Charles Emmett Cassell (April 26, 1838 – August 29, 1916) was a

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

-based architect.

Biography

He was born in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

and trained as a naval architect. He received a degree in engineering from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

at age 15. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

he served as a captain in the engineers corps, under General

George Pickett George Edward Pickett (January 16,Military records cited by Eicher, p. 428, and Warner, p. 239, list January 28. The memorial that marks his gravesite in Hollywood Cemetery lists his birthday as January 25. Thclaims to have accessed the baptism ...

of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. After the war, he traveled to South America and served in the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wars ...

. He returned to the United States and practiced architecture in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

before coming to Baltimore about 1868. He was a founding member of the Baltimore Chapter of 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 ...

in 1870. He was known for his

Romanesque Revival architecture Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style. He became an AIA fellow in 1905. In 1905 he had established ''Charles E. Cassell & Son'' in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. His son John Cassell, died in 1909 from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

. Following this, he occasionally associated with his nephew in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

under the office name of ''Cassell & Cassell''. He is buried in his family’s lot at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Selected works

* The naval waterworks at

Old Point Comfort Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Previously known as Point Comfort, it lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States. It was renamed ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

* Country house for Albert Hutzler * Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1992, as a

contributing building In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

in the

Onancock Historic District Onancock Historic District is a national historic district located at Onancock, Accomack County, Virginia. The district encompasses 267 contributing buildings, 2 contributing sites, and 2 contributing objects. It includes most of the historic r ...

Onancock, Virginia Onancock ( ) is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,263 at the 2010 census. History According to a nearby Virginia state highway marker, Onancock was founded in 1680. A courthouse was established some years ...

. * 1881: Immanuel Chapel,

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

* 1883:

Christ Episcopal Church and Cemetery (Cambridge, Maryland) Christ Episcopal Church and Cemetery is an historic Episcopal church and cemetery located at Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland U.S.A. History Christ Church is the parish church of Great Choptank Parish, founded in 1692 as one of the List ...

, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. * 1885: The Chapel, University of Virginia * 1894: Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church,

Elkins, West Virginia Elkins is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. The community was incorporated in 1890 and named in honor of Stephen Benton Elkins, a U.S. Senator from West Virginia. The population was 6,950 at the 2020 ...

, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. * 1894: The Stafford Hotel in Baltimore * 1899: Stewart's Department Store,

, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. * 1904:

Chamber of Commerce Building (Baltimore, Maryland) The Chamber of Commerce Building is a historic office building located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is a Renaissance Revival-style of architecture with a brown glazed brick building five floors in height, eleven bays long on the west/ ...

, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. * 1911:

First Church of Christ, Scientist (Baltimore, Maryland) First Church of Christ, Scientist, located at 102 West University Parkway, across from the campus of Johns Hopkins University, in the Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States is an historic structure that ...

, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

References

External links

Brexton Renaissance, biography of Charles E. Cassell
1842 births 1916 deaths 19th-century American architects Architects from Baltimore University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni People from Portsmouth, Virginia Romanesque Revival architects {{US-architect-stub