Clarence Fagan True,

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Peñas de Aya, small mountain range in Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ...

(1860–1928) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, one of the most prolific and competent architects to work on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

and in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

New York Landmarks Conservancy
/ref> during the last decade of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century.

Early life

Born 1860, True was the son of an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

clergyman from

College Point, Queens College Point is a working-middle-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Whitestone Expressway and Flushing; to the east by 138th Street and Malba/ Whitestone; to the north by the East River; ...

. The family moved to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and by 1890, True was working in the same office building as developer Charles G. Judson.Gray, Christopher.
"Streetscapes:157 and 159 West 88th Street; Revamping a Pair of 1891 Low-Stoop Brownstones"
''The New York Times'', June 24, 2001. Retrieved April 3, 2007.

Career

True "worked in the office of the Gothicist Richard M. Upjohn until he went out on his own in 1884 with a few minor commissions, like two in Queens: a Queen Anne cottage in Flushing and a Gothic-style clubhouse for the Aerial Athletic Association in Woodside." About 1890 Judson hired True, at that point a newly established architect. The same year, True planned his first

row houses A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

on the West Side of New York City. In 1891 he designed buildings at 157 and 159 West 88th Street, the low stoop row houses were each constructed for $12,000 apiece. His development corporation for his speculative buildings was the Riverside Building Company.

William Van Alen William Van Alen (August 10, 1883 – May 24, 1954) was an American architect, best known as the architect in charge of designing New York City's Chrysler Building (1928–30). Life William Van Alen was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1883 to ...

, architect of the

Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...

, trained in True's office.

Works

* 1892: John B. Leech Residence, 520 West End Avenue * 316–26 West

85th Street 85th Street is a westbound-running street, running from East End Avenue to Riverside Drive in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. At Fifth Avenue, the street feeds into the 86th Street transverse, which runs east–west ...

* 103–109 Riverside Drive * 332 West 83rd Street * 469-477 West 143rd Street * 1681-1687 Amsterdam Avenue * 43–57 St. Nicholas Place * 842 and 844 St. Nicholas Avenue

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:True, Clarence 1860 births 1928 deaths American residential architects Architects from New York City Defunct architecture firms based in New York City People from Queens, New York