Charles Alling Gifford (July 17, 1860 – May 3, 1937) was an American architect and a partner in the New York City firm of Gifford & Bates. He is best remembered for his

resort hotel A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to sta ...

s, but also designed houses, churches, and five armories for the

New Jersey National Guard The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germ ...

Biography

The son of John Archer Gifford (1831–1924) and Mary Jane (née Alling) Gifford (1835–1909), Charles Alling Gifford was born in

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

. Gifford worked for the architectural firm of

McKim, Meade & 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 ...

for about three years, before establishing his own firm in Newark.John William Leonard, ed., ''Men and Things: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries, Volume 1'' (New York City: L. R. Hamersly & Company, 1908), p. 97

/ref> He became a member of the

Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines". The league dates from 1881, when Cass Gilbert organized meetings at the Salmagundi Club for ...

in 1881, and an associate of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

in 1901. By 1889, he had opened an office at 50 Broadway, Manhattan. He formed a partnership with William A. Bates in 1900, an architect who had made a reputation designing houses in

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, a ...

. In 1903, the offices of Gifford & Bates were located at 18 East 17th Street, Manhattan.Florence N. Levy, ed., ''American Art Annual, Volume 4'' (American Art Annual Inc., 1903), p. 110. Gifford served in the

, 1890–1899, retiring with the rank of Major. He designed National Guard armory buildings for five cities in the state: Jersey City, Paterson, Camden, Newark, and Trenton. Federal law required able-bodied male college students to undergo military instruction for a state's reserve militia. Gifford designed a Colonial Revival armory/gymnasium for

Rutgers College 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 ...

, the gift of brewer John Holme Ballantine:

A generous Trustee of the College has during the past year provided a superbly appointed drill-room and armory. This drill-room affords an unobstructed space 100 by 60 feet, to which is added a large equipment-room and offices for the instructor. ere is now under the capable direction of a United States officer, a battalion of 150 young men in training to serve the State in almost any military capacity should occasion arise. This building is devoted also to the purpose of general Physical Culture.

Ballentine's daughter Alice married lawyer Henry Young Jr. in 1899, and the father-of-the-bride gave the couple a 100 acre (40.47 hectare) tract of mountainous land in

Bernardsville, New Jersey Bernardsville () is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is nestled in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,707,

as a wedding gift. Four years later, Gifford designed a country house for the Youngs, "Brushwood," a 30-room

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

mansion overlooking Pleasant Valley. Gifford designed the New Jersey Building for the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago. This was a replica of the

Ford Mansion The Ford Mansion, also known as Washington's Headquarters, is a classic 18th-century American home located at 30 Washington Place in Morristown, New Jersey. It was built by Jacob Ford Jr. in 1774 and is now owned by the National Park Service. I ...

in Morristown, New Jersey, General George Washington's headquarters, Winter 1779–1780. The building was used to promote business and tourism in the state, and served as headquarters for New Jersey visitors to the 1893 Fair. A decade later, Gifford designed another replica of the Ford Mansion for the 1904

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

in St. Louis. After the 1904 Fair, the New Jersey Building was relocated to

Kirkwood, Missouri Kirkwood is an inner-ring western suburb of St. Louis located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 27,540. Founded in 1853, the city is named after James P. Kirkwood, builder of the Pacific Railroad th ...

, and converted into apartments. The

Mount Washington Hotel The Mount Washington Hotel is a hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, near Mount Washington. It was designed by Charles Alling Gifford. In 1944, it hosted the Bretton Woods Conference, which established the International Monetary ...

Bretton Woods Bretton Woods can refer to: *Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, a village in the United States **Bretton Woods Mountain Resort, a ski resort located in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire *The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, also known as the "United Nations Mo ...

, New Hampshire is Gifford's best-known work. The 1902

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

hotel is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. Several of Gifford's clients were members of the

Jekyll Island Club The Jekyll Island Club was a private club on Jekyll Island, on Georgia's Atlantic coast. It was founded in 1886 when members of an incorporated hunting and recreational club purchased the island for $125,000 (about $3.1 million in 2017) from John E ...

, a private hunting resort in

Glynn County, Georgia Glynn County is located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 79,626. The county seat is Brunswick. Glynn County is part of the Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hi ...

. Although never a member himself, he made multiple alterations to the Clubhouse, and designed the Sans Souci Apartments (1896), Pulitzer Cottage (1897–1898, burned 1951), Mistletoe Cottage (1900), and the Jekyll Island Clubhouse Annex (1901). All but Pulitzer Cottage survive, and are contributing properties in the

Jekyll Island Jekyll Island is located off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, s ...

Club

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Gifford also designed the nearby

Old Glynn County Courthouse The Old Glynn County Courthouse, also known as the Historic Brunswick Courthouse, is a historic courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia. The building, designed by architect Charles Alling Gifford, was constructed between 1906 and 1907. The building is ...

(1906-1907) in

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick () is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Sa ...

.Wilber W. Caldwell, ''The Courthouse and the Depot: The Architecture of Hope in an Age of Despair'' (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2001), pp. 261–263.

Selected works

* Trinity Church Mission Chapel, Clark Street, Newark, New Jersey, 1883 *

Augustus Newbold Morris Augustus Newbold Morris or A. N. Morris (June 3, 1838 – September 1, 1906) was a prominent American during the Gilded Age in New York City. Early life Morris was born on June 3, 1838 to William Henry Morris (1810–1896) and Hannah Cornell ...

Residence, Ridgefield, Connecticut, 1885 * Alterations to Franklin Murphy Residence, 1027 Broad Street, Newark, New Jersey, 1891. Murphy later was the 31st governor of New Jersey. * Robert F. Ballentine Gymnasium,

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.Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum (known popularly as the Zimmerli Art Museum) is located on the Voorhees Mall of the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The museum houses more than 60,000 works, including Russian and ...

now occupies the Ballantine Gymnasium site. * New Jersey State Building,

, Chicago, Illinois, 1893, burned 1894. * Central Presbyterian Church, 377 Clinton Avenue, Newark, New Jersey, 1893–1894 * Conyngham Manor, 130 South River Street,

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...

, 1897. Designed for Gifford's father-in-law. Now part of

Wilkes College Wilkes University is a private university in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students (both full and part-time). Wilkes was founded in 1933 as a satellite campus of Bucknell University, and bec ...

* Conyngham Stable,

, 1898. * Alterations to "Markland" (Andrew Anderson Residence), 102 King Street, St. Augustine, Florida, 1899–1901. Gifford doubled the size of the 1839 Greek-Revival mansion. 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 compri ...

, New Hampshire, 1900–1902. Built by

Joseph Stickney Joseph Stickney (1840–1903) was a wealthy coal broker in Pennsylvania. He was a native of Concord, New Hampshire, and made a fortune before the age of 30 investing in the coal business. Stickney was born on May 31, 1840 in Concord, New Hampshire ...

as a resort hotel and spa. *

Young Men's Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, 107 Halsey Street, Newark, New Jersey, 1901–1903, demolished. * "Brushwood," (Henry Young Mansion), 134 Ballantine Road,

, 1903–1904. * "The Knoll" (

George Macculloch Miller George Macculloch Miller (May 4, 1832 – November 14, 1917), was a prominent lawyer and secretary of Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Early life George Macculloch Miller was born in 1832 in Morristown, New Jersey. He was a son of politicia ...

Residence),

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

, 1904. * New Jersey State Building,

, St. Louis, Missouri, 1904, demolished. "Washington's Headquarters at Morristown." * 146 East 56th Street, New York City, 1905. Three-story Neo-Georgian stable/carriagehouse built for

Edwin Gould Edwin Gould Sr. (February 26, 1866 – July 12, 1933) was an American investor and railway official. Biography Gould was born in Manhattan, New York City, to railroad financier Jay Gould on February 26, 1866. He studied at Columbia University ...

. The first story currently houses a hair salon, Bumble and Bumble. * Clifton House Hotel,

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

, Canada, 1905, burned 1932 File:Trinity Church Mission Newark NJ AA&BN 19Sept1885 plate508.jpg, Trinity Church Mission Chapel (1883), Newark, New Jersey File:Morris Ridgefield CT AA&BN 18July1885 plate499.jpg, A. Newbold Morris Residence (1885), Ridgefield, Connecticut File:Ballentine Gymnasium on Voorhees Mall Rutgers College New Brunswick NJ c1901.jpg, Ballentine Gymnasium (1892-1894, demolished), New Brunswick, New Jersey File:New Jersey State Building (3573568180).jpg, New Jersey State Building, 1893 World's Fair, Chicago, Illinois, demolished File:Newark NJ Central PresbyPHS749.jpg, Central Presbyterian Church (1893-1894), Newark, New Jersey File:St Aug Markland01.jpg, "Markland" (altered 1899-1901),

, St. Augustine, Florida File:Assembly Hall from Ballroom, The Mount Washington Hotel.jpg, Assembly Hall, Mount Washington Hotel (1900-1902), Bretton Woods, New Hampshire File:Y.M.C.A. Building, Newark, N.J.jpg, Y.M.C.A. Building (1901-1903, demolished), Newark, New Jersey File:New Jersey State Building 1904 postcard.jpg, New Jersey State Building, 1904 World's Fair, St. Louis, Missouri, demolished File:Clifton 5333431278 7fc9cfb6c9 o.jpg, Clifton House Hotel (1905, burned 1932), Niagara Falls, Ontario

New Jersey armories

Pershing Field Park entry JC Heights jeh

* 4th Regiment Armory, Bergen Avenue,

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Pershing Field Pershing Field is a city square and park in the Heights of Jersey City, New Jersey in the United States. Approximately it is adjacent to Jersey City Reservoir No. 3, with which it creates a large open recreational and nature area bounded by ...

Hudson Catholic Regional High School Hudson Catholic Regional High School is a regional four-year co-educational University-preparatory Catholic high school in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The school was established in 1964 by the Roman Catholic Archd ...

was built on the armory's former site. * 5th Regiment Armory, Market Street,

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, 1896–1897, demolished 1977. **Renamed "Camden Convention Center" in the 1950s, it hosted conventions, circuses and sporting events. Home of the

Camden Bullets The first Camden Bullets were an American basketball team based in Camden, New Jersey that was a member of the Eastern Professional Basketball League. The franchise was originally known as the Baltimore Bullets, where they had won the 1961 EPBL ...

, 1961–1966, 1970–1971. * 1st Regiment Armory, Sussex Avenue & Hudson Street,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Delaware and Raritan Canal The Delaware and Raritan Canal (D&R Canal) is a canal in central New Jersey, built in the 1830s, that served to connect the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between Philadel ...

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.5th Regiment Armory (1894-1895), Paterson File:Soldiers' Monument and Armory Camden, N.J..jpg, 3rd Regiment Armory (1896-1897, demolished), Camden File:First Regiment Armory, Newark, N.J.jpg, 1st Regiment Armory (1898-1899, demolished), Newark File:2nd Regiment Armory Trenton NJ c.1906.jpg, 2nd Regiment Armory (1902-1905, demolished), Trenton

Glynn County, Georgia

Old Glynn County Courthouse, Brunswick, GA, USA

* San Souci Apartments, Jekyll Island, Georgia, 1896. A six-unit condominium,

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

owned one of the units *

Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...

Cottage, Jekyll Island, Georgia, 1897–1898. Burned by arsonists and demolished 1951 * Mistletoe Cottage, Jekyll Island, Georgia, 1900. Built for Henry Kirke Porter *

house Annex, Jekyll Island, Georgia, 1901–1903 ** Four 4-bedroom condominium apartments on the first story; the same on the second story; twenty guest bedrooms on the third story; servant bedrooms on the fourth story *

, G Street,

, 1906–1907. A new courthouse was built behind the old one in 1991. The old courthouse now houses Glynn County Probate Court. File:San Souci house on Jekyll Island, Georgia, US.jpg, San Souci Apartments (1896), Jekyll Island File:Cottage of J. Pulitzer Lanier p.31.jpg,

Cottage (1896-1897, burned 1951), Jekyll Island File:Mistletoe house, Jekyll Island, Georgia.jpg, Mistletoe Cottage (1900), Jekyll Island File:Jekyll Island 3.JPG, Jekyll Island Clubhouse Annex (1901-1903), Jekyll Island

Personal

On December 10, 1890, Gifford married Helen M. Conyngham (1868–1928), the daughter of Col. Charles Miner Conyngham and Helen Hunter Turner Conyngham of

. The Giffords had five children: Alice Conyngham, Charles Conyngham (1895–1962), John Archer, Herbert Cammamann, and Donald Stanton.Francis Bazley Lee, ed., ''Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey'' (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910), p. 159. Gifford designed a Wilkes-Barre mansion for his father-in-law, "Conyngham Manor." It is now the Conyngham Student Center of

. Gifford and his family lived at 60 Park Place in Newark. He later designed and built a country house in

Summit, New Jersey Summit is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. At the 2010 United Sta ...

. Helen Conyngham Gifford died May 9, 1928. Gifford retired to their seashore home, at 7 South Brighton Avenue,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

.American Institute of Architects, ''Membership List'' (AIA, 1930), p. 3

/ref> He died there on May 3, 1937, and is interred at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey), Mount Pleasant Cemetery in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.1860 births 1937 deaths Architects from New Jersey Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey) People from Newark, New Jersey New Jersey National Guard personnel