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Cope and Stewardson (1885–1912) was a Philadelphia architecture firm founded by Walter Cope and John Stewardson, and best known for its
Collegiate Gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...
building and campus designs. Cope and Stewardson established the firm in 1885, and were joined by John's brother Emlyn in 1887. It went on to become one of the most influential and prolific firms of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. They made formative additions to the campuses of
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...
, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
. They also designed nine cottages and an administrative building at the Sleighton School, which showed their adaptability to other styles, because their buildings here were Colonial Revival with Federal influences. In 1912, the firm was succeeded by Stewardson and Page formed by Emlyn Stewardson and George Bispham Page.


Style and influence

Although Walter Cope and John Stewardson were major exponents of the Collegiate Gothic style which swept campuses across the country in the latter part of the nineteenth century, they were equally adept at other styles. Their first important commission was the main
YMCA 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 ...
for Richmond, Virginia (1885–87), designed in a Richardsonian Romanesque style. Their earliest major Collegiate Gothic building was Radnor Hall at
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...
(1886), where, ironically, they replaced Cope's mentor
Addison Hutton Addison Hutton (1834–1916) was a Philadelphia architect who designed prominent residences in Philadelphia and its suburbs, plus courthouses, hospitals, and libraries, including the Ridgway Library (now Philadelphia High School for the Creative a ...
as campus architects. Commissions shortly followed for buildings on the campuses of the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
(serving as administrative buildings for the 1904
St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 milli ...
). Although these academic buildings were their hallmark, other projects included residential, commercial, institution, and industrial buildings. The firm designed Philadelphia buildings for the Harrison brothers, heirs to an enormous sugar-refining fortune. The Charles Custis Harrison Building (1893–94) was a Richardsonian Romanesque office building at 10th and Market Streets. It was demolished in 1979 to build
The Gallery at Market East Fashion District Philadelphia is a shopping mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, located in Center City along Market Street. It opened in 2019 on the site of a previous mall known as The Gallery and later renamed The Gallery at Mar ...
, an urban shopping mall. Directly north of it was the Harrison Stores (1893–94), a block-long commercial building and warehouse. This burned in 1984 during a renovation, and was demolished. The Alfred Craven Harrison Building (1894–95) was a chateauesque hotel and office tower at the southwest corner of 15th and Market Streets, opposite Broad Street Station. Demolished in 1969, the site is now occupied by the Centre Square Building and
Claes Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...
's ''Clothespin''. The firm also designed " Anoatak," the Georgian Revival style home of Civil War General Thomas L. Kane and Dr. Elizabeth Kane in Kane, PA.
Charles Custis Harrison Charles Custis Harrison (May 3, 1844 – February 12, 1929) owned several sugar refineries in Philadelphia from 1863 to 1892, and served as Provost of the University of Pennsylvania from 1894 to 1910. Early life Harrison was born on May 3, 1844 ...
became provost of the University of Pennsylvania in 1894, and immediately removed Frank Furness as unofficial campus architect, replacing him with Cope & Stewardson. Under Harrison, the university embarked on the biggest building boom in its history, with Cope & Stewardson designing the mammoth Quadrangle dormitories and new buildings for the engineering school, medical school, dental school, veterinary school, law school, zoological labs and English department – most clad in Collegiate Gothic. The firm also collaborated with architects Wilson Eyre and Frank Miles Day on the initial phases of the Arts & Crafts-style
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...
(1895–99). As important as their contribution to the architecture of Philadelphia and its environs is the role which Cope & Stewardson played in architectural education. Great numbers of young apprentices and would-be architects passed their days of training in the office, making it a general stopping place for many architects who would later become famous in their own right. In 1923 the annual T-Square club exhibition catalog published a photograph of the Cope & Stewardson office from about 1899. Included in the number of partners and younger architects are: Walter Cope; John A. MacMahon; James O. Betelle (later of Newark, NJ); Emlyn Stewardson; S. A. Cloud; Wetherill P. Trout; Herbert C. Wise; James P. Jamieson; Eugene S. Powers; E. Perot Bissell; Louise Stavely; Charles H. Bauer (later in Newark, NJ); William Woodburn Potter; John Molitor, Camillo Porecca; and C. Wharton Churchman.


Walter Cope (1860–1902)

In 1860, Walter Cope was born in Philadelphia to Thomas P. Cope and Elizabeth Waln Stokes Cope. After graduating from the Germantown Friends School, he attended classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1883. In 1885 the firm of Cope & Stewardson was established. Cope was a founding member of the T-Square Club in 1883 and later served as vice-president, secretary, treasurer, president, and as a member of the executive committee. He was also a Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania from 1892 to 1902. After teaching at Penn, he became a Professor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He died after suffering a stroke in 1902. Cope was also part of the investigating committee appointed to study conditions governing the new State Capitol Building competition in 1901. From 1896 to 1898 he was chairman of the committee on the restoration of
Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerp ...
.


John Stewardson (1858–1896)

John Stewardson, son of Thomas and Margaret Haines Stewardson, was born in 1858. His early education had been in private Christian schools in the Philadelphia area. He continued his studies at Adams Academy in Quincy, Massachusetts, from 1873 to 1877. After graduation, he entered Harvard College, but left in 1878. He briefly continued his studies at the University of Pennsylvania and then joined the Atelier Pascal in Paris, France. In 1882 he returned to Philadelphia, working first in T. P. Chandler's office and then in the office of Frank Furness. In 1884 he returned to Europe to travel through Italy and Belgium. A year later, he joined in personal practice with Walter Cope. They were joined in 1887 by John's younger brother Emlyn L. Stewardson, who had recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in civil engineering. In 1892, Stewardson joined the University of Pennsylvania as staff lecturer in their new School of Architecture. He was also one of the founding members of the T-Square Club, serving in 1885 and 1891 as president of that organization. He also served as treasurer of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1886. He is credited with the taste for English Gothic Revival which Cope & Stewardson used in their collegiate buildings. Talbot Hamlin, in his biographical description, for the Dictionary of American Biography notes that, following Stewardson's trip to England in 1894, the buildings at the University of Pennsylvania, which were on the boards at the time, changed from stone structures to brick with stone trim. Stewardson died in 1896 after a skating accident on the Schuylkill River, where he had gone for an afternoon's outing with his friend, the architect Wilson Eyre. Following his funeral his fellow architects established a fund, now known as the prestigious Stewardson Fellowship, which is awarded annually to promising young architects from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to study architecture abroad. He is interred with a modest marker at Philadelphia's Laurel Hill Cemetery, Section 14, Plots 235&236.


Selected Buildings


Bryn Mawr College

*Radnor Hall, Bryn Mawr College (1887) *Denbigh Hall, Bryn Mawr College (1890–91) *Dalton Hall, Bryn Mawr College (1893) *Pembroke Hall, Bryn Mawr College (1892–94) *The
Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence ...
, Bryn Mawr College (1894–96) *Rockefeller Hall, Bryn Mawr College (1901–04) * M. Carey Thomas Library, Bryn Mawr College (1904–07)


University of Pennsylvania

* Quadrangle Dormitories, University of Pennsylvania (1895) *
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...
(1895–99), with Wilson Eyre and Frank Miles Day. *Law School, University of Pennsylvania (1898-01) *Towne Building, University of Pennsylvania (1903–0


Veterinary School
University of Pennsylvania (1906–11) * St. Anthony Hall House, University of Pennsylvania (c. 1908) *Bennett Hall, University of Pennsylvania (1910) *Evans Building, School of Dentistry, University of Pennsylvania (1910), with John T. Windrim. *Leidy Labs (Zoology), University of Pennsylvania (191


Princeton University

*Blair Hall, Princeton University (189

*Buyers Hall, Princeton University (1896) * The Ivy Club, Princeton University (1897) *Stafford Little Hall, Princeton University (189

*University Gymnasium, Princeton University (1902)


Washington University in St. Louis


Busch Hall
Washington University in St. Louis (1900) *Cupples Hall I, Washington University in St. Louis (1901) *Cupples Hall II, Washington University in St. Louis (1901)

Washington University in St. Louis (1901, demolished 2006)
Ridgley Hall and Holmes Lounge
Washington University in St. Louis (1902)
Umrath Hall
Washington University in St. Louis (1902)

Washington University in St. Louis (1902)
Francis Gymnasium
Washington University in St. Louis (1902) * Brookings Hall, Washington University in St. Louis (1902). Served as the administration building during the
1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mi ...
.
McMillan Hall
Washington University in St. Louis (1907)
Graham Chapel
Washington University in St. Louis (1909)


Buildings Elsewhere

*Young Men's Christian Association, 6th & Main Streets, Richmond, Virginia (1885–87, demolished). * Graystone (Abram Huston House), Coatesville, Pennsylvania (1889). *Charles Custis Harrison Building, 1001-05 Market Street, Philadelphia (1893–94, demolished 1979). *Harrison Stores, 1001-25 Filbert Street, Philadelphia (1893–94, demolished 1984). * Alfred Craven Harrison Building, 4 South 15th Street, Philadelphia (1894–95, demolished 1969). * Anoatok, Kane, Pennsylvania (1896). Now Kane Manor Inn. *Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute, 1923 Walnut Street, Philadelphia (1897). *Lloyd Hall, Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania (1898–99). *
Overbrook School for the Blind The Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was established in 1832. Its present site, in the city's Overbrook neighborhood, was acquired in 1890. Along with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, the Western Pennsylvania S ...
, 6333 Malvern Avenue, Philadelphia (1899). *
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly call ...
Elkins Park Station, Spring and Park Avenues,
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from C ...
(1899). * Lukens Main Office Building, 50 South 1st Avenue, Coatesville, Pennsylvania (1902, 1916). *
John A. Wilson Building The John A. Wilson District Building, popularly known simply as the Wilson Building, houses the municipal offices and chambers of the Mayor and the Council of the District of Columbia. Originally called the District Building, it was renamed in 19 ...
(District Building), Washington DC (1908). *
College of Physicians of Philadelphia The College of Physicians of Philadelphia is the oldest private medical society in the United States. Founded in 1787 by 24 Philadelphia physicians "to advance the Science of Medicine, and thereby lessen human misery, by investigating the disease ...
, 19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia (1909). *Sleighton Farm School,
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania Glen Mills is an unincorporated community in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States about 27 miles west of Philadelphia. The ZIP code for Glen Mills is 19342. History The area around Glen Mills was part of the original ...
(1909–10). A reformatory for troubled girls, C&S designed the administration building and 9 residence buildings. The campus was abandoned in 2001, and several of its vacant buildings have been the target of arsonists.


Darlington, Maryland

Walter Cope designed more than a dozen residences in and around
Darlington, Maryland Darlington is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northeastern Harford County, Maryland, United States.Darlington Historic District NRHP nomination form
*
Gray Gables Gray Gables was an estate in Bourne, Massachusetts, owned by President Grover Cleveland that served as his Summer White House from 1893 to 1896. It was later converted into the Gray Gables Ocean House hotel, which was destroyed in a fire in 1973. ...
, Darlington, Maryland (1884).


Gallery

File:Richmond VA YMCA American Architect and Building News Nov 14 1885.jpg, YMCA, Richmond, Virginia (1885–87, demolished). File:Graystone.JPG, Graystone, Coatesville, Pennsylvania (1889). File:Foliage at Penn 2005 035.jpg, Quadrangle Dormitories, University of Pennsylvania (1895). File:Penn Museum's Warden Garden and Main Entrance, Summer 2012.jpg,
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...
(1895–99), with Wilson Eyre and Frank Miles Day. File:Anoatok Jun 09.JPG, Anoatok, Kane, Pennsylvania (1896). Now Kane Manor Inn. File:Stronghold Princeton University New Jersey, USA.jpg, Blair Arch, Princeton University (1896). File:Buyer Hall Princeton.jpg, Buyers Hall, Princeton University (1896). File:Ivy Club postcard 1909.jpg, The Ivy Club, Princeton University (1897). File:Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute - IMG 7217.JPG, Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute, Philadelphia (1897). File:Princeton---University---Blair-Hall---Rear-View---(Gentry).jpg, Stafford Little Hall, Princeton University (1898). File:Overbrook School for Blind.JPG,
Overbrook School for the Blind The Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was established in 1832. Its present site, in the city's Overbrook neighborhood, was acquired in 1890. Along with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, the Western Pennsylvania S ...
, Philadelphia (1899). File:PSM V63 D194 University hall washington university.png, Brookings Hall,
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
(1902). File:Ridgley Hall - West Brookings Quadrangle at Washington University in St. Louis.jpg, Ridgley Hall,
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
(1902). File:Holmes Lounge.jpg, Holmes Lounge,
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
(1902). Built as the university library. File:Gates to Francis Field - Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.jpg, Francis Field Gateway,
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
(1902). File:MacMillanHall-WUSTL.jpg, McMillan Hall,
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...
(1907). File:College of Physicians of Philadelphia 1909.jpeg,
College of Physicians of Philadelphia The College of Physicians of Philadelphia is the oldest private medical society in the United States. Founded in 1787 by 24 Philadelphia physicians "to advance the Science of Medicine, and thereby lessen human misery, by investigating the disease ...
(1909).


References


External links


Wash. U. Historical Campus Tour
{{Authority control Architecture firms based in Pennsylvania Architects from Philadelphia Gothic Revival architects Companies based in Philadelphia Design companies established in 1885 American companies disestablished in 1912 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty 19th-century American architects 1885 establishments in Pennsylvania Defunct architecture firms based in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1885