Napoleon Eugene Charles Henry LeBrun (January 2, 1821 – July 9, 1901) 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 ...

. He began his career in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

designing churches and theatres including St. Augustine's Church, the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Philadelphia Academy of Music. He moved 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 ...

, established the firm Napoleon LeBrun & Sons and designed multiple additional churches. He became the official architect of the Fire Department of New York and designed 42 firehouses between 1879 and 1895. He also designed early skyscrapers in New York City such as the

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower (colloquially known as the Met Life Tower and also as the South Building) is a skyscraper occupying a full block in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City. The building is composed of ...

and the Home Life Building.

Biography

In Philadelphia

LeBrun was born on January 2, 1821, in Philadelphia to Charles and Adelaide (Madelaine) LeBrun. Both parents were well-educated Catholics born in France. His father supported the family by working as an author, teacher and translator. LeBrun's early architectural training began at the age of 15 when he worked in the offices of Thomas Ustick Walter. In 1847, LeBrun designed the St. Augustine Church in Philadelphia. After six years with Walter, LeBrun left to set up his own office in 1841, eventually receiving as his major commissions the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul (1846–1864) and the Academy of Music (1857). As a young man in his twenties, LeBrun found opportunity in the booming industrial development of the Schuylkill Valley of Pennsylvania in the 1840s. His other early work includes the original version of Trinity Episcopal Church, Pottsville (1847), still standing though much altered by later revisions. His design for the church led to the commission for the Schuylkill County Prison (1851) when the county seat moved from Orwigsburg to Pottsville. He also designed the first Columbia County Courthouse in Bloomsburg and the 1854 Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. Although both were later extensively redesigned and expanded, the notable marble facade of the Montgomery County Courthouse remains his outward and identifying creation. In Philadelphia, LeBrun was known for his many churches, including not only St. Augustine's and the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, but also St. Patrick's Catholic Church (1841) on 20th Street and the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany (1848) on 17th Street, now St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church.

In New York City

In 1864, LeBrun relocated his office and family to

, establishing his reputation there with the Masonic Temple (1870-1875) on West 23rd Street in Manhattan, designed in the

Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly Eclecticism in architecture, eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many differe ...

; in 1911 the Temple was torn down to be replaced with the current Masonic Building designed by Harry P. Knowles. In 1870, LeBrun's son, Pierre, joined the firm, which became "Napoleon LeBrun & Son" in 1880, and in 1892 "Napoleon LeBrun & Sons" after his younger son Michel also joined. As in Philadelphia, LeBrun and his firm, often with Pierre as the lead architect, designed numerous churches in New York City, including the Roman Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist (1872) on West 31st Street and the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin (1894–1895) on West 46th Street in the Theater District neighborhood. St Mary's was the first church in the world to be designed with a concealed steel skeleton, for this reason it was known in its early days as the "Chicago Church", after the Chicago school of architecture, which was largely responsible for the use of steel skeletons in skyscraper construction. Other ecclesiastical commissions included the Seventh Presbyterian Church (1842, demolished), the Scots (or Second) Presbyterian Church (1843, no longer extant), the Church of St. Peter the Apostle (German Catholic) on 5th Street (1843, no longer extant), the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Holy Nativity in Philadelphia (1844, demolished 2013), the Lombard-style Church of the Epiphany (1869–1870, burned down), and St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church on East 12th Street, for which LeBrun designed a French Gothic sanctuary in 1871 which sat behind the original 1847 facade; in 2006 everything but that facade was demolished - it now stands freely in front of a college dormitory built on the site of the sanctuary. His office is also responsible for the current St. Michael's Church (34th Street, Manhattan) church, rectory, convent, and school (1904–1907), which incorporate elements of an earlier church by Lawrence J. O'Connor which was demolished for the construction of the North River Tunnels and Pennsylvania Station. In 1879, LeBrun served as the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

representative on the Board of Examiners of the Building Bureau of the Fire Department. He became the official architect of the

Fire Department of New York The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

and between 1879 and 1895, his firm designed 42 buildings, including fire houses, a fire pier and a warehouse. He also designed some of the earliest

skyscrapers A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

, including the

and the Home Life Building.

Death

LeBrun died in 1901 in New York City, and was buried in

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

in Philadelphia.

Gallery

File:2013 Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul from across the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.jpg , Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul (1846–1864) in Philadelphia File:2013 Academy of Music from north.jpg , The Academy of Music in Philadelphia (1857) File:Masonic Temple, N.Y, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views crop.jpg , The now-demolished Masonic Temple in Manhattan (1875) which helped established LeBrun's reputation in New York City File:St. John the Baptist Church steeple.jpg , The steeple of the Church of St. John the Baptist (1872) in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

File:DCTV-DN-firehouse-800x600.jpg, Firehouse, Engine Company 31

References

Citations Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebrun, Napoleon 1821 births 1901 deaths 19th-century American architects 19th-century American businesspeople American company founders American people of French descent Defunct architecture firms based in New York City American ecclesiastical architects Architecture firms based in Pennsylvania Architects from Philadelphia Architects of Roman Catholic churches Architects of cathedrals Artists from Philadelphia Architects from New York City Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Chicago school architects