Jules Gabriel Henri de Sibour (December 23, 1872 – November 4, 1938) was a French architect who worked in
Washington, DC
)
, 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 Morg ...
.
Early life
He was born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, to Vicomte Gabriel de Sibour and Mary Louisa Johnson of
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
. He moved to the United States as a child.
He attended
St. Paul's School in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, then earned a degree from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
in 1896, where he was a member of
Skull and Bones.
After working in New York for a time, he studied at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...
.
Career
After college, de Sibour worked with
Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg (February 6, 1857 – April 10, 1947) was an American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility.
Early life and education
Flagg was born in Brooklyn, N ...
and
Bruce Price in New York. He went to Paris for additional education, but after Price died in May 1903, de Sibour inherited the practice and continued work at the renamed firm Bruce Price & de Sibour. From 1908 to 1911, de Sibour maintained offices in both New York and Washington, DC. However, a year after moving to DC in 1910, de Sibour closed his New York office. From 1908 through 1922, de Sibour maintained an office in the Hibbs Building, then moved to the Edmonds Building in 1923.
De Sibour's most prominent works are grand dwellings and
embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...
buildings (such as the
Embassy of Uzbekistan — called the Moore Residence — at 1746 Massachusetts Avenue). However, he also designed dozens of office buildings, apartment buildings, and a diverse range of structures. In 1910, de Sibour designed
The Investment Building, a nine-story bank and office, constructed by J. L. Marshall at 15th Street and K Street NW. The same year he designed the
McLachlen Building at 1001 G Street NW and what is now the national headquarters of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs at 1601 R Street NW for Richard Thomas Mulligan and his wife Emily Ogston Mulligan niece of Secretary of the Navy, George M. Robeson.
In 1911, be designed a nine-story office building at 1512 H Street NW and in 1912, a four-story apartment building at 1409 15th Street NW and a five-story apartment building at 1785 Massachusetts Avenue NW. He collaborated with the Boston firm of Desmond and Lord on the Clapp Memorial Building (443 Congress Street,
Portland, Maine) opened in 1920. In 1922, de Sibour designed an apartment building, remarkably similar to his design for the 1922
Hamilton Hotel, at 1200 16th Street NW that was later converted to become
The Jefferson Hotel. In 1923, J.H. deSibour also designed the Lee House, an eight-story hotel at the northwest corner of 15th Street and L Street NW, for the Kenwood Corporation.
Working in the
Beaux-Arts style throughout his career, de Sibour's buildings are characterized by their extensive applied decoration and the French influence in their design. Additional notable buildings include the Chevy Chase Club, the University Club, the
Chase's Theater and Riggs Building,
W. B. Hibbs and Company Building and the
Federal-American National Bank. He designed the
French Embassy at 2221 Kalorama Road NW, the
Wilkins House at 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW
serving as the Peruvian Chancery, the
Stewart Residence serving as the Embassy of Luxembourg at 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, and
Oxon Hill Manor
Oxon Hill Manor is a neo- Georgian house of 49 rooms, located at Forest Heights, Prince George's County, Maryland. It was designed in 1928 for Sumner Welles (1892-1961) by the Washington architect, Jules Henri de Sibour (1872-1938). It was buil ...
(1928), an estate for
Sumner Welles in
Oxon Hill,
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 t ...
.
Personal life
In 1898, de Sibour married Margaret Marie Clagett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Clagett, of Washington, DC. Jules and Margaret had three sons: Henri Louis, Jacques Blaise, and Jean Raymond.
References
External links
Embassy of Peru, Washington, DC – Chancery – History The Ballad of Chevy ChaseThe Prince of Beaux Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibour, Jules Henri De
1872 births
1938 deaths
American architects
Yale University alumni
French emigrants to the United States
École des Beaux-Arts alumni
Artists from Paris
Architects from Washington, D.C.
Beaux Arts architects