George Fletcher Babb (1835–1915) 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 ...

who worked primarily in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Although he designed several buildings independently, he is best known for his work as senior partner at

Babb, Cook & Willard Babb, Cook & Willard was a New York City-based architectural firm established in 1884 that designed many important houses and commercial buildings. The principals of the firm were George Fletcher Babb (1836–1915), Walter Cook (1843–1916), ...

, a partnership he formed with Walter Cook in 1877.

Career

In his time with Babb, Cook & Willard, Babb was involved in the design of several well known New York buildings, including the cast-iron office building and the De Vinne Press Building. He was also known for designing alterations to the summer home of the sculptor

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

, now the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. In addition to his architectural work, Babb was known in his time for his work designing the covers of publications such as ''

Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associat ...

'' and Sport with Rod and Gun. He also designed the De Vinne Centennial, a motif featuring a quote in

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Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

, which was used in books printed by De Vinne beginning in 1886.

Personal life

Babb was sometimes referred to as "Badger Babb" by his friends, who are said to have valued his "dry humor and the intricacy of his puns."

References

19th-century American architects 1835 births 1915 deaths Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters {{US-architect-19C-stub