Stockton Beekman Colt (March 20, 1863 – June 22, 1937) was an American architect noted for using the Renaissance style. A graduate of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

, Colt apprenticed with

George B. Post George Browne Post (December 15, 1837 – November 28, 1913) was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. He was recognized as a master of modern American architecture as well as being instrumental in the birth of the skyscrap ...

in New York City. In 1894, he was a founding partner in Trowbridge, Colt & Livingston with

Goodhue Livingston Goodhue Livingston (February 23, 1867 – June 3, 1951) was an American architect who co-founded the firm of Trowbridge & Livingston. He designed the St. Regis Hotel, the Hayden Planetarium, and numerous buildings listed on the National Register ...

and

Samuel Beck Parkman Trowbridge Trowbridge & Livingston was an architectural practice based in New York City in the early 20th-century. The firm's partners were Samuel Beck Parkman Trowbridge and Goodhue Livingston. Often commissioned by well-heeled clients, much of the firm' ...

. Colt struck out on his own after three years and later formed partnerships with

John Stewart Barney John Stewart Barney (October 12, 1867 - November 22, 1925) was an American architect and painter in New York City. His partnerships included Barney and Chapman and Barney & Colt, the firm responsible for the Emmet Building. Among his extant desi ...

and Thornton Chard His New York City practice specialized in large private homes for the wealthy in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, New Jersey, and elsewhere in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Built from 1895 to 1896, the Nathaniel L. McCready House, the 1899 Anna Jackson and William Walton Rutherfurd House, and the 1913

Arthur Curtiss James Arthur Curtiss James (June 1, 1867 – June 4, 1941) was a wealthy speculator in copper mines and railroads. Early life He was the son of Daniel Willis James and Ellen S. Curtiss. His grandfather was Daniel James (businessman), Daniel James, o ...

Carriage House are surviving examples of his residential work and are part of the

Upper East Side Historic District The Upper East Side Historic District is a landmarked historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some cou ...

in New York City. Clot also designed commercial buildings in New York City. Two of his early 20th-century skyscrapers survive–the Barclay Building (also known as the Ungar Building) and the

Emmet Building The Emmet Building is a historic 16-story building located at 89–95 Madison Avenue at 29th Street, in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by John Stewart Barney and Stockton B. Colt of the architectural firm ...

. The latter is considered the first New York City skyscraper with a residence and is also notable for its experimental ornamentation where Colt tested the limits of

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...

. The Emmett Building is a

New York City Landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

and is also located in the

Madison Square North Historic District __NOTOC__ The Madison Square North Historic District is in Manhattan, New York City, and was created on June 26, 2001 by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Historic District lies primarily within the Manhattan neighborhood known a ...

. Colt was both architect and engineer for the Barclay Building. For this project, he experimented with new materials and design techniques to create a fireproof building. At the time, the profession viewed it as the greatest advancement in building fireproofing. These safety innovations were continued in Colt's design for the Second Precinct Police Station on Greenwich Street in New York City in 1907; although this building was probably better known for completely reenvisioning the design and layout of a preinct station.

Early life

Colt was born in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. He was the son of Jane (née Barrow) and Elisha Boudinot Colt. The Colt family were early residents of Paterson known for manufacturing firearms. However, Colt's side of the family made their money as the nation's largest manufacturer of cotton duck for sails and through involvement in the Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufacturers (S.U.M.) which controlled the power generated by the

Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

of the

Passaic River Passaic River ( ) is a river, approximately long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, ...

. A graduate of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

, Boudinot Colt ran Passaic Manufacturing Company and its Duck Mill until the industry declined when clipper ships were replaced; he became the director of the Equitable Life Assurance Society in New York City around 1885 and moved the family to Newark in 1890, but continued as president of S.U.M. until 1895. Colt attended

, graduating with an architecture degree in 1888. At Columbia, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectari ...

Career

After graduating from Columbia, Colt apprenticed in the office of

in New York City. In 1894, he was a founding partner in Trowbridge, Colt & Livingston in New York City with

and

. Livingstone, like Colt, studied architecture at Columbia University. However, Colt quit the partnership three years later in 1897, opening his independent practice at 287 4th Avenue in New York City. In 1912, he formed Barney & Colt with

, with offices at 40 West 38th Street in New York City. Barney had also attended Columbia University and worked for George B. Post. The duo's first collaboration was most likely the Emmet Building. This partnership lasted until around 1922. Overlapping his work with Barney, Colt also collaborated with architect Thornton Chard in the early 20th century—as Stockton Beekman Colt and Thornton Chard, Associated Architects. One of their projects was a neo-Georgian house at 68 East 56th Street in New York City. Colt retired from architecture in 1928.

Projects

Colt preferred to work in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...

. He specialized in large private homes in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, and elsewhere in

. However, he also designed commercial buildings in New York City

Nathaniel L. McCready House

The Nathaniel L. McCready House was built from 1895 to 1896 at 4 East 75th Street in New York City. It was designed by Trowbridge, Colt & Livingston in the neo-French Renaissance style with Francois I style detailing. The 25-room mansion is four-stories tall and wide, unusually wide for New York City. Its exterior is limestone with a wrought-iron balcony that runs the length of the second story. There are swags and garlands at the crest of the slate roof, along with three

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

s. The ''New-York Tribune'' wrote, “Mr. and Mrs. McCready...are the possessors of one of the most beautiful homes in New York, and so thoroughly French that it looks as if it might have been brought over from Paris and set down in Seventy-fifth St.” Today, this house is part of the

Rutherfurd House

In 1899, Colt designed a neo-Georgian façade for the preexisting home of newlyweds Anna Jackson and William Walton Rutherfurd. Dating from around 1871, the five-story house is located at 14

East 74th Street 74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...

in New York City. Colt removed its original brownstone exterior, giving the house a mansard roof, second-story balcony with ornate ironwork, and stone work for the base and window

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case o ...

s. This house is now part of the

Barclay Building

Courtyard of Second Precinct Police Station New York City 1910

The U-shaped Barclay Building was built in 1905 at 299

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and Duane Street in New York City. It is twenty-stories, with two of those levels underground. The exterior of the building has three finishes: the first four stories are of

Indiana limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone ...

, the next nine stories are in red brick, and the top five stories are finished in

. At the top there is an overhanging

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

, making the terracotta section resemble a

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

. ''Architects and Buildings Magazine'' wrote, "The exterior of the building is of plain dignified design and gives one the impression of a very substantial construction which further knowledge of the building verifies." On the interior, the first two floors had walls paneled in marble with bronze metalwork. The upper floors had five-foot tall marble wainscotting in the hallways. The stairways and eight elevators had ornamental ironwork by

Hecla Iron Works Brooklyn Bowl is a music venue, bowling alley and restaurant in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2009, it is located in the former Hecla Iron Works Building at 61 Wythe Avenue. It is known for its high-tech green co ...

. Colt included new technologies such as an electric clock system linked throughout the building and a vacuum air sweeping system with four hook-ups on each floor to transport the collected dust in the basement. There was also a chilled and filtered water fountain on each floor, constructed out of marble. Colt was not only responsible for the design of the Barclay Building but also for its engineering. The building's electricity was created by dynamos in the basement, and heating was a mixture of forced air and steam heat. Colt used steel frame construction, but in an atypical technique called

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

. In addition to the benefits of the steel framing, he ensured fire safety by using hollow–tiles, cement floors, and Mississippi Wire Glass for windows and skylights. He even covered the wood trim throughout the building with sheet metal, and included high-velocity standpipes throughout the building to feed water to linen firehoses. ''American Architecture and Building News'' wrote, “The design of the Barclay Building realizes, perhaps, the greatest advance made, to date, in the elimination of combustible materials." The building was renovated in 1989 and 2017 is now known as the Unger Building.

New York City renovations

In 1906, Colt converted the first two stories of 113 Nassau Street into a restaurant for the Codington Luncheon Company. This was an $8,000 project (equivalent to $ in today's money). In 1907, he enlarged and remodeled the four-story home of J. P. Whiton-Stuart at 8 East 54th Street. The $15,000 (equivalent to $ in today's money) project included adding a brick

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

façade with marble trim, a deck house, and an elevator. In 1908, Colt designed a rear extension for Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet's house at 89 Madison Avenue. Emmet would return to Colt for a bigger project a few years later—a skyscraper called the

Second Precinct Police Station

In 1907, Colt and Chard designed a police station for New York City. Located at 156–158 Greenwich Street, the four-story Second Precinct Police Station was in

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the tra ...

style and cost $182,979, nearly $ in today's money. The building was described as "a dignified, substantial structure". On the exterior, the station's first story and mezzanine level were finished in Deer Island

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

, with red brick covering the upper levels. The top-level included three large bay windows. The building was capped with

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

carved from limestone. Its gates, lamps, and window guards were made from wrought iron fabricated by Harris H. Uris Iron Works. The heavy iron gates provided both security and privacy. The interior layout departed from the typical New York City police station. The goal was to provide privacy for the muster room, the lieutenant's desk, and the area where prisoners exited the patrol wagon. Colt and Chard accomplished this by having a central court, accessed by a driveway from either Greenwich Street or Washington Street. The courtyard also led to the stables with their own ventilation system. The morgue was adjacent to the stables and also had separate ventilation. There was also a garage for the repair and storage of automobiles, as well as a gasoline pump house. Other main-level features include a separate entrance for reporters, reading and recreation rooms for police officers, and living quarters for a matron. There was also space to add an elevator. The cell blocks were three tiers tall and separated for men and women. There were thirty cells for men and fifteen cells for women, all built to modern standards with sanitation and ventilation, along with doors and windows that had tool-proof steel bars. The upper levels consisted of sleeping quarters for the policemen, including twelve private rooms with toilets for the officers and nine dormitories that housed 160 men. The dorms included toilets, showers, lockers, and drier rooms for wet boots and clothing. The dormitories were basic, but built to hospital standards for spacing and with hospital finishes throughout. The roof had a gymnasium that could also serve as a kitchen and mess hall in case of a riot. The basement contained boilers, coal storage, a repair shop, and storage for evidence. To fireproof the building, Colt and Chard added block partitions, terracotta floor arches, steel girders, and steel floor beams. The stairways were iron and slate, and there was marble wainscotting in the muster room. In addition, the public areas had

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

and cement floors and marble wainscotting in the vestibule. In 1962, the Second Precinct Police Station was razed for the construction of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

complex.

Emmet Building

The sixteen-story

was built between 1911 and 1912 at 95 Madison Avenue in

, New York City. There is also a second entrance at 26 East 29th Street. Colt designed this skyscraper in partnership with

for Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, a prominent gynecological surgeon. The building included commercial spaces and wholesale showrooms, as well as the penthouse residence and roof gardens of Emmet and his family. The design combined the then-modern steel-frame construction with ornamentation in the

French Renaissance style French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Fran ...

, against an overall

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

structure. The lower three stories are faced with

veneers that are decorated with widely spaced green marble columns inlaid with limestone stripes and capped with composite

Corinthian capitals The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

surrounded by

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fe ...

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry wall ...

s, and medieval figures. The upper stories are finished in grey and olive green terracotta, and the middle ten-stories have projecting vertical pilasters with cast iron

spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...

s decorated with scroll and shield motifs. The Emmet Building's ornamentation was notable because Barney & Colt tested the limits of terracotta and the skills of the sculptors by calling for "larger-than standard pieces", The crown of the building consists of five-stories "liberally encrusted with

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

motifs including

baluster A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

columns, elaborate

s, foliate

grotesques Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

, console brackets, herms, and a mansard roof with stepped dormers." The roof was originally covered with red tile. The

New York City Landmark Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

says, "The building’s emphasis on verticality and its extravagant terracotta decoration are emblematic of the New York City skyscraper style at the turn of the 20th-century." Barney & Colt also thought the terracotta was significant but for different reasons. They wrote, "The use of the terra cotta in this building requires particular and favorable comment, in that no attempt has been made to disguise the nature of the material, which is frankly a fireproofing for the steel work within." The marketing materials for the Emmet Building promoted its fireproofing, higher-than-usual ceilings, wide-set columns, and modern

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...

and electrical systems. Other fire safety elements included a masonry-enclosed fire escape that was accessible on each floor. It is believed that this was the first New York City skyscraper to include a residence, other than a janitor's quarters. Designing a skyscraper to meet the exacting demands of Dr. Emmet's residence was an interesting challenge for Barney & Colt, as they had to mix commercial practically with the distinctive architectural style a wealthy client desires for their home. They used the entire top floor for the penthouse and its gardens. The penthouse included French doors to balconies, bedrooms with adjourning bathrooms, a breakfast room, a conservatory, a dining room, kitchens, a laundry room, a library, a study, a swimming pool, and servants' quarters. The hallways had Dutch tile flooring. The library was significant in size as Emmet collected books; it featured oak cabinets framed in blue and white Holland tiles, as well as a traditional iron grate. The main rooms opened to the rooftop garden with fountains, a

pergola A pergola is most commonly an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained. ...

, and a solarium. As one period writer noted, the penthouse was "perfect to detail, intended for the discerning owner of this magnificent property." In addition to the well-appointed penthouse, Emmet spared no expense of the spaces for his tenants. As a result, there was "an extensive and refreshing variety of decorations". The main entrance to the building featured various imported marbles and elevators with bronze fronts. Barney & Colt designed its light fixtures that ranged from ornate and artistic chandeliers to incandescent fixtures with simple shades. They even designed the roof to hide the water tanks, boiler flues, ventilation, and other "such unsightly things". For each tenant, Barney & Colt included private stairs, separate freight and passenger elevators, separate freight entrances, and mail chutes in each loft—leading to the Emmet Building being called "a building within a building". The

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

called the Emmet building "a terra cotta neo-Renaissance confection". It has been designated a

and is also located in the

Arthur C. James Carriage House

In 1913,

hired Barney & Colt to redesign his carriage house and stables at 147 East 69th Street. James was a railroad magnate and amongst the elite few who could afford a private carriage house in New York City. When automobiles became common, the carriage house was converted into a garage and chauffeur's residence. In 1988, the carriage house was converted into a single-family residence. Now considered a mansion, the former carriage house is part of the

Professional affiliations

Colt was a member of the

, the

Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines". The league dates from 1881, when Cass Gilbert organized meetings at the Salmagundi Club for ...

, the New Jersey Society of Architects, and the Union County Society of Architects. He was also a founding director of the Society of Columbia University Architects. He was active in the New Jersey Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. In 1911, Colt was chairman of the committee that organized an annual exhibition at the Newark Free Public Library which featured New Jersey's best architecture of the past two years. He was elected its vice president in 1917. Also in 1917, he chaired the group's committee to improve the appearance of

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

. Colt was in charge of a poster contest for an Industrial Exposition held by the Elizabeth Board of Trade in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

in 1913. In 1919, Colt was appointed to an Architects Committee to assist the State of New Jersey and its cities with memorials for soldiers.

Personal

Colt married Betty Waldberg Barclay in Cazenovia, New York on October 9, 1901. They had three sons and two daughters: Stockton Beekman Colt Jr. (born 1902), Rutger Barclay Colt (born 1904), Beatrice Boudinot Colt (born 1905), Cornelia Cochrane Colt (born 1907), and Sackett Barclay Colt (born 1912). He belonged to the St. Anthony Club of New York and the Union County Historical Society. He was also a member of Trinity Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey for more than 35 years. After a long illness, Colt died in his home at 910 Salem Avenue in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1937.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colt, Stockton B. 1863 births 1937 deaths People from Paterson, New Jersey Columbia University alumni St. Anthony Hall 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects Architecture firms based in New York City Architects from New York City Renaissance architects Architects from New Jersey American Episcopalians People from Elizabeth, New Jersey