Frank Heyling Furness (November 12, 1839 – June 27, 1912) was an American architect of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the

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 ...

area, and is remembered for his diverse, muscular, often inordinately scaled buildings, and for his influence on the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based architect

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...

. Furness also received a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for bravery during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Toward the end of his life, his bold style fell out of fashion, and many of his significant works were demolished in the 20th century. Among his most important surviving buildings are 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 ...

Library, now the

Fisher Fine Arts Library The Fisher Fine Arts Library was the primary library of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from 1891 to 1962. The red sandstone, brick-and- terra-cotta Venetian Gothic giant, part fortress and part cathedral, was designed by Philad ...

, 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 ...

, and the

First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is a Unitarian Universalist congregation located at 2125 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a regional Community Center it sponsors cultural, educational, civic, wellness and spiritua ...

, all in

, and the

Baldwin School The Baldwin School (simply referred to as Baldwin School or Baldwin) is a private school for girls in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1888 by Florence Baldwin. The school occupies a former nineteenth-century resort hot ...

Residence Hall in Bryn Mawr.

Early life and education

Furness was born in

on November 12, 1839. His father,

William Henry Furness William Henry Furness (April 20, 1802 – January 30, 1896) was an American clergyman, theologian, Transcendentalist, abolitionist, and reformer. Biography Furness was born in Boston, where he attended the Boston Latin School and developed a lif ...

, was a prominent Unitarian minister and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, and his brother,

Horace Howard Furness Horace Howard Furness (November 2, 1833 – August 13, 1912) was an American Shakespearean scholar of the 19th century. Life and career Horace Furness was the son of the Unitarian minister and abolitionist William Henry Furness (1802–1896), ...

, became America's outstanding Shakespeare scholar. Frank, however, did not attend a university and apparently did not travel to Europe. He began his architectural training in the office of John Fraser, Philadelphia, in the 1850s. He attended the -inspired atelier of

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of architecture of the United States. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 ...

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 ...

, from 1859 to 1861, and again in 1865, following his military service. Furness considered himself Hunt's apprentice and was influenced by Hunt's dynamic personality and accomplished, elegant buildings. He was also influenced by the architectural concepts of the French engineer Viollet-le-Duc and the British critic

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

Career

Furness's first commission, Germantown Unitarian Church (1866–67, demolished ca. 1928), was a solo effort, but in 1867, he formed a partnership with Fraser, his former teacher, and George Hewitt, who had worked in the office of

John Notman John Notman (July 22, 1803 March 3, 1865) was a Scottish-born American architect and landscape architect based in Philadelphia. He designed buildings, cemeteries, churches and country estates in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and h ...

. The trio lasted less than five years, and its major commissions were Rodef Shalom Synagogue (1868–69, demolished) and the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion (1870–75, demolished). In 1897, Furness designed an addition to the

Philadelphia Savings Fund Society The Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS), originally called the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, was a savings bank headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. PSFS was founded in December 1816, the first savings bank to org ...

(PSFS) 1869 building which has now been incorporated into the St. James, a high-rise luxury apartment complex in the city’s Washington Square neighborhood. Following Fraser's move to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to become supervising architect for the U.S. Treasury Department, the two younger men formed a partnership in 1871, and soon won the design competition for the

(1871–76).

worked briefly as a draftsman for Furness & Hewitt (June – November 1873), and his later use of organic decorative motifs can be traced, at least in part, to Furness. By the beginning of 1876, Furness had broken with Hewitt, and the firm carried only his name. Hewitt and his brother William formed their own firm, G.W. & W.D. Hewitt, and became Furness's biggest competitor. In 1881, Furness promoted his chief draftsman,

Allen Evans Allen Evans (December 8, 1849 – February 28, 1925) was an American architect and partner in the Philadelphia firm of Furness & Evans. His best known work may be the Merion Cricket Club. Biography He was the son of Dr. Edmund C. Evans (181 ...

, to partner (Furness & Evans); and, in 1886, did the same for four other long-time employees. The firm continued under the name Furness, Evans & Company as late as 1932, two decades after its founder's death.Michael J. Lewis, ''Frank Furness: Architecture and the Violent Mind'' (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 2001). Furness was one of the most highly paid architects of his era, and a founder 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 ...

. Over his 45-year career, he designed more than 600 buildings, including banks, office buildings, churches, and synagogues. Nearly one-third of his commissions came from railroad companies. As chief architect of the

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railr ...

, he designed about 130 stations and industrial buildings. For the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

, he designed more than 20 structures, including the great Broad Street Station (demolished 1953) at Broad and Market Streets in Philadelphia. His 40 stations for the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

included the ingenious 24th Street Station (demolished 1963) beside the Chestnut Street Bridge. His residential buildings included numerous mansions in Philadelphia and its suburbs, especially the

Philadelphia Main Line The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and Social class in the United States, social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's onc ...

and commissioned houses at the

New Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

, and in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

Bar Harbor, Maine Bar Harbor () is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. The town is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laborat ...

;

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, and

. Furness broke from dogmatic adherence to European trends, and juxtaposed styles and elements in a forceful manner. His strong architectural will is seen in the unorthodox way he combined materials: stone, iron, glass,

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

, and brick. And his straightforward use of these materials, often in innovative or technologically advanced ways, reflected Philadelphia's industrial-realist culture of the post–Civil War period.

Interior design and furniture

Furness designed custom furniture for a number of his early residences and buildings. One notable commission was the 1870–1871 redesign of the interiors of elder brother Horace Howard Furness's city house, at the southwest corner of 7th and

Locust Street Locust Street is a major historic street in Center City Philadelphia. The street is the location of several prominent Philadelphia-based buildings, historic sights, and high-rise residential locations. It is an east–west street throughout Ce ...

s in

. Work on Horace's library included elaborate Neo-Grec bookcases, a

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

for a (supposed) death mask of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and a Neo-Grec desk, now at the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

. These pieces can be documented by drawings in Furness's sketchbooks and a letter in HHF's papers: ''"These bookcases were placed in position this day—February 18th 1871. They were designed by Capt. Frank Furness, and made by

Daniel Pabst Daniel Pabst (June 11, 1826 – July 15, 1910) was a German-born American Victorian decorative arts#Furniture, cabinetmaker of the Victorian Era. He is credited with some of the most extraordinary custom interiors and hand-crafted furniture in th ...

…"'' In 1873, Furness designed interiors and furniture for the Manhattan city house of

Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (September 22, 1831 – February 9, 1878) was an American businessman and philanthropist from the Roosevelt family. Roosevelt was also the father of President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandfather of First Lady E ...

, father of the future president. Although the house was demolished, Furness/Pabst furniture from it survives at

Sagamore Hill Sagamore Hill was the home of the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, from 1885 until his death in 1919. It is located in Cove Neck, New York, near Oyster Bay on the North Shore of Long Island, east of Manhattan. It is n ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, and the

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Furness designed bookcases and a suite of table and armchairs for the boardroom of the

, along with the lectern for its auditorium. Manufacture of these is attributed to Pabst. A, A Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts boardroom armchair is in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, in London.

Military service

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Furness served as captain and commander of Company F, 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, also known as "Rush's Lancers". He received the

for his gallantry at the

Battle of Trevilian Station The Battle of Trevilian Station (also called Trevilians) was fought on June 11–12, 1864, in Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Union cavalry under Maj ...

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Captain, Company F, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Place and date: At Trevilian Station, Virginia, June 12, 1864. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth:------. Date of issue: October 20, 1899. Citation:

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Captain (Cavalry) Frank Furness, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 12 June 1864, while serving with Company F, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, in action at Trevilian Station, Virginia. Captain Furness voluntarily carried a box of ammunition across an open space swept by the enemy's fire to the relief of an outpost whose ammunition had become almost exhausted, but which was thus enabled to hold its important position.Wittenberg, 2000.

Gettysburg monument

Twenty-five years after fighting in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, he designed the monument to his regiment on South Cavalry Field:

In design it is a simple granite block, as massive as a
dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
, but surrounded by a corona of bronze lances that are models of the original lances. ... '' 'hey are depicted in a resting position, as if waiting to be seized at any instant and brought into battle. The sense of suspended action before the moment of the battle is all the more potent because it is rendered in stone and metal, making it perpetual. Of the hundreds of monuments at Gettysburg, Furness's is among the most haunting.

Personal life

Furness married Fanny Fassit in 1866, and they had four children: Radclyffe, Theodore, James, and Annis Lee. His brother-in-law, James Wilson Fassitt Jr. (1850–1892), became an architect in Furness's firm, and was promoted to partner in 1886.

Death

Furness died on June 27, 1912, in Idlewild, Pennsylvania, at his summer house outside

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located about west of Philadelphia. It is part of the Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area. ...

, and was buried at

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 ...

. He was 72.

Rediscovery

Following decades of neglect, during which many of Furness's most important buildings were demolished, there was a revival of interest in his work in the mid-20th century. The critic

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a ...

, tracing the creative forces that had influenced

and

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

, wrote in ''The Brown Decades'' (1931): "Frank Furness was the designer of a bold, unabashed, ugly, and yet somehow healthily pregnant architecture." The architectural historian

Henry-Russell Hitchcock Henry-Russell Hitchcock (June 3, 1903 – February 19, 1987) was an American architectural historian, and for many years a professor at Smith College and New York University. His writings helped to define the characteristics of modernist architec ...

, in his comprehensive survey ''Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries'' (revised 1963), saw beauty in that ugliness: Architect and critic

Robert Venturi Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. Together with his wife and partner, Denise Scott Brown, he helped shape the way that ...

in ''Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture'' (1966) wrote, not unadmiringly, of the National Bank of the Republic, later renamed the Philadelphia Clearing House:

The city street facade can provide a type of juxtaposed contradiction that is essentially two-dimensional. Frank Furness' Clearing House, now demolished like many of his best works in Philadelphia, contained an array of violent pressures within a rigid frame. The half-segmental arch, blocked by the submerged tower which, in turn, bisects the facade into a near duality, and the violent adjacencies of rectangles, squares, lunettes, and diagonals of contrasting sizes, compose a building seemingly held up by the buildings next door: it is an almost insane short story of a castle on a city street.

On the occasion of its centennial in 1969, the Philadelphia Chapter of the

memorialized Furness as its 'great architect of the past':

For designing original and bold buildings free of the prevalent Victorian academicism and imitation, buildings of such vigor that the flood of classical traditionalism could not overwhelm them, or him, or his clients ... For shaping iron and concrete with a sensitive understanding of their particular characteristics that was unique for his time ... For his significance as innovator-architect along with his contemporaries
John Root John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was an American architect who was based in Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. Two of his buildings have been designated National Hist ...
,
Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...
and
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
... For his masterworks, 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 ...
, the Provident Trust Company, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station, and the University of Pennsylvania Library (now renamed the Furness Building) ... For his outstanding abilities as draftsman, teacher and inventor ... For being a founder of the Philadelphia Chapter and of the John Stewardson Memorial Scholarship in Architecture ... And above all, for creating architecture of imagination, decisive self-reliance, courage, and often great beauty, an architecture which to our eyes and spirits still expresses the unusual personal character, spirit and courage for which he was awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
for bravery on a Civil War battlefield.

Legacy

Furness designed custom interiors and furniture in collaboration with Philadelphia cabinetmaker

. Examples are in the collections of the

; the University of Pennsylvania; the

in Atlanta, Georgia; the

in London, and elsewhere. Mark-Lee Kirk's set designs for the 1942

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

film ''

The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after '' The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fict ...

'' seem to be based on Furness's ornate Neo-Grec interiors of the 1870s. A fictional desk designed by Furness is featured in the

John Bellairs John Anthony Bellairs (January 17, 1938 – March 8, 1991) was an American author best known for his fantasy novel '' The Face in the Frost'' and many Gothic mystery novels for children featuring the characters Lewis Barnavelt, Rose Rita Po ...

novel ''The Mansion in the Mist''. Furness's independence and modernist Victorian-Gothic style inspired 20th-century architects

Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whil ...

and

. Living in Philadelphia and teaching at the

, they often visited Furness's

— built for the 1876 Centennial — and his University of Pennsylvania Library. In 1973, the

mounted the first retrospective of Furness's work, curated by

James F. O'Gorman James F. O'Gorman (born 1933) is a leading American architectural historian, author, lecturer, editor, and consultant who taught for many years at Wellesley College. O'Gorman received a B.Arch. degree from the School of Architecture at Washingto ...

, George E. Thomas and Hyman Myers. Thomas, Jeffrey A. Cohen and Michael J. Lewis authored ''Frank Furness: The Complete Works'' (1991, revised 1996), with an introduction by

. Lewis wrote the first biography: ''Frank Furness: Architecture and the Violent Mind'' (2001). The 2012 centenary of Furness's death was observed with exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the

Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based on Locust Street in Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. Founded as a library in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company of Philadelphia has a ...

, the

Athenaeum of Philadelphia The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located at 219 S. 6th Street between St. James Place and Locust Street in the Society Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a special collections library and museum founded in 1814. The Athenaeum's purpo ...

, the

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History M ...

, the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, and elsewhere. On September 14, a Pennsylvania state historical marker was dedicated in front of Furness's boyhood home at 1426 Pine Street, Philadelphia (now

Peirce College Peirce College is a private college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It focuses on adult education. History 19th century In 1865, Thomas May Peirce, a Philadelphia educator, founded the Union Business College. The curriculum was ...

Alumni Hall). Opposite the marker is Furness's 1874–75 dormitory addition to the Pennsylvania Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, now the Furness Residence Hall of the University of the Arts.

Selected architectural works

Philadelphia buildings

*Northern Savings Fund Society Building, 1871–72, with George Hewitt. *

, Broad & Cherry Streets, 1871–76, with George Hewitt. *Parish House, Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany, 330 South 13th Street, c. 1875, with George Hewitt. *

Thomas Hockley House The Thomas Hockley House (1875) is a Victorian city house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed by architect Frank Furness. Located west of Rittenhouse Square, it is a contributing property in the Walnut–Chancellor Historic District. Hist ...

, 21st & St. James Streets, 1875. *Gatehouses,

Philadelphia Zoological Gardens The Philadelphia Zoo is a zoo located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It was the first true zoo in the United States; it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, ...

, 1875–76. *

Centennial National Bank The Centennial National Bank is a historic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by noted Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and significant in his artistic development, it was built in 1876 as the headquarters of the eponymous bank ...

, 33rd & Market Streets, 1876. Now Paul Peck Alumni Center,

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

. *Kensington National Bank, Girard & Frankford Aves., 1877 (Now a branch of Wells Fargo). * St. Stephen's Episcopal Church transept and vestry room, 19 S 10th Street, 1879. * Knowlton (William H. Rhawn mansion), Rhawn Street & Verree Road, 1881. * Gravers Lane Station, 200 E Gravers Lane, Chestnut Hill, 1882. Philadelphia & Reading Company * Mount Airy Station, E Gowen Ave & Devon St, Mount Airy, 1882. Philadelphia & Reading Company *

Undine Barge Club Undine Barge Club is an amateur rowing club located at #13 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The club was founded in 1856. Undine was not initially listed as a founder of the ...

, #13

Boathouse Row Boathouse Row is a historic site which is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River just north of the Fairmount Water Works and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It consists of a row of fifteen boathouses housi ...

, 1882–83. *

, 2125 Chestnut Street, 1885. * University of Pennsylvania Library, 34th Street, 1891. Now the Anne and Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Library. *Mortuary Chapel, Mount Sinai Cemetery (Frankford), 1891–92. * Horace Jayne House, 19th & Delancey Streets, 1895. *Girard Trust Bank, Broad & Chestnut Streets, 1907 (now

The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia is a luxury hotel and residential complex that is located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises three adjoining buildings: the Girard Trust Bank, at the northwest corner of South Br ...

) constructed for the

Girard Trust Company Girard Bank was a Philadelphia-based bank founded after the death of Stephen Girard in 1831 by local merchants eager to trade on the sterling reputation of their namesake. Stephen Girard neither founded the bank, nor had any financial ties to the ...

. *Henry's home, sole surviving building of the demolished Thomas and H. Pratt McKean townhouses, 1923 Walnut St., 1869. *

Wayne Junction station Wayne Junction station is a SEPTA Regional Rail junction station located at 4481 Wayne Avenue, extending along Windrim Avenue to Germantown Avenue. The station is located in the Nicetown neighborhood of Philadelphia. Wayne Junction serves as a ...

, 4481 Wayne Avenue.

Demolished Philadelphia buildings

*Germantown Unitarian Church, 1866–67 *Rodef Shalom Synagogue, 1868–69. *Thomas and H. Pratt McKean townhouses, 1923–25 Walnut St., 1869, demolished 1897 and 1920s. *Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion, 1870–75. *Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company, 1875. *Brazilian Section, Main Exhibition Building,

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

(1876). *Church of the Redeemer for Seamen and their Families, 1878. * Provident Life & Trust Company, 1879. *Library Company of Philadelphia Building, 1879–80. *

Reliance Insurance Company Reliance Insurance Company, now officially known as "Reliance Insurance Company n Liquidation" was founded in Philadelphia in 1817 and has undergone numerous corporate makeovers in the intervening years. Since October 3, 2001, the company has b ...

Building, 1881–82. *National Bank of the Republic (later Philadelphia Clearing House), 1883–84. * Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station (24th Street Station), 1886–88. *The Cottage at the Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital, c 1888 *Franklin Sugar Refinery, 125 S 12th Street, c. 1895. * Alexander J. Cassatt townhouse, 202 West Rittenhouse Square, c. 1888. * Broad Street Station,

, 1892–93. *Arcade Building and pedestrian bridge to Broad Street Station, 1901–02.

Buildings elsewhere

Railroad stations

* Manheim Station,

Manheim, Pennsylvania Manheim is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,064 at the 2020 census. The borough was named after Kerpen- Manheim, Germany. History Manheim was laid out by Henry William Stiegel in 1762 on a land ...

, 1881, Philadelphia & Reading Company. *East Strasburg Station,

Petersburg, Pennsylvania Petersburg is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was a stop on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line between Tyrone and Huntingdon and the junction point for the Petersburg Branch. The population was 480 at th ...

, 1882, Philadelphia & Reading Company, moved to

Strasburg Railroad The Strasburg Rail Road is a Heritage railway, heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 183 ...

. *Sunbury Station,

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury ( ) is a city and the county seat of Northumberland County in Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Susquehanna Valley, Sunbury is positioned on the east bank of the Susquehanna River. Sunbury's roots stretch back to the early ...

, 1883, Philadelphia & Reading Company. * Aberdeen Station,

Aberdeen, Maryland Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, northeast of Baltimore. The population was 16,254 at the 2020 United States census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County. Aberdeen is part of the Baltimo ...

, 1885,

. * B&O Station, Pittsburgh,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Pennsylvania, 1887, demolished 1955,

. * Lansdowne Station,

Lansdowne, Pennsylvania Lansdowne is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, located southwest of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. It was named for the Marquess of Lansdowne. As of the 2010 United States ...

, 1901,

. *Edgewood Station, Edgewood, Pennsylvania, 1903,

. *Sherwood Station,

Riderwood, Maryland Ruxton and Riderwood are Unincorporated area, unincorporated communities in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. They are sometimes considered a part of Towson, Maryland, Towson and are part of Towson's Census-d ...

, 1905,

Northern Central Railway The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad in the United States connecting Baltimore, Maryland, with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania R ...

=Wilmington, Delaware

= Three buildings in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, reputed to be the largest grouping of Furness-designed railroad buildings, form the Frank Furness Railroad District. * Water Street Station,

, ca. 1887. *

Building, 1905. * French Street Station (Wilmington Station),

(now

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

), 1908.

Residences

*Grubb Cottage (E. Burd Grubb Estate),

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a City (New Jersey), city situated on the banks of the Delaware River in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the c ...

, 1872 *Lindenshade (

house),

Wallingford, Pennsylvania Wallingford is an unincorporated community in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1687, it is named for Wallingford, England. In 2007, Wallingford was named by ''Money Magazine'' as the ninth b ...

, 1873 (demolished 1940). *Fairholme (

Fairman Rogers Fairman Rogers (November 15, 1833 – August 22, 1900) was an American civil engineer, educator and equestrian. He worked as a professor of civil engineering at the University of Pennsylvania from 1855 to 1871 and as a trustee from 1871 to 1886. ...

mansion),

, 1874–1875. Its carriage house is now Jean and David W. Wallace Hall,

Salve Regina University Salve Regina University is a private coeducational Roman Catholic university in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It was founded in 1934 by the Sisters of Mercy and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The univer ...

. *George Fryer cottage,

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May (sometimes Cape May City) is a City (New Jersey), city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean ...

, 1871–72; rebuilt after fire, 1878–79. * Emlen Physick house,

, 1879. * Fairview, near

Delaware City, Delaware Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,885 as of 2020. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the Forts Ferry Crossing to F ...

(1880 alterations). Furness added a third story and rear wing to an 1822 farmhouse. *

Dolobran Dolobran is a Shingle style architecture, Shingle Style house at 231 Laurel Lane in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect Frank Furness for shipping magnate Clement Griscom in 1881, and was expanded at least twice by Furness. The ...

( Clement A. Griscom mansion),

Haverford, Pennsylvania Haverford is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community located in both Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, and Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merio ...

, 1881, circa-1888, 1894. * Lotta Crabtree Cottage,

Mount Arlington, New Jersey Mount Arlington is a borough in western Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,909, an increase of 859 (+17.0%) from the 2010 census count of 5,050, which in turn re ...

, 1885–86. * Idlewild (Frank Furness house), Idlewild Lane,

(c. 1888). *Ragged Edge (Col. Moorhead Kennedy house),

Chambersburg Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Ma ...

, Pennsylvania, 1900–1901. *Judge Eugene G. Smith ,

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

. 1890

Schools

Williamson College of the Trades Williamson College of the Trades (formerly Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades) is a private men's junior vocational college in Media, Pennsylvania. The school was founded on December 1, 1888, by Philadelphia merchant and philanthrop ...

(formerly ''Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades''),

Elwyn, Pennsylvania Elwyn is an unincorporated community located in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Middletown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,807 at the 2010 census. The Pennsylva ...

, original campus buildings, completed in 1889–90. *

The Baldwin School The Baldwin School (simply referred to as Baldwin School or Baldwin) is a private school for girls in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1888 by Florence Baldwin. The school occupies a former nineteenth-century resort hote ...

(built as the second Bryn Mawr Hotel),

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr (, from Welsh language, Welsh for 'big hill') is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue, also known as U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania, U.S. ...

, 1890. *Recitation Hall,

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 31,454. The University of Delaware is ...

, 1891. *

Haverford School The Haverford School is a private, non-sectarian, all-boys college preparatory day school, junior kindergarten through grade twelve. Founded in 1884 as The Haverford College Grammar School, it is located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. History ...

, 1902.

Churches

*All Hallows Church,

Wyncote, Pennsylvania Wyncote is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders the northwestern and northeastern section of Philadelphia. Wyncote is located 11 miles from Center City Philadelphia at ...

, 1897. *Church of Our Father, Hull's Cove,

Mount Desert Island, Maine Mount Desert Island (MDI; ) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous United States, and the second-la ...

, 1890–91. * St. Michael's Protestant Episcopal Church,

Birdsboro, Pennsylvania Birdsboro is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Schuylkill River southeast of Reading. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,106. Birdsboro's economy had historically been rooted in large ...

, 1884–85.

Other

*New Castle Public Library,

New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...

, 1892 (now Old Library Museum, New Castle Historical Society). *Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry (Rush's Lancers) Monument, Gettysburg Battlefield,

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people. Gettysburg was the site of ...

, 1888. *

Merion Cricket Club Merion Cricket Club is a private club which is located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1865. The current clubhouse is its sixth, the last four having been designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and his partner, Allen Eva ...

(

, Furness's partner, is credited with the design), 1896–97.Merion Cricket Club
at the Historic American Buildings Survey.

Gallery

File:22nd & Walnut, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg, Thomas and H. Pratt McKean Townhouses, 1923-25 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1869, demolished 1897 and 1920s). File:Lindenshade.jpg, Lindenshade (

house), Wallingford, Pennsylvania (c. 1873, demolished 1940). A country house built for the architect's brother, it was later greatly expanded. File:HockleyHouse.jpg, Thomas Hockley house, 235 S. 21st St., Philadelphia (1875), Furness & Hewitt. File:Philadelphia Zoo entrance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA-27June2010.jpg, Gatehouses,

Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo is a zoo located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It was the first true zoo in the United States; it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859 ...

Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, w ...

, Philadelphia (1875–76, altered), Furness & Hewitt. File:WTP A03 dthomsen8 1.jpg,

, Philadelphia (1876), now Paul Peck Alumni Center, Drexel University. File:Brazilian section, Main building, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views 2.jpg, Brazilian Section, Main Exhibition Building,

, Philadelphia (1876). File:Cooks Villa 2 CMHD.JPG, J. F. Fryer cottage,

(1878–79). The pierced-tile inserts in the railings are believed to have come from the Japanese Pavilion at the

1876 Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

. File:Knowlton.JPG, Knowlton (William H. Rhawn mansion), Northeast Philadelphia (1881). File:Dolobran Montco PA 03.JPG,

( Clement A. Griscom mansion), Haverford, Pennsylvania (1881, circa 1888, 1894). File:RelianceInsurance.jpg, Reliance Insurance Company of Philadelphia (1881–82, demolished 1960). File:Undine2010.jpg,

,
#13

, Philadelphia (1882–83). File:First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, 2125 Walnut Street.jpg,

(1886). File:B&OStationFromEast.jpg, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station, Philadelphia (1886–88, demolished 1963), looking west from 24th Street. File:B&OWaitingroomStair.jpg, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station, Philadelphia (1886–88, demolished 1963), stairs from Lower Waiting Room. File:BO1911.JPG, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station,

(1887, demolished 1955). File:Furness Idlewild.JPG, Idlewild,

(1888). Furness's own country house is reminiscent of his University of Pennsylvania Library. File:CassattHouse.jpg, Alexander J. Cassatt townhouse, 202 West Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia (altered by Furness c. 1888, demolished 1972). File:Jayne House Philly.JPG, Horace Jayne House, 19th & Delancey Sts., Philadelphia (1895). The grandest of his surviving city houses, Mrs. Jayne was Furness's niece Caroline. File:MerionCricket.jpg,

, Haverford, Pennsylvania (1896–97). Allen Evans was a founding member of the club, and probably designed all its buildings. File:ArcadeBuilding.jpg, Arcade Building and pedestrian bridge to Broad Street Station, Philadelphia (1901–02, demolished 1969). File:GirardTrust.jpg, Girard Trust Company Building, Philadelphia (1907), (now

). The concept for the bank was Furness's, but it was designed by Allen Evans and the New York firm of

McKim, Mead and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

. File:Williamson Free Trade School.JPG, Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades campus (1890), (Rowan Hall shown) Middletown Township, Pennsylvania. File:Graver Lane SEPTA.JPG, Graver's Lane Station, Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, Philadelphia (1882).

Notes

References

Sources

*Lewis, Michael J., ''Frank Furness: Architecture and the Violent Mind'', 2001. *O'Gorman, James F., et al., ''The Architecture of Frank Furness''. Philadelphia Museum of Art; 1973. *Thayer, Preston, ''The Railroad Designs of Frank Furness: Architecture and Corporate Imagery in the Late Nineteenth Century'', University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Ph.D. dissertation), 1993. *Thomas, George E., Jeffrey A. Cohen & Michael J. Lewis, ''Frank Furness: The Complete Works''. Princeton Architectural Press, revised edition 1996. *Venturi, Robert, ''Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture''. The Museum of Modern Art; 1966. *

External links

Project List – Furness, Evans & Co.
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
Project List – Frank Furness
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings {{DEFAULTSORT:Furness, Frank 1839 births 1912 deaths 19th-century American architects American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Architects from Philadelphia Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Defunct architecture firms based in Pennsylvania Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Furness family Pennsylvania Railroad people People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War American railway architects Union army soldiers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Early life and education

Career

Interior design and furniture

Military service

Medal of Honor citation

Gettysburg monument

Personal life

Death

Rediscovery

Legacy

Selected architectural works

Philadelphia buildings

Demolished Philadelphia buildings

Buildings elsewhere

Railroad stations

=Wilmington, Delaware

Residences

Schools

Churches

Other

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

External links