William C. Brocklesby: A Connecticut Valley Architect in the Gilded Age

Also by Bill Ranauro

West of Boston:

Growing Up Red Sox in a Yankee Household

Frontier Elegance:

The Early Architecture of Walpole, New Hampshire 1750-1850

Northern Light:

Essays and True Stories

Asher Benjamin: American Architect, Author, Artist

William C. Brocklesby

A Connecticut Valley Architect in the Gilded Age

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2023 Bill Ranauro

v2.0

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Outskirts Press, Inc.

http://www.outskirtspress.com

Cover Photo © 2023 Bill Ranauro. All rights reserved - used with permission.

Outskirts Press and the OP logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

For GiGi on her 90th

The purpose of art is either use or beauty, parallel in architecture being function and form. Thus in our fine arts, not imitation but creation is the aim.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Art (1841)

It’s better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

- Herman Melville (1850)

A German ought to thank God for being able to proclaim aloud, That is German architecture, our architecture.

- J.W. Goethe, from On German Architecture (1772)

A town’s architecture, no matter how many centuries old, can affect the very style of its inhabitants.

- Robert Kaplan, from Adriatic (2022)

Table of Contents

Author Note

Introduction

The Connecticut River Valley Maps

PART ONE:TRANSITIONS 1840–1870

1. The Romantic Spirit and the Picturesque

2. Gothic Precedents1840–1860

3. The Battle of the Styles

4. The Eclectic Movement Takes Hold: Italianate, Second Empire, and Stick Style 1855–1870

PART TWO: THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN 1847–1876

5. 155 Washington Street

6. Trinity College

7. The Professionalization of Architecture

8. New York and the Office of Upjohn

PART THREE: THE ARCHITECTURE OF WILLIAM C. BROCKLESBY 1870–1910

9. First Commissions

10. Settling In

11. Breaking Through 1884–1891

12. The Jewel of Northampton: Forbes Library, Castle on the Hill

13. Seizing Opportunity and Finding Tranquility 1895–1901

PART FOUR: LAST YEARS 1901–1910

14. Taking Stock and Smelling the Roses

15. Brocklesby and Smith and Final Days 1904–1910

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Photograph and Illustration Credits

Glossary of Architectural Terms

APPENDICES

Appendix I - American Architecture Timeline 1700-1900

Appendix II - A Timeline of Key Events, Including Selected Architectural Designs by William C. Brocklesby

Appendix III - A Contract For a Student Entering Richard Upjohn’s Office

Bibliography

About the Author

Author Note

All quoted primary source material will be left as originally printed or stated. Therefore, irregular spelling (e.g., alumnae for alumni, and theatre for theater), capitalization, and grammar may show up from time to time. The Latin abbreviation [sic] indicating the exact transcription of irregular spellings and usage will be used, though sparingly.

Introduction

When first visiting the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts, I was moved to begin asking questions about the very handsome building I had just entered. I quickly learned the Forbes Library was designed by William C. Brocklesby (1847–1910), an architect from Hartford, Connecticut. Everything about the Romanesque Revival style of the Forbes, which was completed in 1894, suggests stability and confidence, from its solid limestone blocks to its prominent hilltop setting. Yet architecture in the late nineteenth century was in the throes of change. I was compelled to wonder how Brocklesby was able to avoid the turmoil long enough to design such an elegant and substantial civic monument.

The subject of William Brocklesby and his architecture intrigued me, though the circumstances of American architecture in the late nineteenth century was a key factor in pushing further investigation. In time it became apparent how unprepared I was to deal with the architecture of this period. Confusion reigned. My previous book had taken as its subject the early American architect Asher Benjamin (1773–1845). Benjamin, like William Brocklesby, hailed from the Connecticut Valley. He worked in what is commonly referred to as the Federal, or Adamesque, a style made popular by his principal mentor, the Boston architect Charles Bulfinch (1763–1843). Benjamin was heavily influenced by Bulfinch, but over time established his own distinct style. Indeed, the Federal style would become dominant throughout the United States and lasted for most of Benjamin’s career.¹ Writing about William Brocklesby and the period he worked in proved to be no less interesting but would be complicated by factors not encountered in Benjamin’s time.

Writing about America’s architecture in the second half of the nineteenth century provides a very different, and in some ways, more complex task. Changes of all kinds were occurring throughout the country and at breakneck speed. Dynamic economic growth coupled with dramatic technical and innovative advances to make America a country of great possibilities. In addition, these changes were accompanied by numerous social transformations due to the Civil War (1861–65) and the period of Reconstruction that came after. Overlaying all these changes was a growing nationalism, a feeling that manifested itself in politics as well as culture. Many felt a national architecture was needed to give the country a unique identity apart from anything European, though any number of obstacles stood in the way of this goal. Together, these factors, and others, would make their marks in shaping America and its architecture after 1865.

The impact of this multiplicity of changes has been referred to by one prominent twentieth-century architectural historian as A Confusion of Tongues,² an apt but perhaps overly general description of the era. Another eminent author published a popular architectural guide, listing no less than fifteen styles prevalent in the eastern United States in the period between 1850 and 1910³ (see Appendix I). The term Eclecticism became a kind of catch all term for historians and critics attempting to describe the architecture of the late nineteenth century. Used by some as a pejorative term, Eclecticism reflects the multitude of styles and forms that arose during the period.⁴

For critics, among other things, it indicates an excessive regard for past styles, i.e., designs were prone to imitation and literalness rather than to artistic originality. Despite the criticisms, Eclecticism also had its defenders. Said author Walter Kidney, The Eclectic studied all aspects of the style in which he proposed to design. He then felt free to introduce variations of his own. Like McKim, Cram, and Goodhue, he could ‘synthesize’ several styles to create a hybrid.⁵

Many hoped the era would yield a single style Americans could call their own, though all efforts toward adopting a national style were frustrated. Among the factors working against this effort was the profusion of changes in architectural taste. The multitude of styes being practiced made this goal almost impossible to achieve. Keeping track of all these styles, including their principal architects, their varied attributes and details, and their sources and motivations, is a very large job indeed. In order to deal with the abundance of styles, many unschooled Americans have taken to applying the label Victorian to just about any house or structure built in the second half of the nineteenth century. Using this term to describe the period is technically correct, though even a casual observer of American architecture would have to admit the term Victorian to be inadequate when discussing the architectural style(s) of this period.⁶ There are simply too many stylistic variations to use this one size fits all approach.

While the primary subject of this project is the life and work of William C. Brocklesby, a wider aim will be to recognize and highlight the rich, unique, and varied character of American architecture from 1840 to 1910. Even those who are critical of the period’s architecture must admit to its enduring influence and contribution to the character and personality of the many towns and cities where it is to be found. Because Brocklesby’s career spanned much of this era, he lines up as an ideal guide to escort us through the period. Indeed, he was a good example of the Eclectic architect, designing many buildings in a variety of styles contemporary with the period.

William Brocklesby would come under the influence of some of America’s most important architects of the late nineteenth century. The location of his home and office in Hartford, Connecticut offered easy access to the work of Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886) and Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), both of whom had strong ties to Boston and New York City. This was a fortunate circumstance for Brocklesby, who received his early training working in the office of another titan of American architecture, Richard Upjohn (1802–1878). Upjohn’s Trinity Church in New York City (Fig. 1) introduced America to Gothic church architecture in the 1840s. The Gothic style had arrived in America from Europe, where Upjohn had first seen it. Though Brocklesby learned from architects whose work existed predominantly in large cities, his own work would be concentrated in and around the Connecticut Valley, from greater Hartford north to the area around Amherst, Massachusetts. Of particular note was his work on the many college campuses dotting the region.

Fig. 1 - Trinity Church New York City, 1839-46. Richard Upjohn, architect. Upjohn’s church essentially launched the Gothic Revival in America.

It seems beneficial to take time at the outset to trace the evolution of America’s architectural past from the several decades prior to when William Brocklesby commenced his work as an architect in the 1870s. This begins with the fading popularity of neoclassical styles, specifically the Greek Revival. Though expressed in several different versions over the previous century and a half, classical forms dominated American architecture up until the mid-nineteenth century. Grecian styles were replacing the Adam/Federal style (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3) by the late 1820s, and remained popular until well into the 1840s. The influence of the Romantic movement of the 1840s elevated the Gothic, a style that maintained its popularity (alongside many other styles) throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century. One could say that Rome and Athens had been forsaken for the Middle Ages. While many styles would come and go, the Gothic served as a sort of unifying force for the entire period of 1840 to 1900.⁷

Fig. 2 - Margaret Porter House Walpole, New Hampshire, 1837. Phillip Peck, architect. A typical Connecticut Valley house in the Greek Revival style.

Fig. 3 - Samuel Whitehorne House Newport, Rhode Island, 1811. This house fits the ideal of the Federal style made popular by Charles Bulfinch, Samuel McIntire, and Asher Benjamin.

A review of American architecture from the 1840s, when classical styles began to decline in popularity, to about 1870, when William Brocklesby’s career commences, gives us a more complete and cohesive picture of nineteenth-century American architecture. This will hopefully make William Brocklesby’s story and contribution to the field of American architecture more meaningful and comprehensible. Where possible, we will look at how the business and art of architecture intersected with social, economic, technological, and artistic changes taking place throughout the country, especially where Brocklesby lived and worked in southern New England and throughout the Connecticut Valley.

As a working architect in real time, William Brocklesby may have been unaware of, or was simply unmoved by, the numerous strong opinions and criticisms of the architecture of this period. The timing of Brocklesby’s birth in 1847 and the commencement of his career in the 1870s put him directly in the crosshairs of this tumult. Depending on one’s opinion of the period’s artistic taste, this could be viewed either as unlucky or as a fortuitous circumstance for Brocklesby. It’s tempting to look back and think he was a victim caught in the middle of this maelstrom of artistic struggle. Though we’ll consider Brocklesby’s opinions and criticisms of the state of architecture in his time, his own writings seem to indicate he was unbothered by all the talk and controversy. He worked with the confidence and competence of a professional.

Like Asher Benjamin more than a half-century before, William C. Brocklesby established himself as a respected architect whose buildings combined sound design with the latest taste and fashion. His good reputation, earned through his talent and hard work over many years, brought him a long and distinguished career in his chosen field. His contributions to American architecture are felt to this day, with many of his buildings surviving and functioning as originally intended. Several of these buildings have earned the distinction of being placed on the National Register of Historic Places, while others remain as reminders of his talent and ability as an architect and as an artist.

1. The Connecticut River Valley 1880–1910

2. Smith College Campus, Northampton, Massachusetts 1885-1900

Part One:

Transitions 1840–1870

1

The Romantic Spirit and the Picturesque

By the 1840s, classical styles had presided over American architecture in one form or another for the better part of a century and a half. Georgian, Federal, and finally, Grecian styles had been the inspiration for American architects and builders since the early eighteenth century. Yet by the 1840s the mood of the country was changing and the architecture of Greece and Rome no longer reigned as the style of choice in America. In the Romantic era America followed Europe’s lead in turning principally to the Middle Ages in the form of the Gothic (and later on, to the Romanesque) to fulfill its artistic and architectural aspirations. The reasons for this turn were numerous but, considering the enormity of events taking place in