (cropped).jpg, Old West Church, 1806, Boston File:First Parish Church (Unitarian Universalist) - Ashby, Massachusetts.JPG, First Parish Church, 1809, Ashby, Massachusetts File:Center Church on the Green 01.jpg, Center Church on the Green, 1812–1814, New Haven, Connecticut File:Peterborough Unitarian Church, Peterborough NH.JPG, Unitarian Church, 1825, Peterborough, New Hampshire File:Unitarian Church, Nashua, NH.jpg, Unitarian Church, 1827,

File:70 to 75BeaconSt.JPG, 70-75 Beacon Street, 1828, Boston File:Asa Waters Mansion - Millbury, MA - DSC04580.JPG, Asa Waters Mansion, Millbury, Massachusetts

References

* Mary Wallace Crocker, "Asher Benjamin: The Influence of His Handbooks on Mississippi Buildings," ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', Vol. 38, No. 3 (October, 1979); pp. 266–270 * Juliette Tomlinson, "Asher Benjamin -- Connecticut Architect," ''Connecticut Antiquarian 6'' (1954)

External links

Charles Street Meeting House (1804)

Samuel Hinckley House (1796)

History of the Stiles House (c. 1820)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Asher 1773 births 1845 deaths People from Hartland, Connecticut People from Greenfield, Massachusetts Architects from Boston People of colonial Connecticut Greek Revival architects Federalist architects Architects from Connecticut 18th-century American architects 19th-century American architects