J. E. R. Carpenter
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James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter Jr. (January 7, 1867 – June 11, 1932) was the leading
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 ...
of luxury residential
high-rise buildings A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...
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 ...
in the early 1900s.


Biography

He studied at the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
and 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 ...
, from which he graduated in 1884. He then studied at the
École des Beaux Arts École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région ...
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. S ...
. Carpenter worked in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, in 1888; in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, in 1890; and later in New York City. In 1892, he published an architecture book, ''Artistic Homes for City and Suburb''. When working in Virginia and partnered with
John Kevan Peebles John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
, he designed the Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church at Norfolk (1894-1896). Working independently, he also designed Trinity United Methodist Church in
Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...
(1900). Carpenter's first New York commission, in 1909, was for 116 East 58th Street, a nine-story apartment house, since demolished. His designs in
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 ...
include the Columbia military
arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
(later the
Columbia Military Academy The campus of Columbia Military Academy was built as an arsenal for the US Army in 1891 and closed after the Spanish–American War. The arsenal was declared surplus property in 1901 and in 1904 the land was formally turned over to the Columbia M ...
), the
Maury County Maury County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia. Maury County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro ...
courthouse in
Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colum ...
, the Kirkland Tower at
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
, the
Hermitage Hotel The Hermitage Hotel, is a historic hotel located at 231 6th Avenue North in Nashville, Tennessee. Commissioned by 250 Nashville residents in 1908 and named for Andrew Jackson's estate, The Hermitage near Nashville, the hotel opened in 1910. It wa ...
, Lynmeade Mansion and the Stahlman Building in Nashville, the Hurt Building in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, the
American National Bank Building (Pensacola, Florida) The American National Bank Building (also known as the Florida National Bank Building, the Seville Tower or Empire Building) is a historic bank in Pensacola, Florida, United States. On November 17, 1978, it was added to the U.S. National Regist ...
, and several noteworthy buildings in New York City, including
907 Fifth Avenue 907 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 12-story, limestone-faced building is located at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street on a site once occupied by the 1893 residence of James ...
,
620 Park Avenue 620 Park Avenue is a luxury apartment building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Park Avenue between East 65th and 66th Streets. History 620 Park Avenue was designed by J.E.R. Carpenter, who also designed 625 Park Avenue across the avenue; ...
,
625 Park Avenue 625 Park Avenue is a co-op residential building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of East 65th Street and Park Avenue. It is noted for its spacious residences, well-known residents, The building was designed ...
,
640 Park Avenue 64 or sixty-four or ''variation'', may refer to: * 64 (number) Dates * one of the years 64 BC, AD 64, 1864, 1964, 2064, etc. * June 4th (6/4) ** the date of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre * April 6th (6/4) * April 6 AD (6/4) ...
,
655 Park Avenue 655 Park Avenue is a Georgian-style co-op residential building on Manhattan's Upper East Side, located on Park Avenue between 67th Street and 68th Street, adjacent to the Park Avenue Armory. It was developed in 1924 by Dwight P. Robinson & Company ...
, 825 Fifth Avenue, 819 Park Avenue, 550 Park Avenue, completed in 1917, the neo-Italianate 1030 Fifth Avenue, built in 1925, and the
Lincoln Building (42nd Street, Manhattan) One Grand Central Place, originally the Lincoln Building, is a 53-story, tall neo-Gothic office building at 60 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded by Madison Avenue to the west, East 41st Street to the south, ...
, completed in 1930.Withey & Withey, 1956, p. 109. One distinctive aspect of Mr. Carpenter's work is his pairing of buildings: sibling structures facing each other across a side street, like 1115 and 1120 Fifth, at 93rd Street; 1148 and 1150 Fifth, at 96th Street; and 1165 and 1170 Fifth, at 98th Street. Carpenter's work was described in a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' ad in 1930 as having a "quiet, restful feeling about isapartments — in their large, high-ceiling rooms, the careful finish of detail, the skilled but unobtrusive service."


Personal life

On 9 February 1899 he married Marion Stires, who was born in December 1870 in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
or
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, a daughter of Van Rensselaer W. Stires and Letitia (née Milmore) Stires. She died on October 24, 1956, in New York City, survived by a grandson and two great-grandchildren. She was an art collector. J. E. R. Carpenter's death drew obituaries in the June 12, 1932 issue of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''''The New York Times'', issue of 12 Jun 1932, p. 30, col. 1, "J. E. R. Carpenter, Architect, Is Dead." and the August 1932 issue of ''
The Architectural Forum ''Architectural Forum'' was an American magazine that covered the homebuilding industry and architecture. Started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1892 as ''The Brickbuilder'', it absorbed the magazine ''Architect's World'' in October 1938. Ownership ...
''.


Bibliography

* Alpern, Andrew; Christopher Gray, preface. David Netto, foreword. ''
The New York Apartment Houses of Rosario Candela and James Carpenter ''The New York Apartment Houses of Rosario Candela and James Carpenter'' is an illustrated book by American architecture historian Andrew Alpern. The book was initially published on February 2, 2002, by Acanthus Press. The book discusses the work ...
.'' New York: Acanthus Press, 2001.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter Jr, James Edwin Ruthven American residential architects 1867 births 1932 deaths Architects from Tennessee Architects from New York City People from Columbia, Tennessee University of Tennessee alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts People from the Upper East Side 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects