F. Burrall Hoffman
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F. Burrall Hoffman, Jr. (March 6, 1882 – November 27, 1980) was an American architect, best known for his work for James Deering at
Villa Vizcaya The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick- International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighb ...
in
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,
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.


Biography

Francis Burrall Hoffman, Jr. was born into a wealthy and well-connected New York family that traced its lineage back to Martin Hermanzen Hoffman, who emigrated from Sweden to New York in 1657. Several generations of the family were active in both state and national politics: Hoffman's great-grandfather Murray Hoffman was a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York, and his grandfather Wickham Hoffman was the United States Minister to Denmark from 1883-93. Hoffman 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 ...
with the class of 1903, but received his degree (AB) in 1902 (he spent his senior year as an apprentice at
Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (architect), Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was an American list of architecture firms, architecture firm ...
, an architectural firm in New York). From 1903 to 1907, Hoffman attended the
École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...
in Paris, graduated with honors and returned to
Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (architect), Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was an American list of architecture firms, architecture firm ...
in 1907.The New York Times.1927. Virginia Kimball to Wed F.B. Hoffman. Junior League Girl's Marriage to Architect to Take Place Soon at Her Mother's Home in Paris, May 10 In 1910, Hoffman established his own architectural firm in
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 ...
, sharing office space with architect Harry Creighton Ingalls with whom he occasionally collaborated. In 1912, James Deering engaged Hoffman to be the architect for
Villa Vizcaya The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick- International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighb ...
. Hoffman and his collaborators, interior designer Paul Chalfin and garden designer Diego Suarez, created an Italian style villa that would be the largest and most noteworthy project of his sixty-year career. Hoffman left the
Villa Vizcaya The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick- International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighb ...
project five years later in 1917 to enlist in the Army. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, He served as a Captain in the Corps of Engineers and later directed camouflage operations with the Second Corps, A.E.F. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Hoffman served overseas as a Lieutenant Commander in the
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
. In 1927, Hoffman married Virginia "Dolly" Kimball in Paris. Kimball, from a wealthy Virginia publishing family, quickly established a career as an interior decorator and was often enlisted in the design of her husband's projects. After the stock market crash of 1929, Hoffman closed his New York office, after which he and Dolly spent a majority of their time traveling between New York and Paris. Upon his return to New York, Hoffman rarely engaged in more than one architectural project a year. Hoffman completed many commissions, mostly designing large houses for wealthy clients. Hoffman's last project was completed in 1974, when he was nearly ninety-eight years old. Hoffman died in 1980 in
Hobe Sound, Florida Hobe Sound is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States, located along Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010. Geography Hobe Sound ...
.


Hoffman & Vizcaya

Attained through his Harvard College connections, Hoffman's largest and most notable residential commission was James Deering's
Villa Vizcaya The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick- International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighb ...
in Miami, Florida. Deering, a wealthy industrialist, and his art director, Paul Chalfin, had spent three years in Europe amassing a large collection of architectural and decorative artifacts. In 1912, Deering hired the then thirty-year-old Hoffman to design a winter home for Deering to showcase his collection. Deering had purchased 130 acres of swampy mangrove on the shore of
Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is large ...
. As early 1913, Hoffman began sketches for the site. Inspired by the Villa Rezzonico in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, Deering and Chalfin decided that the palatial bayfront mansion would be an Italian Style. Typical of his Beaux-Art training, Hoffman designed a roughly square building that functioned on two axes intersecting at the center of the courtyard. The two axes, major and minor correspond to the movement of more important to less important features of the house. The major axis travels east-west from the entrance through the court to the waterside terrace. The minor axis outlines the secondary movement to the gardens. Hoffman ingeniously designed the public rooms in a U-shape to indicate the suggested movement of guests from loggia to entrance, continuing around to the dining room, while providing the living room and dining room direct access to the waterside terrace. Hoffman worked in collaboration with Paul Chalfin until 1916 - when the project was turned entirely over to Chalfin for furnishing. Deering arrived at Villa Vizcaya on his yacht, ''Nepenthe'' on Christmas Day, 1916. Deering spent winters at the home until his death in 1925. After an
Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism â ...
in 1917 cited Chalfin and Hoffman as "associate architects" and failed to mention the contribution of landscape architect, Diego Suarez, Hoffman took issue with Chalfin's oversight and never spoke to him again. Hoffman, true to his reputation as the "gentleman architect" never took action to correct this specific article, but he would later take action to correct the record overall, see below. In 1953, Dade County purchased the home from the Deering heirs. In March of that year, ''The New York Times'' published an article that completely ignored Hoffman's contribution to the design of
Villa Vizcaya The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick- International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighb ...
(only attributing the plumbing to him) and credited Paul Chalfin. After thirty-five years of ignoring Chalfin's claims to the architecture of Vizcaya, Hoffman met with an attorney and planned to sue over the gross misrepresentation of the article. ''The Times'' published a retraction on May 17, 1953.


Representative work


1908-1919

Hoffman established his architecture practice in 1910 and completed his last project in 1974. While he designed a wide variety of project types, the preponderance were single-family houses for well-to-do clients, mainly in New York and Florida. Projects, other than Vizcaya, completed after 1907 and by 1919: *
Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
dedicated to Edmund Walstein Davis (1853–1908), the father of a Harvard classmate, at
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in
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(completed in 1908, before Hoffman established his practice). * Municipal Building, Village of Southampton, New York (selected as architect in July 1910 after a competition; completed May 1911; note: Hoffman associated with architects
Hiss and Weekes Hiss and Weekes was a notable architectural firm in New York City that was active from 1899 to 1933 and constructed a number of landmark buildings of Beaux-Arts architecture. Run by Philip Hiss and H. Hobart Weekes, the firm was known primarily fo ...
during construction; Donnelly & Corrigan, contractor). * Little Theater, 240 West 44th Street, New York City (completed 1911, Harry Creighton Ingalls and F. Burrall Hoffman, Jr., associated architects). * St. Ann's Church,
Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 United States census ...
(completed 1912). * Ballyshear: house and formal gardens for
Charles B. Macdonald Charles Blair Macdonald (November 14, 1855 – April 21, 1939) was a major figure in early American golf. He built the first 18-hole course in the United States, was a driving force in the founding of the United States Golf Association, won the ...
,
Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stre ...
(completed 1913; Annette Hoyt Flanders, landscape architect; Rose Standish Nichols, garden designer; Donnelly & Corrigan, contractor). * The Neighborhood Theater, 466 Grand Street, New York City (completed 1915, Harry Creighton Ingalls and F. Burrall Hoffman, Jr., associated architects). * Church of the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary,
Bridgehampton, New York Bridgehampton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census. Bridgehampton is in the town of Southampton, on Long Island. Shortly aft ...
(dedicated July 11, 1915; Donnelly & Corrigan, contractor). * St. Brigid Catholic Church, Westbury, New York (dedicated spring 1916; Charles Jay Connick and Henry Wynd Young, stained glass). * Villa Artemis: house for Amy Phipps Guest (Mrs. Frederick Guest),
West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
(completed 1916). * Heamaw: house for Henry Carnegie Phipps,
West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
(completed 1916; demolished 1972). * Elizabethan playhouse for Mrs. Lorenzo E. Woodhouse, East Hampton, New York (completed 1917; converted to a private residence). * Townhouse for Charlotte Winthrop Fowler, 17 East 90th Street, New York City (permit application 1917; contracts awarded June 1917; completed 1919; sold to Harriet S. Clark in August 1919). Hoffman is sometimes included in the credits for the Henry Miller Theater, 124 West 43rd Street, New York City (completed 1918; demolished 2004-2009 except for the facade; Paul R. Allen and Harry Creighton Ingalls, associated architects) but according to Charles Over Cornelius, writing in 1918 in ''The Architectural Record'', "at the inception of the project Mr. Allen associated himself with Mr. Ingalls and Mr. Hoffman, architects of the Little Theatre and Neighborhood Playhouse, for the designing and execution of this particular building. At Mr. Hoffman's entrance into the government service at the very beginning of the work, the onus fell entirely upon Mr. Allen and Mr. Ingalls, and their competent cooperation has given to New York a theatre whose peer is scarce to be found.")


1920-1929

Hoffman volunteered for military service in May 1917, soon after America's entry into World War One. He sailed for Europe in October 1917, leaving his practice in care of Harry Ingalls, and returned to America in early November 1919, eventually resuming his architecture practice. Projects completed after 1919 and by 1929: * Addition to Al Poniente, for Joseph Riter (its principal feature a music room with a cypress ceiling decorated by Robert Winthrop Chanler),
Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...
(completed by 1920; demolished about 1928). * Dibble Memorial Library (Savannah River Site Museum),
Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the most populous city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. According to 2020 census, the population was 32,025, making it the 15th-most populous city in South Carolina, and one of the two largest ci ...
(contract awarded May 1926; F. Burrall Hoffman, Jr. and Murray Hoffman, architects). * Apartment building at 136 East 79th Street, New York City (with Lafayette A. Goldstone, architect; completed 1928). * Apartment building at 4 East 72nd Street, New York City (with Lafayette A. Goldstone, architect; completed 1929). * Apartment building at
730 Park Avenue 730 Park Avenue is a historic residential building in Lenox Hill on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. A cooperative, the building has 38 apartments. History The nineteen-story building was completed in 1929. It is high. It was d ...
, New York City (with Lafayette A. Goldstone, architect; completed 1929). * Ranch house for Mr. & Mrs. Henry Potter Russell, Carmel Valley, California (completed 1929).


1930-1945

After the stock market crash in 1929, Hoffman permanently closed his New York office. Projects completed after 1929 and by 1945: * St. Brigid Church, Peapack, New Jersey (completed about 1936 with funding from Helen Cutting in memory of her husband Suydam Cutting).


1946-1974

Projects completed after 1945 and by 1974: * Residence for Clarence Dillon, Montego Bay, Jamaica (completed 1954).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, F. Burrall 20th-century American architects 1882 births 1980 deaths American neoclassical architects Architects from New York City Architects from New Orleans Harvard University alumni Architects from Miami People from Hobe Sound, Florida