A. D. F. Hamlin

“ Evidently our architects are not bound by allegiance to any one style or kind of beauty, but are ready to find subjects for admiration in buildings of the most diverse character, and to recognize beauty alike in pointed and round arches, in domes and in spires, in acanthus leaves and crockets, in new buildings and in old. ”

“ The Brochure readers, and presumably our architects generally, are willing to discover beauty alike in public, private, religious, and commercial architecture.
It is a significant fact that churches and libraries constitute 60 per cent of the "First" list, and that there is but one residence, and not a single commercial edifice among the ten buildings it enumerates. Apparently it is religion and education which inspire and call forth the highest results in architecture, rather than the private and commercial luxury of which we hear so much in these days. ”

“ Of course the fact that New York, Boston and Washington are old cities, as cities go among us, counts for much in the way of maturity of civilization and accumulation of architectural resources; and it is only natural that the wealthiest city in the New World should possess the greatest number of important buildings. But it is also very possible that the majority of the Brochure readers are in the northern and eastern states, and therefore more familiar with eastern and northern than with southern and western buildings. ”

“ The presence of three truly magnificent public libraries of recent erection in the "First" list seems to me particularly encouraging, as a symptom of the extent to which the wealth of the country is being devoted to the higher interests of the people, and at the same time to the promotion of high art. That this is a correct symptom, is confirmed by such buildings, erected or about to be erected, as the Chicago Library, the magnificent New York Public Library, the new libraries at Milwaukee, Providence, Newark, N.J., Jersey City, and Washington ”

“ James Renwick, the architect, was born in New York City in 1818. At the age of sixteen he graduated from Columbia College, and, following an inherited taste, entered the engineering department of the Croton Aqueduct. His training in architecture was entirely self-acquired. He early manifested a fondness for the Gothic style, and as there were then no Gothic buildings of merit in America, his knowledge of it was derived entirely from books. With such scanty preparation he designed Grace Church in New York. ”

“ The first and most obvious conclusion to be drawn from the above statistics is that American architects, so far as they are represented in the Brochure vote, have no hide-bound traditions or ingrained prejudices as to style. There is in the list selected by them a preponderance, it is true, of buildings in the various styles of the Renaissance and Classic Revival—seven out of ten. But the third in the list, with 96 per cent of unanimity in its favor, is a Romanesque building, Trinity Church, Boston. ”

“ Least of all are we likely to pass correct judgments on contemporary works, because we measure them wholly or mainly by the dominant taste or fashion of our time, instead of by that larger experience and more impartial judgment which comes with the lapse of decades and centuries. ”

“ This catholicity of taste is interesting, and on the whole hopeful, for it suggests the ability and readiness to appreciate realities instead of names, style rather than any particular historic dress, essentials rather than externals;—an eclecticism which recognizes beauty, quality, excellence, wherever they can be found, and adopts what is best without regard to names or categories. ”

“ And if we consider the buildings themselves, instead of the motives of the voters, the same statistics indicate, as we might expect, a like catholicity of taste in the designs of recent American buildings, and—what is more to the point—a conspicuous measure of success in fusing together and adapting to modern American needs the multifarious suggestions of the "historic styles," so that the results are neither copies nor patchwork, but consistent, intelligent and harmonious units. ”

“ Since there is no such thing as an absolute objective standard of comparison for all works of a given class, the personal equation and the time equation must always enter largely into critical estimates by individuals or groups of individuals. ”

“ Of course in such a vote as that by The Brochure readers on the "Ten Most Beautiful Buildings in the United States," the result can only be a composite,—a consensus reached by the fusing together and averaging of a great number of widely diverse estimates. The very terms of the vote will be variously interpreted according as the expression "the most beautiful building" is made to apply to the exterior alone, or to the plan, the decorative detail, the scale, or other elements of architectural design, or to include all ”

“ Richard Upjohn, its architect, born at Shaftsbury, Eng., in 1802, was given a common-school education, and afterwards apprenticed to a builder, and engaged in [Pg 19] this occupation until 1829, when he emigrated to America, settling in New Bedford, Mass. Here he pursued his trade until 1833, when he went to Boston, and made some architectural drawings for a city court-house. He thereafter continued the practice of architecture with increasing reputation, until, in 1839, he was called upon to rebuild Trinity Church, New York, which work gained him a national reputation as a church architect. ”

“ In 1885, fourteen years ago, the readers of The American Architect (Boston) were invited to name, by a consensus of votes, their choice of the then most beautiful buildings in America. The voting resulted in a list of the following ten buildings:—
The Capitol at Washington is 751 feet in length and 121 to 324 feet wide, consisting of a main edifice of sandstone, painted white, and of two wings of white marble, and covers an area of 3-1/2 acres. ”

“ The third and present City Hall of New York City was projected in 1802, when a premium was publicly offered for the best design. The award was given to Messrs. Mangin (a Frenchman) and Macomb,—architects concerning whom very little authentic information is obtainable. It was finished in 1812. The corner-stone of the building was laid by Mayor Edward Livingstone.
The building consists of a central structure of two stories and an attic, surmounted by a cupola, and two wings of two stories each. ”