York and Sawyer was an American architectural firm active between 1898 and 1949. The firms' work is exemplary of

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...

as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York (July 23, 1863– December 30, 1928) and Philip Sawyer (1868–1949) both trained in the office of

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

in the 1890s. In 1898, they established their independent firm, based 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 ...

New_York_Historical_Society_(48269593386)

Their structure for the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...

(1908) was extended in 1938 by

Walker & Gillette Walker & Gillette was an architectural firm based in New York City, the partnership of Alexander Stewart Walker (1876–1952) and Leon Narcisse Gillette (1878–1945), active from 1906 through 1945. Biographies Walker was a native of Jersey ...

. Their ability to organize, separate and coordinate mixed uses in a building is exemplified by their massive

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

. York and Sawyer became known as specialists in the design of banks and hospitals. Original architectural drawings by York and Sawyer are held in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives at

Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is a library located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the New York City. It is the largest architecture library in the world. Serving Columbia's Graduate Schoo ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York City.

Works

All but three projects are located in the US, two in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) and one in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Banco de Boston (foto rius, mitchells bookstore)

*Rockefeller Hall of

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

(1897, later enlarged and renovated in 1916 and 1940) *

Riggs National Bank Riggs National Bank is a historic former headquarters of Riggs Bank, located at 1503–1505 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the downtown Washington, D.C. neighborhood. It was designed by architects York and Sawyer in 1899, c ...

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, ...

(1899) *Egbert Starr Library of

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

, now known as the Axinn Center at Starr Library (1900, enlarged 1927) *Swift Hall of Vassar College (1900, remodeled 1941)Karen Van Lengen and Lisa Reilly. “Vassar College: An Architectural Tour.” The Campus Guide Series. (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004), p.113 *New England Hall of Vassar College (1901, enlarged 1919, renovated 2001) *

The Chemists' Club The Chemists' Club is a private club in New York whose membership is open to research and industrial chemists from all areas. The Chemists' Club filed for incorporation on December 9, 1898. The Club's goal was "to promote the interests of chemis ...

, 52 East 41st Street, New York City (1903; adapted as the Dylan Hotel in 2000) * American Security and Trust Company Building, Washington, D.C. (1905) *

(1908, enlarged by

in 1938) *Metcalf House of Vassar College (1915) *Pratt House of Vassar College (1916) * Brooklyn Trust Company, 177 Montague Street (1913–1916) *The

Martha Cook Building Martha Cook is a Collegiate Gothic women's residence hall at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The building houses approximately 140 women pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University. Women may live in the building th ...

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1915) *

Rhode Island Hospital Trust Building The Rhode Island Hospital Trust Building is an historic commercial building in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, designed by York & Sawyer. Description The Rhode Island Hospital Trust Building is an eleven-story steel-frame build ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

(1917) *The Law Quadrangle at the

. (1924-1933) *U.S. Assay Office Building, 30 Wall Street, New York City (1919) *

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...

, 33 Liberty Street New York City (1919–1924) * Bowery Savings Bank Building, 110 East 42nd Street New York City (1921–1923) *

Greenwich Savings Bank Building The Greenwich Savings Bank Building, also known as the Haier Building and 1356 Broadway, is an office building at 1352–1362 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Constructed as the headquarters of the Greenwich Sav ...

, 1352 Broadway (1922–24) * Rhode_Island_Hospital_Trust_Building_(edit)

(1917) *

Pershing Square Building The Pershing Square Building, also known as 125 Park Avenue or 100 East 42nd Street, is a 25-story office building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the eastern side of Park Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets, across fro ...

, 125 Park Avenue, New York City (1923) *Agricultural Insurance Company Building,

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the ...

(1923) *860 Park Avenue, New York City (1925) *Kendrick House of

(1927) *

Old Royal Bank Building, Montreal The Royal Bank Tower is a skyscraper at 360 Saint-Jacques Street in Montreal, Quebec. The 22-storey neo-classical tower was designed by the firm of York and Sawyer with the bank's Chief Architect Sumner Godfrey Davenport of Montreal. Upon comp ...

(1926–1928 with S.G. Davenport of Montreal) * Transportation Building, 225 Broadway, New York City (1927) * Central Savings Bank Building (1928) 2100 Broadway, New York City *, (1928) built by and Louis Thomas *Blodgett Hall of Euthenics of

(1928, enlarged 1998) *

Commerce Court North Commerce Court is an office building complex on King and Bay Streets in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The four-building complex is a mix of Art Deco, International, and early Modernism architectural styles. The office comp ...

(1931, consulting architects with

Darling and Pearson Darling and Pearson was an architectural firm based in Toronto from 1895 through 1937. The firm was prolific and produced consistently fine work though the patronage of notable figures of the Canadian establishment, and is responsible for enhancing ...

), Toronto *Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City (1938) * Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington DC (1927-1932)gsa.gov
/ref> * Demarest Hall,

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.American Security and Trust Company Building, Washington, D.C. (1905) File:New York Historical Society (48269593386).jpg,

, New York City (1908) File:University of Michigan Law School.jpg, Law Quadrangle,

(1924-1933) File:Exterior, Herbert C. Hoover Building, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C LCCN2010719582.tif, Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington, DC (1927-1932) File:L'Édifice de la Banque Royale.jpg,

(1926–1928) File:BankofCommerce1930.jpg,

(consulting, 1931)

Associate architects and partners

* Louis Ayres (Partner) * Frederick Staples Benedict

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Kathryn Horste, 1997 ''The Michigan Law Quadrangle: Architecture and Origins'' (University of Michigan)

External links

New York Architecture Images
York and Sawyer
Emporis.com: York and Sawyer:
a partial listing of New York structures
Martha Cook Alumnae Association website

York & Sawyer architectural drawings, 1921-1931, held by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University
{{Authority control Companies based in Manhattan Defunct architecture firms based in New York City