Clarence Sumner Luce (1852–1924) was an American architect who practiced first in Boston, then at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, and finally in New York. He is best known for his design for the

Holyoke Opera House The Holyoke Opera House was a theatre operating in Holyoke, Massachusetts during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Built in 1877, and christened on March 25, 1878, the theater was built by then-mayor William Whiting who privately-funded its con ...

, and his designs for a series of Newport houses.

Early life

Clarence Luce was born at

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. ...

on June 10, 1852, the son of Augustus Luce and his wife, Clarissa Elvira Clapp. As of 1855, the family lived at Haydenville,

Williamsburg, Massachusetts Williamsburg is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,504 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The area was first settled in 1735 and ...

, where Augustus Luce worked as a "brass moulder" in the mill of the Haydenville Manufacturing Co. By 1870, Augustus Luce was a superintendent of the mill, living next door to the Greek Revival mansion of the mill's owner, Josiah Hayden. In 1874, a flood destroyed the mill, but the Hayden family rebuilt it the following year to a design by Clarence Luce.

Career

Luce attended the

Williston Seminary Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a private, co-educational, day and boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1841. History Williston Seminary was ...

Easthampton, Massachusetts Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The city is on the southeastern edge of the Pioneer Valley near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 ...

for four years, where he enrolled in the "scientific course" of study. In 1870, he moved to Boston to apprentice with the architect Gridley J.F. Bryant, and became, for a brief time, Bryant's partner. At the same time, Luce took courses at the Lowell Institute and attended lectures on architecture at Harvard University. Luce worked for Bryant until 1874, when he established his own practice at 17 Pembroke Square (where he worked from 1875 to 1877). Having cultivated a thriving practice designing houses at

, Luce relocated there in 1882, remaining until 1885 when he moved to New York.James L. Yarnall, ''Newport Through its Architects'' (2005), p.106. Luce died at his home on Staten Island, New York on March 22, 1924.

Architectural works

* Wistariahurst, Holyoke, Massachusetts (completed 1874, reconstruction after move from Williamsburg) *Whiting Building and

, Holyoke, Massachusetts (completed 1878; destroyed by fire 1967). *Charles Whitney Residence, 181 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts (completed 1878). *Edward Stanwood House, High Street, Brookline, Massachusetts (completed 1879). *Admiral Werden House, 68 Ayrault Street,

(completed 1881).National Register of Historic Places, Old Beach Road Historic District, Nomination Form (1973). *Letitia B. Sargent House, ''Aufenthalt'', 80 Kay Street,

(completed 1881). *Mary and Anne Stevens House, 73 Rhode Island Avenue,

(completed 1881). *Pel-Bull-Cottrell House, 11 Francis Street,

(completed 1881). *Walter H. Wesson House, 302 Maple Street, Springfield, Massachusetts (completed 1882; destroyed by fire in 1982). *Thomas R. Hunter House, ''Tower Top'', 77 Rhode Island Avenue,

(completed 1882). *E.G. Wilde House, 75 Kay Street,

(completed 1883). *Augustus Jay House, ''Oakwold'', 65 Old Beach Road,

(completed 1883). * Lyman C. Josephs House, ''Louisiana'', 438 Wolcott Avenue, Middletown, Rhode Island (completed 1883). *Dr. John G. Mason House, Gibbs Avenue at Catherine Street,

(completed 1883; demolished). *Gen. James H. Van Alen House, ''The Grange'', Lawrence Avenue,

(completed 1883; demolished 1888). *Charlotte Noyes House, 15 Francis Street,

(completed 1884). *Rev. Henry A. Coit House, 208 Indian Avenue, Middletown, Rhode Island (completed 1887). *Renaissance Hotel, Fifth Avenue, New York (completed 1891). *Neoclassical houses, 203–211 West 138th Street,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York (completed in 1893 with

Bruce Price Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including ...

). *Somerset Hotel, West 47th Street, New York (completed 1901). *New York State Building, Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, St. Louis, MO (1903).''World's Fair Bulletin'', Volume 4, September 1903, pp.21-21. *

Coindre Hall Coindre Hall, originally called West Neck Farm, is a 40-room, mansion in the style of a medieval French château completed in 1912 for pharmaceutical magnate George McKesson Brown. Coindre Hall sits on of rolling land overlooking Huntington Har ...

, Huntington, New York (completed 1911).

Gallery

File:Whiting Building and Opera House, Holyoke, Mass by C.S. Luce, Architect.png, Whiting Building and Opera House, Holyoke, Massachusetts. File:Holyoke Opera House NYPL Stereocard Enhanced.png, Holyoke Opera House, completed in 1878; destroyed by fire in 1967. File:Longitudinal section, Holyoke Opera House.jpg, Cross-section of the Holyoke Opera House, drawn by Clarence Luce. File:LYMAN C. JOSEPHS HOUSE, NEWPORT COUNTY, RI.jpg, The Lyman C. Josephs House, Middletown, Rhode Island, completed in 1883. File:The Grange - James H Van Alen - newport (pre-Wakehurst).jpg, General James H. Van Alen House, "The Grange," completed in 1883; demolished in 1888. File:2014 Striver's Row 211-203 W 138 by Bruce Price & Clarence S. Luce.jpg, Neoclassical houses, 203–211 West 138th Street,

, New York, completed in 1893 (with

). File:Hall186.jpg, Coindre Hall, completed in 1912.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, Clarence Sumner 1852 births 1924 deaths 19th-century American architects Architects from Massachusetts Architects from Boston Architects from Newport, Rhode Island Architects from New York City Williston Northampton School alumni American neoclassical architects People from Chicopee, Massachusetts