Philip Hooker (October 28, 1766 – January 31, 1836) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

from

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

known for

Hyde Hall Hyde Hall is a US neoclassical country mansion designed by architect Philip Hooker for George Clarke (1768–1835), a wealthy landowner. The house was constructed between 1817 and 1834, and designed with English and American architectural featu ...

, the facade of the

Hamilton College Chapel The Hamilton College Chapel, on the campus of Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, was completed in 1827. Architecture The façade was designed by architect Philip Hooker, notable for his many designs of public buildings in Albany, NY, as well as for ...

The Albany Academy The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from Preschool (age 3) to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselae ...

Albany City Hall Albany City Hall is the seat of government of the city of Albany, New York, United States. It houses the office of the mayor, the Common Council chamber, the city and traffic courts, as well as other city services. The present building was des ...

, and the original

New York State Capitol The New York State Capitol, the seat of the Government of New York State, New York state government, is located in Albany, New York, Albany, the List of U.S. state capitals, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The seat o ...

building.

Early life

Hooker was born on October 28, 1766 to Samuel Hooker (1745–1832) and Rachel Hinds, the eldest of at least six children. His father is said to have brought his family to live in Albany in 1772 from Massachusetts.

Career

In the New York City directories of 1792 and 1793, he was listed as a "house carpenter" where he likely learned architecture from European architects and engineers who were working in the City. Hooker assembled a library during this period and when his parents and the rest of his family moved to Utica in 1797, he stayed behind in Albany. He became a prominent member of Albany serving as alderman assessor, city architect, city superintendent, and city surveyor. During his career, he designed

, the facade of the

, and the original

building. He is believed to have designed the Gen. John G. Weaver House at

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. It was 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 1989.

Notable buildings

An existing National Register of Historic Places building that he designed, with John H. Lothrop, is: *

on the

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

campus. Two other National Register of Historic Places that are also

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

s which he designed are: *

, at Otsego Lake * Roscoe Conkling House, in

Others: * New York State Arsenal (1799; razed) * St. Peter's Episcopal Church (1802; razed 1859) * New York State Bank (1803; portions of front elevation survive) * Bank of Albany (1809; rzed) * Mechanics and Farmers Bank (1811; portions reused in receiving vault, Glenmont) * Aiken House,

Rensselaer, New York Rensselaer is a city in Rensselaer County, New York, United States, and is located on the east side of the Hudson River, directly opposite of Albany. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 9,210. Rensselaer is on the western border of ...

(1816) * St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (1829; razed) *

(1832, destroyed by fire in 1880)

Private residences

He also designed many private residences for wealthy Albanians including the Van Rensselaers, Cornings, Pruyns, Lansings,

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

and others. One mansion attributed to him and built for Samuel Hill, is now the Fort Orange Club at 110 Washington Avenue. He was also a politician and a member of the "

Albany Regency The Albany Regency was a group of politicians who controlled the New York state government between 1822 and 1838. Originally called the "Holy Alliance", it was instituted by Martin Van Buren, who remained its dominating spirit for many years. The ...

Monographs

Two monographs have been written on Hooker's work: *Edward W. Root. ''Philip Hooker: A Contribution to the Study of the Renaissance in America'' (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons), 1929. *Douglas G. Bucher and Walter Richard Wheeler. ''A Neat Plain Modern Stile: Philip Hooker and His Contemporaries'', 1796-1836 (Amherst, Mass.: University of Massachusetts Press), 1993.

Personal life

His first wife, Mary, died in 1812 at the age of 39. In 1814, he married Sarah Monk (c. 1780/90–1858) at the Albany Lutheran church. Sara was the daughter of Christopher Monk. Neither of his marriages produced children, therefore his estate was left to his widow upon his death on January 31, 1836. His will indicated that "Sarah, who has by her industry and frugality assisted me in an essential manner to acquire what I possess, the whole of my estate of every kind and description whatsoever and wheresoever the same may be, which I may own, be in possession of or be entitled to at the time of my decease; to be and remain her sole property so long as she remains a widow..." He was originally buried in the State Street Burial Grounds in Albany; his body was reinterred in the 1860s at the

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical Am ...

, in lot 12, section 49, in

Menands, New York Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the northern city line of Albany. H ...

.Albany Rural Cemetery, Notable People
Accessed September 1, 2010

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooker, Philip 1766 births 1836 deaths Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery Architects from Massachusetts Architects from Albany, New York 19th-century American architects