
John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) 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 ...
whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
building (completed in 1935), the
Jefferson Memorial (completed in 1943) and the West Building of the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
(completed in 1941), all in
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 ...
Early life and education
Pope was born in
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 ...
, on April 24, 1874, the son of a successful portrait painter and his wife. He studied architecture at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, where he graduated in 1894. He was the first recipient of the
Rome Prize to attend the newly founded
American Academy in Rome,
a training ground for the designers of the
American Renaissance. He would remain involved with the academy until his death.
Pope traveled for two years through
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, where he studied, sketched and made measured drawings of more Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance structures than he did of the remains of ancient buildings. Pope was one of the first architectural students to master the use of the large-format camera, with glass negatives. Pope 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
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1896, honing his
Beaux-Arts style.
Career

In 1900, after returning to
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 ...
, Pope worked for a few years in the office of
Bruce Price before opening his own practice.
Pope designed private houses, such as The Waves, his personal residence 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 ...
,
and public buildings in addition to the
Jefferson Memorial, the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
, the
Masonic
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
House of the Temple, all in
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 ...
, and the triumphal arch
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial (1936) at the
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
in New York City.
He designed the extension of the
Henry Clay Frick mansion in New York City that created the Garden Court and music room, among other features, as the house was expanded to be operated as a museum.
In 1912, he submitted several proposals for the
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a List of national memorials of the United States, U.S. national memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln, the List of presidents of the United States, 16th president of the United States, located on the western end of the Nati ...
, but lost out to
Henry Bacon.
In 1919, he developed a master plan for the future growth of
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. Pope's plan for Yale was significantly revised by
James Gamble Rogers in 1921, who had more sympathy for the requirements of the city of
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
. Rogers did keep the Collegiate Gothic unifying theme offered by Pope. Pope's original plan is a prime document in the
City Beautiful movement in
city planning
Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
.
His firm's designs alternated between revivals of
Gothic,
Georgian, eighteenth-century French, and
classical styles. Pope designed the
Henry E. Huntington mausoleum on the grounds of
The Huntington Library in southern California. He later used the design as a prototype for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art were both
neoclassical, modeled by Pope on the Roman
Pantheon.
Lesser known projects by Pope's firm include
Union Station
A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
,
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
(1917), with a central rotunda capped with a low saucer dome; it now houses the
Science Museum of Virginia, the Branch House (1917–1919), a Tudor-style mansion in Richmond, now housing The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design; the
Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of modern art, ...
; and in Washington, D.C., the
National City Christian Church,
DAR Constitution Hall,
American Pharmacists Association
The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more tha ...
Building,
Ward Homestead, and the
National Archives Building
The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the headquarters of the United States National Archives and Records Administration. It is located north of the National Mall at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Penn ...
(''illustration, left'').
In 1917, he designed the City Hall in
Plattsburgh, New York
Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...
, which was completed in 1917, and the city's Macdonough Monument, erected in 1926 to commemorate the naval victory of Commodore Macdonough in the Battle of Plattsburgh on September 11, 1814.
Pope designed additions to the
Tate Gallery and
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in London, an unusual honor for an American architect, and the
War Memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
at Montfaucon-d'Argonne, France. Pope also designed extensive alterations to
Belcourt, the
Newport residence of
Oliver and
Alva Belmont. The Georgian Revival residence he built in 1919 for Thomas H. Frothingham in
Far Hills, New Jersey has been adapted as the
United States Golf Association Museum.
Pope was a member of the
United States Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. from 1912 to 1922, serving as vice chairman from 1921 to 1922. He also served on the Board of Architectural Consultants for the
Federal Triangle
Federal Triangle is a Triangle, triangular area in Washington, D.C., formed by 15th Street NW, Constitution Avenue, Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and E Street NW. Federal Triangle is occupied by 10 large c ...
complex in Washington, D.C. During the 1920s, the firm designed a number of well known country estates including Spring Hill Farms, later renamed
Cobble Court.
In
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, Wisconsin, he designed a severe
neo-Georgian clubhouse for the
University Club (1926). In
Oneonta, New York
Oneonta ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in southern Otsego County, New York, Otsego County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is one of the northernmost cities of Appalachia. Oneonta is home to the State Un ...
, he designed the first building for
Hartwick College, Bresee Hall, which was constructed in 1928.
In 1932, he constructed the chapter house for
Alpha Delta Phi at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
in
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
.
Pope won a
Silver Medal
A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...
in the
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...
for his design of the
Payne Whitney Gymnasium.
Legacy
A 1991 exhibition at the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
, ''John Russell Pope and the Building of the National Gallery of Art'', spurred reappraisal of his work. For some time, it had been scorned and derided as overly historicist by many critics influenced by
International Modernism.
Pope also served as an early mentor and employer of American modernist
Lester C. Tichy.
Pope was the maternal grandfather of the actress
Andra Akers.
Gallery
Image:Brazilian-residence-dc044.jpg, 1908: McCormick House (Washington, D.C.) (now a Brazilian Embassy residence)
Image:Abraham_Lincoln_Birthplace_NHS.jpg, 1909–1911: Memorial Building Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
Image:House_of_the_Temple.JPG, 1911–1915 House of the Temple, 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 ...
Image:Charlcote_House.jpg, 1911–1915: Charlcote House, Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
Image:Brodhead-Bell-Morton_Mansion.jpg, 1912: Morton House (renovation of Brodhead-Bell-Morton Mansion), now Embassy of Hungary in Washington, D.C.
Image:Branch_House,_Richmond,_Virginia.JPG, 1916–1919: Branch House, Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
Image:Richmond Science Museum.jpg, 1919: Union Station
A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
(now the Virginia Science Museum), Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
Image:USGA_Museum.jpg, 1919: Frothingham Home, now United States Golf Association Museum, Far Hills, New Jersey
Image:Woodlawn_Cemetery_in_Bronx,_New_York_(2).jpg, 1920: F.W. Woolworth Mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York
Image:Dartmouth_College_John_Russell_Pope_1922.jpg, 1922: Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
Master Plan
Image:Meridian_House_in_Washington,_DC.jpg, 1923: Meridian House, 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 ...
Image:Woodend.jpg, 1927–28: Woodend, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Image:BaltimoreMuseumofArt.JPG, 1927–1929: Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of modern art, ...
, Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
Image:Skylands.jpg, 1927±: Skylands Manor, Ringwood, New Jersey (New Jersey Botanical Garden)
Image:HendrickC.JPG, 1928: Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
, Syracuse, New York
Image:Memorial-staircase.jpg, 1928: Breese Hall, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York
Oneonta ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in southern Otsego County, New York, Otsego County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is one of the northernmost cities of Appalachia. Oneonta is home to the State Un ...
Image:DARHallFront.JPG, 1929: Constitution Hall, 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 ...
Image:National_City_Christian_Church_-_Washington,_DC_-_DSC05475.JPG, 1930: National City Christian Church, 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 ...
Image:Cornell_Alpha_Delta_Phi_House_August_2002.jpg, 1931: Chapter House, Alpha Delta Phi, Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
Image:Am_Pharmacists_Ass_DC.jpg, 1933 American Institute of Pharmacy Building, Washington, D.C.
Image:USA-NYC-American_Museum_of_Natural_History.JPG, 1929–1935: NY State Theodore Roosevelt Memorial (Arch, Entrance, & Hall), American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
, 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 ...
Image:Yale_Cathedral_of_Sweat.JPG, 1932–1936: Payne Whitney Gymnasium, Yale University, New Haven
Image:Frick_Collection_-_www.joyofmuseums.com_-_external_2.jpg, 1935: Garden Court, Frick Collection
The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...
, 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 ...
Image:Montfaucon383.jpg, 1935–1937:War Memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
at Montfaucon-d'Argonne, France
Image:Parthenon_Greek_Exhibition_Hall_British_Museum_London_England.jpg, 1931–1938 Duveen Gallery ( Elgin Gallery), British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
, London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
Image:Tate_Britain_North_Gallery_Jaguar.jpg, 1937 Duveen Gallery (North Gallery) Tate Britain, London, UK
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
Selected works
* 1910:
William B. Leeds Mausoleum,
Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York
* 1926:
University Club,
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, Wisconsin
* 1927:
Huntington Mausoleum,
San Marino, California
San Marino is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2020 United States census the population was 12,513, a decline from the 2010 United States census.
History Origin of name
Th ...
* 1927: "The Waves" (Pope's Newport residence), 61 Ledge Road,
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 ...
* 1931:
First Congregational Church,
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
* 1933–1935:
National Archives Building
The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the headquarters of the United States National Archives and Records Administration. It is located north of the National Mall at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Penn ...
,
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 ...
* 1936: Dixie Plantation House,
Greenville, Florida
* 1938–1941:
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
,
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 ...
* 1939–1942:
Jefferson Memorial,
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 ...
See also
*
:John Russell Pope buildings
*
Eggers & Higgins
References
*
*
*
*
Bibliography
* Bedford, Steven McLeod. ''John Russell Pope: Architect of Empire'', New York: 1998.
* Garrison, James B.
Mastering Tradition: The Residential Architecture of John Russell Pope'. New York: Acanthus Press, 2004.
External links
*
*
John Russell Pope's Master Plan for Dartmouth, 1919Pictures and Info on John Russell Pope's Historic Long Island Commissions* "Blanchard Randall Papers,1914–1969" Baltimore Museum Of Art
* "Architect John Russell Pope's Baltimore" March 31 – August 1, 2004. The Baltimore Museum of Art.
Smith, H. D. "Recent Domestic Architecture from the Designs of John Russell Pope." ''The Brickbuilder'', Vol. XXV, No. 8, August 1916. pp. 189-204 and following plates.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, John Russell
1874 births
1937 deaths
Architects from New York City
Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni
American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts
Olympic silver medalists in art competitions
Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Art competitors at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Art competitors at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Fellows of the American Institute of Architects