Joseph Evans Sperry (1854–1930) 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 ...

, noted for designing buildings in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. He was born in Georgetown, South Carolina and later relocated to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, where he partnered with

James Bosley Noel Wyatt James Bosley Noel Wyatt (1847–1926) was an American architect and co-founder of the Wyatt & Nolting architectural partnership. Education Wyatt attended Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts ...

to form the architectural firm Wyatt and Sperry. Their affiliation lasted from 1878 to 1887.AIA Baltimore A Chapter History from 1870-2005, Charles Belfoure, pg. 91 The two probably became acquainted while working in the office of Architect, E. Francis Baldwin, where he worked from 1872 until 1876. With Wyatt, he designed a number of buildings around Baltimore before breaking off on his own. Sperry became one of Baltimore's leading architects, designing many public buildings, including churches, hospitals, and banks. In 1914 he was named a

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-memb ...

. Sperry also designed several buildings at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and one building at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

. Sperry's most famous building is probably the Emerson "Bromo-Seltzer" Tower in Baltimore. Sperry's buildings were designed in a variety of styles, but overall were eclectic. Sperry practiced architecture independently from 1888 until he died in 1930.

Selected works

*1891: Equitable Building, Baltimore, Maryland *1892: The

Eutaw Place Temple Eutaw Place Temple is a former Reform Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also trad ...

of congregation Oheb Shalom *1896: Brewers Exchange, Baltimore, Maryland *1897: St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Baltimore, Maryland *1911: Emerson "Bromo-Seltzer" Tower, Baltimore, Maryland *1914: Maryland Hall at

Whiting School of Engineering The Whiting School of Engineering is the engineering school of the Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. History The engineering department at Johns Hopkins was originally created in 1913 as an educatio ...

*1917:

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

Narragansett, Rhode Island Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupie ...

*1930: Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association Building, Baltimore, Maryland

References

*Withey, Henry F., A.I.A. and Elsie Raburn Withey, 1956. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased)'', (New Age Publishing Company, Los Angeles), 565.

External links

Biography of Joseph Evans Sperry, Baltimore Architecture Foundation

Baltimore Dead Architects Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sperry, Joseph Evans 19th-century American architects Architects from Baltimore Fellows of the American Institute of Architects 1854 births 1930 deaths 20th-century American architects