Rotch & Tilden was an American architectural firm active in Boston, Massachusetts from 1880 through 1895. The firm was organized by partners

Arthur Rotch Arthur Rotch (May 13, 1850 – August 15, 1894) was an American architect active in Boston, Massachusetts. Early life Rotch was born in Milton, Massachusetts to Benjamin Smith Rotch (1817-1882) and Annie Bigelow Lawrence (1820-1893). His was a pr ...

and George Thomas Tilden. Both had studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Both had worked at the architectural firm of " Ware and Brunt". They were called "society architects” because of their families and their clientele.Owens, Carole. "Rotch and Tilden, the High Society architects", ''The Berkshire Edge'', August 8, 2017
/ref> The firm was perhaps best known for lavish summer houses in Bar Harbour, Maine and for townhouses lining Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay area of Boston. According to architectural historian Harry Katz, "Rotch and Tilden developed an 'increasingly sophisticated blending of Georgian and Federal forms.” Two private residences in Montreal display an exhibit an eclectic blend of Jacobean and Richardsonian Romanesque styles. For fifteen years, until Rotch's death in 1894, theirs was one of the most active architectural offices in New England."Rotch, Arthur", ''Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada''
/ref> Tilden continued to work until he retired in 1914. Notable graduates of the firm include

Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partner ...

and

Harold Van Buren Magonigle Harold Van Buren Magonigle (1867–1935) was an American architect, artist, and author best known for his memorials. He achieved his greatest success as a designer of monuments, but his artistic practices included sculpture, painting, writing, ...

Selected works

Saint Saviour's Episcopal Church and Rectory Saint Saviour's Episcopal Church and Rectory is a historic church complex at 41 Mt. Desert Street in Bar Harbor, Maine. Built over several construction campaigns between 1877 and 1938, it is fine local example of an American Shingle Style church ...

Bar Harbor, Maine Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...

, 1877 * The Tides,

, 1887 * Bennett Building, Billerica Public Library,

Billerica, Massachusetts Billerica (, ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. History In the early 1630s, a Praying Indian ...

, 1881 *

Belvoir Terrace Belvoir Terrace is a performing arts summer camp for girls near Lenox, Massachusetts, US. The camp is used by girls to expand their abilities in theatre, art, music, and dance. History Edna Y. Schwartz created a performing arts summer program fo ...

, 1884 - for Morris Ketchum Jesup, who served on the board of directors of the J.S. Morgan Bank. * Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, Milton, Massachusetts, 1885 * Church of the Holy Spirit, Mattapan, Boston, 1886 * Farnsworth Art Museum,

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

, Wellesley, Massachusetts, 1887-1889 (razed 1958) * Cambridge Manual Training School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1889 * Frelinghuysen Arboretum,

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

, 1891 "The Frelinghuysen Arboretum"
/ref> *

Ventfort Hall Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum is a historic, Jacobean-style mansion and museum located at 104 Walker Street, Lenox, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors can tour the mansion and lear ...

Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The town is based in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and T ...

, 1891-1893 - for Sarah Morgan, sister of J. P. Morgan; the house was used as the Orphanage in the movie “The Cider House Rules.” * Old Public Library, now the Exeter Historical Society, Exeter, New Hampshire, 1894 * ''Sea Urchins'', mansion for Burton Harrison and now part of College of the Atlantic,

Peavey Memorial Library Peavey Memorial Library is an historic public library in downtown Eastport, Maine, United States. It was built in 1893 in the Romanesque Revival style and named for Albert Peavey, an Eastport resident whose son, Frank Peavey, had moved to Minneso ...

, Eastport, Maine, 1893

References

External links

Selection of works with photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotch and Tilden Architecture firms based in Massachusetts Design companies established in 1880 1880 establishments in Massachusetts Design companies disestablished in 1895 1895 disestablishments in Massachusetts American companies disestablished in 1895 American companies established in 1880