Ithiel Town

Ithiel Town ( born October 3, 1784 in Thompson, Connecticut, † June 13 1844 in New Haven, Connecticut) was a noted American architect and civil engineer. As a member of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, he made ​​a major contribution to American architecture of the first half of the 19th century. His works in Classicism, Federal-style and in the Gothic Revival influenced contemporary architects and copied widely.

Life and work

Town was born as the son of Archelaus Town Farmers and his wife Martha the light of day in Thompson. He learned his craft at Asher Benjamin in Boston and began his independent career in 1810 with the Asa Gray House.

Among his earliest important architectural works built in the 1812-1815 Center Church and the resulting 1813-1813 Trinity Church, both of which belong in the New Haven Green in New Haven. He demonstrated his skill as an engineer by the construction of the bell stalls for the Center Church, which he had composed in the tower and then lifted up with a special windlass in less than three hours to its final location. Trinity Church was one of the earliest churches in the Gothic Revival style in North America.

In 1825, Town was one of the founding members of the National Academy of Design and was honored with an honorary master's from Yale University.

Town shear bar support

On January 28, 1820 Town acquired the patent for the construction of a wooden lattice girder, the (English Town's Lattice Truss ), was known as the Town shear bar support or Town'scher bar carrier. The support was of great importance, as this bridges could be built by relatively low-skilled workers using prefabricated material. The design of the girder also avoided the necessity of wide pillars, as they required stone arch bridges. The design spread throughout the United States and made Town to a wealthy man, as he averaged one to two dollars per foot length of the bridge as a license fee. Towns construction can still be seen at various bridges, located in Connecticut about to Bull 's Bridge in Kent and the West Cornwall Bridge between Cornwall and Sharon as well as in New York at the Eagleville Bridge, or Shushan Bridge, both located in Washington County. Many other covered bridges in the United States also apply the construction Towns.

Town and Davis

Town was formed in 1825 together with Alexander Jackson Davis one of the first professional architectural firms in the United States. Together they worked on a number of important buildings, the spectrum extended over various architectural styles of historicism. 1829-1830 Town traveled in Europe.

The company existed until 1835; for eighteen months it was 1832/1833 to James H. Dakin. Her work included the State Capitol in New Haven, the City Hall and the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, the Indiana State House (1831-1840, demolished 1877) and the North Carolina State Capitol ( 1833-1840 ) and the U.S. Custom House (now Federal Hall ) in New York City ( 1833-1842 ). During this time, Town also designed the Potomac Aqueduct in Washington, DC (1833-1843), which allowed fully laden canal barges to cross the Potomac River and was considered one of the most remarkable engineering achievements of its time.

Home and library

Town designed his home in New Haven on Hillhouse Avenue in the neoclassical style. Here he kept on his extraordinary collection of literature to architecture. His library included more than 11,000 books and prints, and was much larger than any other personal collection of books of that time, including that of Sir John Soane in London. The library had been collected, as published only a few important books on architecture in the United States. Town left behind at his death many of his books from Yale University, and the rest was sold.

1839 Town commissioned the renowned American painter Thomas Cole with the making of a painting entitled The Architect 's Dream, which hangs in the Toledo Museum of Art now.

Towns house later belonged to Joseph Earl Sheffield, the founder of the Sheffield Scientific School. The building no longer exists.

Death

Town died on June 13, 1844, in New Haven and was buried in the Grove Street Cemetery there.

Selected works

• Asa Gray House, Cambridge, Massachusetts., 1810. Federal Style.
• Center Church, New Haven, Connecticut, 1812-1815. Federal Style.
• Trinity Church, New Haven, Connecticut, 1813-1816, Gothic Revival.
• Samuel Wadsworth Russell House, Wesleyan University, Middletown, 1828th Neoclassicism.
• Aaron Skinner House, New Haven, Connecticut (now Yale International Center of Finance), Town and Davis, 1832. Neoclassicism.
• History of North Carolina State Capitol, Raleigh, North Carolina, Town and Davis, 1840. Neoclassicism.
• U.S. Custom House, now Federal Hall, New York City, Town and Davis, 1833-1842. Neoclassicism.
• Apthorp House, New Haven, Connecticut (now Evans Hall, Yale School of Management ), Town and Davis, 1836
• State capitol, New Haven, Connecticut, 1837. Neoclassicism. Demolished.
• Indiana State House, Town and Davis, 1840. 1877 demolished.
• Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, 1842. Neugotik.
• Leake and Watt 's Children 's Home, New York City, 1843. Neugotik.
• Ithiel Town ( Sheffield ) Mansion, New Haven, Connecticut. Neoclassicism. Demolished.

Writings (selection )

• A Description of Ithiel Town's Improvement in the Construction of Wood and Iron Bridges (New Haven, 1821)
• A Detail of Some Particular Services Performed in America, During the Years 1776, 1777, 1778 and 1779, Compiled from Journals and Original Papers ... taken from the Journal Kept on Board of the Ship ' Rainbow' Commanded By Sir George Collier ( New York, 1835)
• Atlantic Steamships. Ideas and Statements, The Result of Considerable Reflection on the Subject of Navigating the Atlantic Ocean with Steam Ships of large tonnage. So, the Arrival, Description, and Departure of the Two First British Steam Ships ( Wiley & Putnam / JP Wright, New York, 1838)