James Renwick Jr. (born November 11, 1818,
Bloomingdale, in
Upper Manhattan, New York City – June 23, 1895, New York City) was an American architect in the 19th century. ''The Encyclopedia of American Architecture'' calls him "one of the most successful American architects of his time".
Life and work
Renwick was born into a wealthy and well-educated family. His mother, Margaret Brevoort, was from a wealthy and socially prominent New York family. His father,
James Renwick, was an engineer, architect, and professor of natural philosophy at Columbia College, now
Columbia University. His two brothers were also engineers.
Renwick is buried in
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, New York, with his wife and father.

Renwick was not formally trained as an architect. His ability and interest in building design were nurtured through his cultivated background, which granted him early exposure to travel, and through a broad cultural education that included architectural history. He learned the skills from his father. He studied engineering at
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
, entering at age twelve and graduating in 1836. He received an M.A. three years later. On graduating, he took a position as structural engineer with the Erie Railroad and subsequently served as supervisor on the Croton Reservoir, acting as an assistant engineer on the
Croton Aqueduct
The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity fr ...
in New York City.
Renwick received his first major commission, at the age of twenty-five, in 1843 when he won the competition to design
Grace Church Grace Church may refer to:
Canada
* Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto
China
* Grace Church, Guanghan
Poland
* Grace Church, Teschen or Jesus Church, a Lutheran basilica in Teschen, Poland
United Kingdom
United States
* Grace Cathedral (disa ...
, an Episcopal church in New York City, which was executed in the English Gothic style. In 1846, Renwick won the competition for the design of the
Smithsonian Institution Building
The Smithsonian Institution Building, located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. Th ...
in Washington, DC. Built between 1847 and 1855, the many-turreted building, generally referred to as "the Castle," was designed in the Romanesque style, as requested by the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian, and was built of red sandstone quarried at the
Seneca Quarry in
Seneca, Maryland Seneca is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located near the intersection of River Road and Seneca Creek, not far from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal) and Potomac River. Its history goes bac ...
. It was a major influence in the
Gothic revival in the United States.

In 1849, Renwick designed the Free Academy Building (
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
), New York City, at Lexington Avenue and 23rd Street. It was one of the first Gothic Revival college buildings on the East Coast.
Renwick went on to design what is considered his finest achievement, and his best-known building,
St. Patrick's Cathedral, on the corner of
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 populatio ...
and
51st Street. He was chosen as architect for the Roman Catholic cathedral in 1853, construction began in 1858, and the cathedral opened in May 1879. The cathedral is the most ambitious essay in Gothic that the revival of the style produced and is a mixture of German, French, and English Gothic influences.
Another of the prominent buildings Renwick designed was the
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Overview
The Corcoran School of the Arts & Desi ...
(now home to the Smithsonian's
Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building th ...
), in the Second Empire style, in Washington D.C. (1859–1871). Other commissions included the first major buildings on the campus of
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...
in
Poughkeepsie, New York (1861–1865), including the
Main Hall (1860); Saint Bartholomew's Church (1871–1872) at Madison Avenue and 44th Street in New York City (now demolished); All Saints' Roman Catholic Church (1882–1893) in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...
in the Victorian Gothic style; and many mansions for the wealthy of the area, including the Peter Aims-Aimes house, "Martinstow", in
West Haven, Connecticut
West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is located on the coast of Long Island Sound. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,584.
History
Settled in 1648, West Haven (then known as West Farms) ...
. Renwick is revered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, as the architect who designe
Ascension Memorial Church whose cornerstone was laid in October 1869.

Renwick also designed the first chapter house of
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectari ...
/Delta Psi, the secret fraternal college society which was founded at
Columbia University in 1847. Even though the 1879 structure at 29
East 28th Street is marred now by a street level storefront, in 1990
Christopher Gray
Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" ''The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his wee ...
wrote in the ''New York Times'' that "Old photographs show a high stoop arrangement with the figure of an owl on the peaked roof and a plaque with the Greek letters Delta Psi over the windowless chapter room. In 1879, The ''
New York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'' called it
French Renaissance
The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define t ...
, but the stumpy pilasters and blocky detailing suggest the
Neo-Grec
Néo-Grec was a Neoclassical Revival style of the mid-to-late 19th century that was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III (1852–1870). The Néo-Grec v ...
style then near the end of its popularity." In 1899 the fraternity moved to a new chapter house on
Riverside Drive Riverside Drive may refer to:
* Riverside Drive (Lake Elsinore, California)
*Riverside Drive (Los Angeles)
* Riverside Drive (Manhattan)
*Riverside Drive Historic District, Covington, Kentucky
* Riverside Drive (London, Ontario)
* Riverside Drive ( ...
and for a few years the original building was kept as a clubhouse for graduate members. At that time a newspaper account described it as a "perfect Bijou of tasteful decoration".
[ C. Gray, Streetscapes: Readers' Questions; Of Consulates, Stores and Town Houses, September 2, 1990, New York Times]
/ref>
Among his other designs were banks; the Charity and Smallpox Hospitals on Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. Running from the equivalent of East 46th to 8 ...
; the main building of the Children's Hospital on Randall's Island
Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City, ; the Inebriate and Lunatic Asylums on Wards Island and the former facade of the New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
. Renwick was also supervising architect for the Commission of Charities and Correction. A small group of Renwick's architectural drawings and papers are held by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is a library located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the New York City. It is the largest architecture library in the world. Serving Columbia's Graduate School ...
at Columbia University.
Renwick was also the designer of the bell tower of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, Florida. The work was commissioned by Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
partner Henry M. Flagler who was building luxury hotels in the historic city at the time. Renwick and his wife Anna Aspinwall lived and owned property in the lighthouse area of St. Augustine on Anastasia Island
Anastasia Island is a barrier island located off the northeast Atlantic coast of Florida in the United States. It sits east of St. Augustine, running north–south in a slightly southeastern direction to Matanzas Inlet. The island is about lon ...
. In the Spring of 1890, Renwick listened to Franklin W. Smith deliver a speech to garner support for his ''Design and Prospectus for a National Gallery of History of Art at Washington''. Renwick endorsed the idea and offered to provide drawings, plans and illustrations for the project. Smith gratefully accepted and the firm of Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell spent six months completing their contribution.[Smith, Franklin W.]
"Design and Prospectus for a National Gallery of History of Art at Washington"
Page 10, Gibson Brothers 1891
Firm history
In the late 1850s, already well-established, Renwick temporarily partnered with Richard T. Auchmoty. In the 1860s and 1870s, a few of Renwick's commissions are credited as Renwick & Sands. These indicate Renwick's short-lived partnership with architect Joseph Sands (? – 1879), and include Church of the Holy Sepulchre in NYC, 1869, and the New York City Public Charities Building (razed), at 66 Third Avenue (1868–1871).
One constant in the firm was J. Lawrence Aspinwall (1854–1936), who started to work for Renwick in 1875, practiced in the firm more than 60 years, partner from 1880 to 1925, and became an AIA Fellow in 1914. Aspinwall was the cousin of Renwick's wife Anna.
From 1878 to 1894, the firm was known as Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell, with the partnership of William Hamilton Russell
Clinton and Russell was a well-known architectural firm founded in 1894 in New York City, United States. The firm was responsible for several New York City buildings, including some in Lower Manhattan.
Biography
Charles W. Clinton (1838� ...
(1856–1907), Renwick's grand nephew. Upon his graduation, Russell became a protégé of his great uncle, who designed the chapter house of Russell's fraternity, St. Anthony Hall, at 25 East 28th Street, New York in 1878, the same year Renwick completed St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
St. Patrick's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is the seat of the Archbishop of New York as well as a parish church. The cathedral occupies a city block bounded by Fifth Avenue, ...
. It is likely Russell contributed work to both his fraternity's first chapter house as well as the cathedral during his apprenticeship with Renwick.[ Russell departed in 1894 to co-found ]Clinton & Russell
Clinton and Russell was a well-known architectural firm founded in 1894 in New York City, United States. The firm was responsible for several New York City buildings, including some in Lower Manhattan.
Biography
Charles W. Clinton (1838� ...
.
After Renwick's death in 1895, the immediate successor organization was called Renwick, Aspinwall & Renwick, then Renwick, Aspinwall & Owen, with the addition of Walter Tallent Owen (1864-1902). In 1904, it became known as Renwick, Aspinwall & Tucker, then Renwick, Aspinwall & Guard by the late 1920s.
Several of Renwick's employees protégés became influential architects in their own right, including:
* Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for ...
, whose designs included the Wolf's Head Secret Society Hall at Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, the Nebraska State Capitol
The Nebraska State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Nebraska and is located in downtown Lincoln. Designed by New York architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue in 1920, it was constructed of Indiana limestone from 1922 to 19 ...
building, Balboa Park (San Diego), and the chapel at West Point. He began his apprenticeship at Renwick, Aspinwall and Russell in 1884, and his apprenticeship ended in 1891 when he won a national design competition for St. Matthew's in Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas. His first years with Renwick's firm partly coincided with Russell's first years, below.
* John Wellborn 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 a National ...
, one of the founders of the Chicago School style.
Major buildings designed
* The Reformed Church of Saugerties, 173 Main St Suagerties, NY (1852)
* Mark Twain House, 21 Fifth Avenue, NYC (c. 1842; razed 1953)
* Grace Church Grace Church may refer to:
Canada
* Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto
China
* Grace Church, Guanghan
Poland
* Grace Church, Teschen or Jesus Church, a Lutheran basilica in Teschen, Poland
United Kingdom
United States
* Grace Cathedral (disa ...
, New York (1843–1846)
* Smithsonian Institution Building
The Smithsonian Institution Building, located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. Th ...
, Washington, D.C. (1847–1855)
* Calvary Church, New York (1848)
* Free Academy Building, City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, Lexington Avenue and 23rd Street, New York City (1849)
* Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel, Washington, D.C. (1850)
* Rhinelander Gardens, 110-124 West 11th Street, NYC, a three-story above raised basement row of houses (c. 1850; razed 1956)[
* Trinity Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C. (1851; razed 1936)
* Municipal Courthouse, 817 Princess Anne Street, ]Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...
(1852)
* St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, (1858–1879)
* Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Overview
The Corcoran School of the Arts & Desi ...
(currently the Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building th ...
), Washington, D.C. (1859–1871)
* Main Building, Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...
, Poughkeepsie, New York (1861–1865)
* Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour
The Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault is the oldest cathedral in Minnesota. Built 1862–1869, it was the first church in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America designed as a cathedral. The architect was James Renw ...
, Faribault, Minnesota
Faribault ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,352 at the 2010 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highway ...
(1862–1869)
* Church of St. Barnabas expansion, Irvington, New York
Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson,Staff (ndg"The Irvington Gazette (Irvington-On-Hudson, N.Y.) 1907-1969"Library of Congress is a suburban village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is l ...
(1863)
* St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, Clinton and Livingston, Brooklyn, New York (1866-1869)
* St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Foggy Bottom, Washington, DC (1867).
* Greymore Friars' Residence, NYC (1869)
* Cathedral High School, NYC (1869)
* First Presbyterian Church of Hartford, Connecticut (1870; Renwick & Sands)
* Basilica of St. John the Baptist
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoun ...
, Canton, Ohio
Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes ...
(1871)
* St. Bartholomew's Church, Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd St ...
and East 44th Street, NYC (1871–1872; razed)
* Second Presbyterian Church, Chicago (1872–1874)
* St. Claire's Chapel, , Aiken, South Carolina">t. Mary Help of Christians Church, Aiken, South Carolina (1879)
* Former St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectari ...
Chapter House, New York (circa 1879) [
* St. Nicholas of Myra Church (Manhattan)">St. Nicholas of Myra Church, East 10th Street, NYC (1882–1883)][SEWELL CHAN]
Church and Midtown Building Are Landmarks
'New York Times'' December 16, 2008.
* Demarest Building
The Demarest Building at 339 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City was designed by Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell and constructed for coachbuilder Aaron T. Demarest. An 1893 fire destroyed property in the building, which was later used ...
, Fifth Avenue and East 33rd Street, NYC (c. 1890)
Gallery
File:Grace Church E9 jeh.jpg
File:Calvary-church 1 crop.jpg, Calvary Church
(1848)
Manhattan, New York City
File:Freeacad.jpg, The Free Academy
(1847)
Manhattan, New York City
File:Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel, DC.jpg, Oak Hill Cemetery
(1850)
Georgetown, Washington D.C.
File:Trinity Episcopal Church (Washington, D.C.) in color.jpg, Trinity Episcopal Church
(1851)
Washington, D.C.
File:Old Main, Vassar College edit1.jpg, Old Main
Old Main is a term often applied to the original building present on college or university campuses in the United States. The building serves today as home to administrative offices, such as the president or provost, but in its early inception may ...
, Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...
(1861)
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...
File:CathedralFaribaultMN.JPG, Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour
The Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault is the oldest cathedral in Minnesota. Built 1862–1869, it was the first church in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America designed as a cathedral. The architect was James Renw ...
(1869)
Faribault, Minnesota
Faribault ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,352 at the 2010 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highway ...
File:Brooklyn. Saint Ann's Church.jpg, St. Ann's Episcopal Church
(1869)
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, New York City
File:Canton, Ohio - St. John's 2011-02-04.JPG, alt=Basilica of Saint John the Baptist, Canton, Ohio, Basilica of St. John the Baptist
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoun ...
(1871) Canton, Ohio
File:Renwick Gallery - Pennsylvania Avenue.JPG, Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building th ...
(1874)
Washington D.C.
File:St. Bartholomew's Church (1876) crop.jpg, St. Bartholomew's Church
(1871–72),
Manhattan, New York City
File:St. Nicholas of Myra Church 2.jpg, St. Nicholas of Myra Church
(1883)
Manhattan, New York City
File:George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum - Springfield, MA - DSC03512.JPG, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum
The Quadrangle is the common name for a cluster of museums and cultural institutions in Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, on Chestnut Street between State and Edwards Streets.
The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, in the cente ...
(1895)
Springfield, Massachusetts
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Packard, Robert. (Ed.) (1995). ''The Encyclopedia of American Architecture'' (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
External links
Selma Rattner research papers on James Renwick, 1856-2001 (bulk 1960s-2001) Held in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York City
Art and the empire city: New York, 1825-1861
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Renwick Jr. (see index)
Renwick Family Letters and Manuscripts 1794-1916
*
James Renwick and James Renwick, Jr. architectural drawings and papers, circa 1813-1960, held by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renwick, James Jr.
1818 births
1895 deaths
American ecclesiastical architects
American neoclassical architects
Gothic Revival architects
Architects of cathedrals
Architects of Roman Catholic churches
Architects from New York City
Smithsonian Institution people
Fellows of the American Institute of Architects
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
People from Essex County, New York
Defunct architecture firms based in New York City
19th-century American architects