John Stevens (1824–1881) 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 practiced in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He was known for ecclesiastical design, and designed churches and other buildings across

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

Life and career

John Stevens was born in 1824.Reed, Roger G. "The Lost Victorian Campus". ''Academy Hill: The Andover Campus, 1778 to the Present''. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000. His early life is unknown, and he established himself as an architect in Boston in 1850.Morgan, Keith N. ''Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston''. 2009. After several years primarily designing schools and private residences, he began receiving commissions for churches by the end of the 1850s. He built these churches, generally in the Romanesque Revival style, in Massachusetts,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. From 1860 to 1862 he employed Archimedes Russell, who would later become a prominent architect in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. In 1869 he was briefly associated with S. F. Pratt, at which time he was working on buildings at

Oak Bluffs Oak Bluffs is a town located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,341 at the 2020 United States census. It is one of the island's principal points of arrival for summer touri ...

. He remained in Massachusetts until 1879, when he established a partnership with his son, J. Walter Stevens, and moved west to

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. John Stevens & Son operated until April 14, 1881, when Stevens died while on a visit to

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

Legacy

Stevens designed a great many churches. His Baptist church in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

, completed in 1878, was said to have been his 113th. Many of his churches were built on only three basic models, which he relied on throughout his career. His contemporaries criticized him for this repetitiveness. In 1878, an anonymous writer going by "Verax" wrote in regard to his St. John church: "and as the 'outline and general features are after the Byzantine period' we may expect something similar to Mr. Stevens's previous works, which may be seen in almost every city from Calais to Lynn."''American Architect and Building News'' 28 Sept. 1878: 111. Boston. At least six of his works have been listed individually on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, and several more contribute to listed historic districts.

Architectural works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, John 1824 births 1881 deaths Architects from Boston Architects from Saint Paul, Minnesota People from Worcester, Massachusetts