Cope and Stewardson (1885–1912) was a

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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-19th and early-2oth centuries. Cope and Stewardsons made formative additions to the campuses of

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. 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 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 arch ...

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 organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

for

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

(1885–87), designed in a

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

style. Their earliest major Collegiate Gothic building was Radnor Hall at

, built in 1886, where they replaced Cope's mentor Addison Hutton as campus architects. Commissions shortly followed for buildings on the campuses of the

, and

, which served as administrative buildings for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Although these academic buildings were their hallmark, other projects included residential, commercial, institution, and industrial buildings. The firm designed

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, 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 Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

style home of Civil War General Thomas L. Kane and Dr. Elizabeth Kane in Kane, Pennsylvania. Charles Custis Harrison became provost of the

in 1894, and immediately removed

Frank Furness Frank Heyling Furness (November 12, 1839 – June 27, 1912) was an American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his diverse, muscular, often inordinately scaled ...

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 Frank Miles Day (April 5, 1861 – June 15, 1918) was a Philadelphia-based architect who specialized in residences and academic buildings. Early life and education In 1883, Day graduated from the Towne School of the University of Pennsylvania, an ...

on the initial phases of the Arts & Crafts-style

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology 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 neighborhood of Philadelphia, at the intersection of 33rd and South Streets. Housing over 1.3 mi ...

(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 among the partners and younger architects were: Walter Cope, John A. MacMahon, James O. Betelle (later of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

); 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 of Newark, New Jersey), 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 The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

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, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of ...

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 Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, 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

. 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 Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

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

(AIA) in 1886. He is credited with the taste for English

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

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 The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

, 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 Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

, 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 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 of ...

, 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) *

(1895–99), with Wilson Eyre and

*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 in 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 Brookings Hall is a Collegiate Gothic landmark on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. The building, first named "University Hall", was built between 1900 and 1902 and served as the administrative center for the 1904 World's Fair ...

, Washington University in St. Louis (1902). Served as the administration building during the 1904 World's Fair.
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 in 1979) *Harrison Stores, 1001-25 Filbert Street, Philadelphia (1893–94, demolished in 1984) * Alfred Craven Harrison Building, 4 South 15th Street, Philadelphia (1894–95, demolished in 1969) * Anoatok, Kane, Pennsylvania (1896). Now Kane Manor Inn. *Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute, 1923 Walnut Street, Philadelphia (1897) *Lloyd Hall,

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

, Haverford, Pennsylvania (1898–99) * Overbrook School for the Blind, 6333 Malvern Avenue, Philadelphia (1899) * Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Elkins Park Station, Spring and Park Avenues, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania (1899) * Lukens Main Office Building, 50 South 1st Avenue, Coatesville, Pennsylvania (1902, 1916) * John A. Wilson Building (District Building), Washington, D.C. (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 dise ...

, 19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia (1909) *Sleighton Farm School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania (1909–10). A

reformatory A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concern ...

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

arsonist Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, waterc ...

Darlington, Maryland

Walter Cope designed more than a dozen residences in and around Darlington, Maryland.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 1 ...

, 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,

(1895) File:Penn Museum's Warden Garden and Main Entrance, Summer 2012.jpg,

(1895–99), with Wilson Eyre and

File:Anoatok Jun 09.JPG, Anoatok, Kane, Pennsylvania (1896). Now Kane Manor Inn. File:Stronghold Princeton University New Jersey, USA.jpg, Blair Arch,

(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, Philadelphia (1899) File:PSM V63 D194 University hall washington university.png,

(1902) File:Ridgley Hall - West Brookings Quadrangle at Washington University in St. Louis.jpg, Ridgley Hall, Washington University in St. Louis (1902) File:Holmes Lounge.jpg, Holmes Lounge, Washington University in St. Louis (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 (1902) File:MacMillanHall-WUSTL.jpg, McMillan Hall, Washington University in St. Louis (1907) File:College of Physicians of Philadelphia 1909.jpeg,

(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 1912 disestablishments in Pennsylvania