John McComb Jr. (1763–1853) was an American architect who designed many landmarks in the 18th and 19th centuries. Between 1790 and 1825, McComb was New York city's leading architect.
Early life and education
McComb Jr. was born on October 17, 1763, in New York City and was of Scottish ancestry. In 1783, McComb began working with his father, John McComb Sr., a well known architect and surveyor. In 1790, he began working independently and
John Jay
John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...
spoke highly of his work to
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
. McComb would later design Hamilton's home,
The Grange. In general, McComb worked in the
Federal style.
McComb died in 1853, and is interred at
Green-Wood Cemetery in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York.
Work
* Old
Cape Henry Light (1792), first lighthouse totally authorized by the federal government.
*
Montauk Point Lighthouse (1796)
*
Station Eatons Neck Lighthouse (1798)
*
Gracie Mansion (1799)
[ - Document can be downloaded from https://www.nps.gov/hagr/learn/news/upload/Hamilton-Grange_Timeline.doc]
*
St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (1799)
*
Hamilton Grange (1802)
*
New York City Hall (1803)
[Jeff Richman,]
John McComb: Old New York Architect
Green-Wood Discovery. March 13, 2013.
*
St. John's Chapel (New York City) (1803, demolished 1918)
*
Old Queens building at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
(1808)
*
Castle Clinton (1808)
*
Washington Hall (1809)
* Alexander Hall,
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...
(1815)
Gallery
File:Montauk Point Lighthouse.jpg, Montauk Point Lighthouse (1796)
File:New York City Hall exterior, October 2016.jpg, New York City Hall (1803)
File:Old Queens, New Brunswick, NJ - looking north, 2014.jpg, Old Queens at Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
(1808)
File:Alexander Hall (Princeton Theological Seminary).jpg, Alexander Hall, Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...
(1815)
References
External links
The John McComb Architectural Drawings at the New York Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:McComb, John Jr.
18th-century American architects
Lighthouse builders
1763 births
1853 deaths
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
Federalist architects
19th-century American architects
Architects from New York City
Scottish diaspora in the United States