Works by
Benjamin Henry Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...
, a British-born architect, were influenced by
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
styles and those of British architect
John Soane
Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...
. Latrobe emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, living initially 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 ...
, then in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, before being hired to work on government projects in
Washington, D.C.
)
, 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 Morgan, ...
His works most notably included the central portion of the
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
, along with designing the porticoes of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. He also designed numerous houses and other buildings.
Latrobe worked on various engineering projects, as well, including the Philadelphia waterworks, along with projects in
where he spent the last years of his life. He wrote quite a bit, including extensive notes in his journals, which have since been published, and he translated works by others.
Architecture
Latrobe's many architectural works include:
Writing
Benjamin Henry Latrobe authored several books and translated others, including:
* ''Characteristic Anecdotes ... to Illustrate the Character of Frederick the Great'' (1788)
* ''Authentic Elucidation of the History of Counts Struensee ''
ic' and Brandt and of the Revolution in Denmark in the Year 1772'' (1789)
James Bruce
James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia and in 1770 became the first Eur ...
hired Latrobe in 1790 to help put together ''Travels'', a memoir of Bruce's journeys in Africa.
After he arrived in the United States, Latrobe befriended
Constantin-François Chassebœuf, comte de Volney, who stimulated an interest in
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...
. Latrobe kept numerous journals with geological notes and published a number of papers, including "Memoir on the Sand Hills of Cape Henry" (1799), ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' (vol. 4, pp 439–44).
Notes
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External links
* {{Commons category-inline
Benjamin Henry Latrobe buildings and structures
Latrobe, Benjamin Henry