Thomas Hastings (architect)
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Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929) 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 ...
, a partner in the firm of
Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was one of the outstanding American Beaux-Arts architecture firms. Located in New York City ...
(active 1885–1929).


Biography

He was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to Thomas Samuel Hastings, a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
minister, and Fanny de Groot. Hastings came from a colonial Yankee background, his ancestor Thomas Hastings having come from the East Anglia region of England to the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
in 1634. Hastings's father was president of the Union Theological Seminary. His grandfather, also named Thomas Hastings, was the composer of the
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
''
Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...
''. He married Helen Benedict of
Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...
. Hastings abandoned his college preparation courses to work with the chief designer at
Herter Brothers Herter is a German occupational surname for a herdsman. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Herter (1871–1950), American painter; son of Christian, the furniture maker * Christian Herter (1895–1966), American politician; son o ...
, the premier New York furnishers and decorators. He later traveled to Paris to study in the atelier of
Louis-Jules André Louis-Jules André (24 June 1819 – 30 January 1890) was a French academic architect and the head of an important ''atelier'' at the École des Beaux-Arts. Biography Born in Paris, André attended the École des Beaux-Arts and took the Prix ...
, returned to the U.S. to found the firm of
Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was one of the outstanding American Beaux-Arts architecture firms. Located in New York City ...
with John Merven Carrère. Their first major commissions came from a parishioner of Hastings' father,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
developer Henry Flagler. The partners undertook two hotels for Flagler, the
Ponce de Leon Hotel The Ponce de Leon Hotel, also known as The Ponce, was an exclusive luxury hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888. The hotel was designed in the Spanish ...
(1885–1888) in St. Augustine, Florida (now part of
Flagler College Flagler College is a private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded in 1968 and offers 33 undergraduate majors and one master's program. It also has a campus in Tallahassee. History Founded in 1968, the campus comprises ...
) and the Hotel Alcazar (now the
Lightner Museum The Lightner Museum is a museum of antiques, mostly American Gilded Age pieces, housed within the historic Hotel Alcazar building in downtown St. Augustine. This 1887 Spanish Renaissance Revival style building is listed on the National Register ...
), followed by a succession of St. Augustine hotels and churches. The firm's most famous project was undoubtedly the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street—not only an important example of its type but one of New York's most recognizable landmarks. They were also instrumental in creating the profession of urban planning, with Carrére's influential designs for Cleveland, Hartford and Atlantic City. Their varied work included the Manhattan Bridge (1899), the House and Senate Office Buildings in Washington, and Blairsden, the C. Ledyard Blair estate in Peapack, New Jersey (1896), one of the nation's greatest country houses. After Carrère's death in 1911, Hastings went on to design the
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
Tomb of the Unknowns The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a historic monument dedicated to deceased U.S. service members whose remains have not been identified. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States. The World War I "Unknown" is a re ...
and the
Henry Clay Frick House The Henry Clay Frick House was the residence of the industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick in New York City. The mansion is located between 70th and 71st Street and Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was constructed in 1 ...
on
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
, as well as residences for such distinguished names as Guggenheim, duPont, Harriman, even a 'poultry cottage' for
William K. Vanderbilt William Kissam "Willie" Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and horsebreeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments. Early life William Kiss ...
. He also designed the
Fort Washington Presbyterian Church Fort Washington Presbyterian Church, also known as Iglesia Presbiteriana Fort Washington Heights, is a historic Presbyterian church complex located in Washington Heights, New York, New York. The complex consists of a long rectangular three-by-sev ...
(1913). He designed the 435-foot (132.59 m) tall Tower of Jewels, the centerpiece of San Francisco's 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Hastings designed Kumler Chapel at
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
in
Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
in 1917-18, and designed the American Monument in
Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
, France, that memorialized the defeat of
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at the
Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack failed when an Allied counterattack, supported by s ...
, finally completed in 1932 after Hastings' death. Hastings was a founding member of the
U.S. Commission of Fine Arts The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States, and was established in 1910. The CFA has review (but not approval) authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction with ...
, serving from 1910 to 1917.Thomas E. Luebke, ed., ''Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts'' (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 540. In 1906, he was elected into the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1909. Hastings outlived the Beaux-Arts world. Though he dressed up the Manhattan Bridge in a Beaux-Arts skin and helped clad conservative office buildings in Roman masonry, he denounced skyscrapers as "bad in style, definitely bad for city traffic and the health of the citizenry". He felt a zoning law should have been passed to limit their height to a maximum of eight stories as has been done successfully in Paris.


Gallery

File:Menu farewell dinner Thomas Hastings architect.jpeg, Menu for dinner for Hastings on eve of his wedding to Helen Benedict. Sherry's, Manhattan, April 26, 1900. File:Fountain of Energy and Tower of Jewels 1915.jpg, Tower of Jewels and ''Fountain of Energy'', Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco (1915). Image:Thomas Hastings Grave.jpg, The grave of Thomas Hastings at
Putnam Cemetery Putnam Cemetery is a non-sectarian cemetery located at 35 Parsonage Road in Greenwich, Connecticut. It is affiliated with adjacent Saint Mary's Cemetery at 399 North Street, which is a Catholic cemetery; the two cemeteries share the same office. T ...
. File:Bust Thomas Hastings architect.jpg, ''Bust of Thomas Hastings'' (1933) by
Frederick William MacMonnies Frederick William MacMonnies (September 28, 1863 – March 22, 1937) was the best known expatriate American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school, as successful and lauded in France as he was in the United States. He was also a highly accomplishe ...
,
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
.


Notes


References

* David Nolan, ''Fifty Feet in Paradise: The Booming of Florida'' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984). * Mark Alan Hewitt, Kate Lemos, William Morrison, Charles Warren. ''Carrére and Hastings, Architects.'' 2 vols. (New York, Acanthus Press: 2006).


External links


Carrère & Hastings Digital Collection, with over 200 drawings for the Ponce de Leon Hotel (now Flagler College), the Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, and select others

Descendants of Thomas Hastings website

Descendants of Thomas Hastings on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Thomas 1860 births 1929 deaths American Presbyterians Architects from New York City Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters