Jeremiah O'Rourke,

FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

, (1833 – 1915), was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

architect known primarily for his designs of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

churches and institutions and Federal

post offices A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post ...

. He was a founder of the Newark-based architectural firms of Jeremiah O'Rourke (active from the 1850s to the 1880s) and Jeremiah O'Rourke & Sons (active from the 1880s until his death).

Early life

O'Rourke was born in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

in 1833 as one of eight children and graduated in 1850 from the Government School of Design, Queens College, Cork. He thereafter emigrated to the United States where he found work drafting plans for a Newark carpenter-builder, Jonathan Nichols. He married Elizabeth Cecilia Dunn in 1860. He lived at a home he designed and built at 45 Burnet Street in what is now the

James Street Commons Historic District The James Street Commons Historic District is a historic district located in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 9, 1978, for its significance in archi ...

. In 1870, in anticipation of erecting a cathedral,

James Roosevelt Bayley James Roosevelt Bayley (August 23, 1814 – October 3, 1877) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Bishop of Newark (1853–1872) and the eighth Archbishop of Baltimore (1872–1877). Early life and educat ...

, Bishop of Newark, sent O'Rourke and Monsignor George Hobart Doane on a tour of England and France to study European churches."History of the Cathedral Basilica", Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart
/ref> Sacred Heart fr hill center jeh

Architecture

He set up his architectural firm in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Patrick Charles Keely Patrick Charles Keely (August 9, 1816 — August 11, 1896) was an Irish-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island. He was a prolific designer of nearly 600 churches and hundreds of other institutional buildin ...

's chief "competitor for Roman Catholic church and institutional commissions in metropolitan New York and northern New Jersey."Decker, Kevin F
"Jeremiah O'Rourke (1833-1915)"
, University of Plattsburgh, New York (2000) He became a member and Fellow 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 1886. O'Rourke was appointed from April 1893 to September 1894 to the office of the United States Supervising Architect in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

during the presidency of

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

on the recommendation of both New Jersey senators. Succeeding W. J. Edbrooke of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in this job, O'Rourke's designed several federal post offices with his annual salary of $4,500 (about $130,000 in 2020 adjusted for inflation). He returned in 1894 to private practice, founding Jeremiah O'Rourke & Sons in Newark and New York City with sons William P. O'Rourke, Joseph B. O'Rourke, and Louis J. O'Rourke. O'Rourke and his sons specialized in ecclesiastical designs. O'Rourke died April 22, 1915 in Newark.

Selected works

Churches

* St. John's in Orange, New Jersey: a Gothic Revival and English Gothic church, with some French Gothic Details); completed 1868 with a spire. When interviewed by a New York newspaper reporter shortly before he died in 1915, O'Rourke commented that St. John's was his favorite design. * St. Joseph's, Rectory, and School in Newark: Cornerstone laid in 1872; later closed and converted into clinic offices and the home of the Priory Restaurant * St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church,

Wharton, New Jersey Wharton is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 6,522,St. Mary's in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

: cornerstone laid November 18, 1875 and dedicated September 8, 1880; red brick structure with ornamental details in white brick, black brick, and gargoyles on tower *

Church of St. Paul the Apostle The Church of St. Paul the Apostle is a Catholic church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.Lafort, Remigius. The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope ...

in Manhattan built from 1876 to 1884 *St. Michael's Church in Newark: cornerstone laid April 24, 1878 *St. Aloysius Church in Newark: cornerstone laid June 20, 1880. Brownstone measures 132 by 60 feet at the base, internal ceiling with oak panel finish. Construction cost about $45,000. *Holy Cross Church in

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City. As of the 202 ...

: cornerstone laid in 1886. A cathedral-like structure in brownstone with virtually intact interior. The side porches are additions, while the planned spires were never added. *St Marys Roman Catholic Church Rahway NJ (now Divine Mercy). Completed 1888, the red Gothic architecture features a long nave lined with clerestory stained-glass windows on each side depicting significant events from the bible, the round windows are reminiscent of Romanesque influence on an otherwise Gothic structure. * St. Anthony's near downtown

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 53,105. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District. History The initial patent for the land that w ...

: dedicated October 16, 1892 *

Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the fifth-largest cathedral in North America, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. It is located at 89 Ridge Street in the Lower Broadway neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey. ...

in Newark: cornerstone laid 1899 and dedicated 1954. O'Rourke acted as the primary architect from 1899 to 1910. This was largest project of his career and is now the fifth-largest cathedral in North America, the largest in New Jersey, and the home of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jerse ...

. In keeping with O'Rourke's Catholic and Irish heritage, the original design called for an English-Irish Gothic Revival church, but plans were later modified in favor of a French Gothic Revival style. Among other firsts, this is the only cathedral in North America with twin towers on the front facade that are rotated 45 degrees against building's main orientation. * St. Patrick's Pro-Cathedral Rectory adjacent to the Pro-Cathedral on Washington Street and Central Avenue in the Tudor Gothic style with renovated interior. St. Patrick's was the home of Newark's archdiocese before work began on Sacred Heart. * Church of the Immaculate Conception in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

: completed 1953. The building is now the cathedral of the

Diocese of Camden The Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Church in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It consists of 62 parishes and about 475,000 Catholics in the Southern Jersey counties of Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumber ...

Post Offices

*Old United States Courthouse and Post Office in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

: built 1894 with six stories *

Old Post Office Pavilion The Old Post Office, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Old Post Office and Clock Tower, is located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. in Washington, D.C. It is a contributing property to the Pennsylvania Avenue National ...

's Federal Triangle: built 1899 with 12 stories * Old Post Office in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

: built 1901 with five stories * Tomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Savannah, Georgia

Institutional

* Saint Michael's Hospital in Newark: built with a Gothic Revival chapel. In expectation of municipal funding, the Newark Archdiocese intended O'Rourke's project to be Newark's public hospital. Staffed for over one hundred years by Franciscan nuns, it was funded through donations from the city's Catholic community. The laying of its cornerstone was allegedly a uniquely early moment of racial unity when blacks and whites marched together in procession. *The Immaculate Conception Chapel at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

was completely restored internally and externally. The interior is intricately detailed with an exposed hammer-beam roof and colorfully painted motifs * Warren Street School in Newark, built 1891, expanded 1908. A three-story brick school with limestone trim, slate roof, and cast terracotta details. Joel Bloom, president of the

New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university , name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology , image = New Jersey IT seal.svg , image_upright = 0.9 , former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...

, demolished this landmark for the campus expansion. *

Columbus Hall Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Orange, NJ The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was originally ...

: Built 1893 in a generally neo-Renaissance style; constructed of buff-colored brick with stone belt courses and ornamental terracotta trim. Built as the home of St. John's School, it included a fully equipped theater. *Hotel Lorraine at 545 5th Avenue in Manhattan: completed by 1930 with 13 stories"Jeremiah O'Rourke
Emporis

References

External links

"The New United States Supervising Architect", ''The Daily Times'', April13, 1893
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Jeremiah 19th-century Irish people 1833 births 1915 deaths Architects from Dublin (city) 19th-century American architects Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Alumni of University College Cork American ecclesiastical architects Gothic Revival architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Architects of Roman Catholic churches Architects of cathedrals