Joseph McArthur Vance (January 22, 1868 – December 14, 1948) was a prominent architect in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
. His portfolio comprised residential, commercial, industrial and recreational buildings. Much of his work was centered in Pittsfield, then a thriving commercial, industrial and resort city, but he was also commissioned by clients elsewhere in Berkshire County. He also pursued projects in neighboring states. Among the buildings he designed are the
Colonial Theatre (1903, with
J. B. McElfatrick), the
Allen Hotel
The Allen Hotel is an historic hotel building in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1915 and first operated as the Park Hotel, it is a significant local example of Renaissance Revival architecture, designed by the prominent local architect Jose ...
– originally the Park Hotel – (1915), and the
Frank Howard Building (1916) – all in Pittsfield; Bascom Lodge (1932-1937) atop Mount Greylock, the state's highest peak; and the Hotel Aspinwall in Lenox, Massachusetts (1902), which burned to the ground in 1931. Several buildings he designed are 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 ...
.
Born in
Chattanooga
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, on January 22, 1868, Vance was educated in the public schools there. He then attended
Urbana University
Urbana University was a private university specializing in liberal arts education and located in Urbana, Ohio. In its final few years, it was purchased by Franklin University and was a branch campus of that university.
History
Urbana University ...
in Ohio, before studying architecture at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. He left MIT in 1891 without taking a degree and began work in the office of architect Francis R. Allen of Boston. In 1894, Vance was sent to Pittsfield in western Massachusetts to supervise the construction of the Berkshire County Savings Bank building. Vance enjoyed life in Berkshire County – his MIT friend and fellow architecture student John H. C. Church lived in nearby Great Barrington; so he decided to remain in Pittsfield and make his career there. Vance became Francis Allen's partner in 1897 and remained associated with Allen until 1902.
While at Urbana, Vance was a pitcher for their baseball team, and it was said that he pitched a no-hit, no-run game. His interest in baseball continued into later life. He became an early supporter of Pittsfield's professional baseball team, the Hillies, and for two years in the 1920s was president of the city's ball club. Vance designed many improvements to the city's old grandstand at Wahconah Park. In the 1940s, he made plans for a new grandstand, which were put on hold because of the government's need for building material in World War II. The current grandstand, largely based on Vance's design, was finally constructed after his death. Vance was also an ace golfer. He was one of the founding members of the Country Club of Pittsfield, and was captain of the Club's golf team for many years. When the Country Club purchased its current site, Vance was responsible for converting the mansion there into the clubhouse.
Vance was also very interested in the theater. He appeared in a number of local stage productions, in both straight plays and operettas. He was particularly known for his comic roles. During the heyday of the little theater movement in the United States, Vance helped organized Pittsfield's Town Players, a theater group that is still active today; it was Vance who suggested the group's name.
Vance was very active in the social life of the Berkshires and utilized his social connections to build his career. Many of his residential projects were designed for friends and acquaintances, such as Bonny Bank, the home of John Church in Great Barrington, and One West Street in Lenox, Massachusetts. Many of his commercial projects came to him through those same connections, such as the Mahaiwe Block and Theatre in Great Barrington. Vance's architecture practice continued to thrive even during and after the Great Depression, when other Pittsfield architects were complaining of lack of work. In his last years, after the Second World War, Vance was still at work promoting his design for the Wahconah Park grandstand project.
Joseph McArthur Vance died at his home in Pittsfield on December 14, 1948. Surviving him were his wife, Grace Hersey Vance (1870-1950), whom he married in 1899, and his son, Joseph Colville Vance (1901-1957). He was predeceased by another son, Duncan McArthur Vance (1911-1914).
Work
*Berkshire County Savings Bank Building (1896), supervising architect. He had his office on the top floor of this building in rooms overlooking Park Square.
*Cherry Hill (Dr. Charles McBurney residence) (1897) (Stockbridge, Massachusetts)
*New American House hotel (1899) (North Adams, Massachusetts), demolished 1935
*Richmond Hotel (1901) (North Adams, Massachusetts), demolished 1970
*Club House renovation (1901) Country Club of Pittsfield
*Hotel Aspinwall (1902) (Lenox, Massachusetts), burned to the ground in 1931
*Stockbridge Public Library (1902, renovation) (Stockbridge, Massachusetts)
*
Colonial Theatre (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
The Colonial Theatre is located at 111 South Street, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Built in 1903, the theater was host to many theater greats including George M. Cohan, Sara Bernhardt, John Bar ...
(1903) (NRHP listed) The Colonial reopened as a theatre in 2006 after a $22 million restoration.
*Greenock Hotel (1903, and 1908 rebuilding after fire) (Lee, Massachusetts)
*Bonny Bank (J. H. C. Church residence) (1905) (Great Barrington, Massachusetts)
*
Mahaiwe Theater (1905) in
Great Barrington (restored and reopened)
now the
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in the Berkshires
(NRHP listed as the
Mahaiwe Block)
*Morningside Engine House (1906)
*Majestic (1910), later renamed The Palace, on North Street,
demolished 1993
*Manual Arts School Building, currently Percival Hall (1910) Fitchburg State University (Fitchburg, Massachusetts)
*Putnam County Savings Bank (1911) (Brewster, New York)
*
Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building
Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building is a historic commercial building at 5-7 North Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is located in the heart of downtown Pittsfield, facing Park Square across North Street. Built in 1868, it is one of ...
, 1911 addition of two stories (NRHP listed). This addition included rooms for the Park Club, Pittsfield's businessmen's club, to which Vance belonged for fifty years.
*St. James Church Parish House (1912) (Great Barrington, Massachusetts)
*Empire Theatre (1913) (North Adams, Massachusetts), demolished 1967
*Morningside Baptist Church (1913)
*Clubhouse, Wyantenuck Country Club (1914) (Great Barrington, Massachusetts)
*Masonic Temple (1914)
Vance was the first man to be inducted as a Mason when the new Temple was dedicated.
*
Park Hotel, later Allen Hotel at 17 Wendell Avenue (1915) (NRHP listed)
*
Frank Howard Building at 124-132 Fenn Street / 67-71 Federal Street (1916) (NRHP listed)
*Kinnell-Kresge Building, currently Beacon Cinema (1918)
*Town Hall (1923) (Richmond, Massachusetts)
*First Church of Christ, Scientist (1926)
*Hall of Records, later Registry of Deeds (1928)
*Town Library, currently Police Department building (1929) (Sheffield, Massachusetts)
*Post Office (1929) (Dalton, Massachusetts)
*First Baptist Church (1930)
[
*Bascom Lodge (1932-1937) atop ]Mount Greylock
Mount Greylock is a mountain located in the northwest corner of Massachusetts and is the highest point in the state. Its summit is in the western part of the town of Adams (near its border with Williamstown) in Berkshire County. Geologicall ...
, part of the Mount Greylock Summit Historic District
*Thunderbolt Ski Shelter (1940) atop Mount Greylock
* Shelter House at Springside Park
Springside Park is a recreational city park on the north side of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. At it is the city's largest park. Much of the park is wooded, providing for passive recreational opportunities such as hiking. The southwestern sectio ...
, 874 North St Pittsfield, MA
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
(1941) (NRHP listed)
* Grandstand at Wahconah Park
Wahconah Park is a city-owned baseball park located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and nestled in a working-class neighborhood. One of the last remaining ballparks in the United States with a wooden grandstand, it was constructed in 1919 and seats ...
(1949)
* One West Street (Lenox, Massachusetts) Designed for Dr.Edward T Forsley in 1940.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, Joseph McArthur
1868 births
1948 deaths
Architects from Tennessee
Architects from Pittsfield, Massachusetts
20th-century American architects
Urbana University alumni
MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni