User:JPRiley/Wait

Olin Wesley Cutter was born September 1, 1851 in Charlestown, Massachusetts to Marshall Ney Cutter and Lauranna (Johnson) Cutter.Benjamin Cutter, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_the_Cutter_Family_of_New_En/MIxGAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 A History of the Cutter Family of New England], ed. William Richard Cutter (Woburn: William Richard Cutter, 1871) He was a draftsman in the office of Samuel J. F. Thayer by 1872. In 1879 he formed a partnership with R. Pote Wait,{{efn|name=RP Wait|Robert Pote Wait was born August 17, 1844 in Reading, Massachusetts to Windsor Bruce Wait and Hannah (Adams) Wait.[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vital_Records_of_Reading_Massachusetts_t/MQ9S87ZA4kkC?hl=en&gbpv=0 Vital Records of Reading, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850], ed. Thomas W. Baldwin (1912) He attended the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard University, graduating in 1863."Necrology," Harvard Graduates Magazine 6, no. 24 (June 1898): 612. He worked for Hartwell & Swasey and Samuel J. F. Thayer before establishing his partnership with Cutter in 1879.Boston and Brookline directories He died at home, March 12, 1898. His son, Charles R. Wait, was also an architect and was a member of the firms of E. M. Parsons & Company and Parsons & Wait.}} another Thayer employee, which was known as Wait & Cutter. Though many of their early projects were small scale public and private buildings, in 1885 they were selected to design the new City Hall of Richmond, Virginia in competition."The Richmond Court-house Competition," American Architect and Building News'' 18, no. 502 (August 8 1885): 37. However, the award was overturned and given over to Elijah E. Myers in 1886.[https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/69000327 City Hall NRHP Registration Form] (1969) In 1888, they participated in the competition to design the Lowell City Hall and Lowell City Library, though their proposals were not accepted. These two losses were quickly followed by a series of state armories and county courthouses.

Wait & Cutter were selected as architects of many of the armories built in Massachusetts in the 1880s and 1890s. These were authorized by the Massachusetts General Court in 1888 in what was commonly called the Armory Act. The Act created the Armory Commission, which built the armories, and the Armory Loan Fund, which funded them. Built in response to the perceived threat of the labor unrest of the 1870s and 1880s, these buildings were typically built in a crenellated style to assert authority.Nancy L. Todd, New York's Historic Armories (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006) In contrast, their courthouses were all inspired by Beaux-Arts architecture. Wait and Cutter worked together for over fifteen years, but dissolved their partnership effective January 1, 1897 when Wait retired due to his failing health."Business Changes," Boston Daily Advertiser, January 1 1897, 5."Death of R. P. Wait, Architect," American Architect and Building News 60, no. 1162 (April 2 1898): 2. This may have been exacerbated by investigations into potential political corruption surrounding the reconstruction of the courthouse in Dedham."It Is Over," Boston Daily Advertiser, June 4 1896, 1 and 2.

After Wait's retirement and death, Cutter continued the practice under his own name for another twenty five years. He designed one more armory, in New Bedford, as well as courthouses in Malden and Utica, New York. In 1903 Cutter was chosen architect of the new Oneida County Courthouse in Utica in association with Ward & Turner, also Boston architects. By the time construction began in 1905, the partnership of Ward & Turner had been dissolved, with junior partner Alfred C. Turner continuing as Cutter's associate. Like his other courthouses, Cutter looked to Beaux-Arts architecture for inspiration. After construction got underway, Ward and Turner also were chosen as architects of a local department store. The former project was completed in 1909, the latter in 1907. Cutter designed fewer buildings after the completion of the courthouse, possibly as a result of further corruption allegations as well as litigation with Middlesex County. He designed a few more projects towards the end of his life, including an unbuilt tuberculosis hospital in Waltham for Middlesex County."Cutter as Architect," Cambridge Chronicle, May 19 1917, 10. Just before his death in 1921 he was chosen as architect for a new district courthouse in Malden,"Iron & Steel Construction News" in [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ironworker/Jgk2AQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Bridgemen's Magazine] 21, no. 3 (March 1921): 159. but due to his death the project was carried out by his former employee, Charles R. Greco.[https://mhc-macris.net/#!/details?mhcid=MAL.489 Historic Building Detail: MAL.489]

Cutter married Ida Gist Kingsley in 1879. They had one child, Harold Francis Cutter, a civil engineer who commited suicide in 1910 at the age of 28."Says Suicide Was His Son," Boston Daily Globe, December 5, 1910, 17.

From about 1882 until 1888 Cutter and his family lived in Newton, and then in Boston. About 1900 they moved to Brookline, where they lived for the remainder of Cutter's life. The family moved frequently, but from about 1908 to 1912 they lived in a Colonial Revival house at 16 Emerson Street which Cutter had designed for George P. Davis in 1893. After 1913, they lived in an apartment on Gorham Avenue.

Cutter practiced architecture until his death, which occured March 10, 1921 in Brookline."Deaths," Boston Daily Globe, March 11 1921, 16.

The architect Charles R. Greco worked for Wait & Cutter from 1893 to 1899,Samuel Atkins Eliot, "Charles R. Greco" in [https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Cambridge_Massachusetts_163/siPZKHPQ1rcC?hl=en&gbpv=0 A History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1630-1913, Together With Biographies of Cambridge People] (Cambridge: Cambridge Tribune, 1913): 270. and received Cutter's full support in 1902 when Cambridge Mayor John H. H. McNamee attempted to appoint Greco to the office of Superintendent of Buildings in place of William H. Gray."The New Apointee," Cambridge Tribune, February 8 1902, 4. After his death, Greco took over Cutter's unfinished work.

At least five buildings designed by Cutter have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and many others contribute to listed historic districts.

• Pilgrim Congregational Church, Nashua, New Hampshire (1881-82, demolished)"Proposals," American Architect and Building News 9, no. 286 (June 18 1881): xiii.
• Phillips School (former),{{efn|name=Salem|A contributing property to the Salem Common Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1976.}} Salem, Massachusetts (1882-83)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=SAL.2659 SAL.2659]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Evangelical Congregational Church of Easton, Easton, Massachusetts (1883)"Proposals," Sanitary Engineer 7, no. 15 (March 15 1883): 352.
• Hamilton School, Wakefield, Massachusetts (1883, demolished)"Obituary" in [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Architecture_and_Building/LA4aAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Architecture and Building] 28, no. 14 (April 2 1898): 118.
• Merrick Public Library,{{efn|name=Brookfield|A contributing property to the Brookfield Common Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1990.}} Brookfield, Massachusetts (1883-84)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=BKF.153 BKF.153]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Greenwood Union Church, Wakefield, Massachusetts (1884-85, NRHP 1989)
• House for R. Pote Wait, Wakefield, Massachusetts (1886-87, NRHP 1989)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=WAK.253 WAK.253]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Hall Memorial Library, Northfield, New Hampshire (1887, NRHP 1978)"Wait & Cutter" in Illustrated Boston: The Metropolis of New England (New York: American Publishing and Engraving Company, 1889): 205.[https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/78000217 Hall Memorial Library NRHP Registration Form] (1978)
• South Armory,{{efn|name=Shaw|Designed in association with consulting engineer Edward S. Shaw.}} Boston, Massachusetts (1889-91, demolished 1962)"The Roof of the South Armory Drill-hall," Engineering and Building Record 19, no. 21 (April 20 1889): 272.
• Middlesex County Clerk of Courts Building,{{efn|name=Middlesex|A contributing property to the East Cambridge Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1983.}} Cambridge, Massachusetts (1888-89)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=CAM.380 CAM.380]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Fitchburg Armory,{{efn|name=Fitchburg|A contributing property to the Monument Park Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1978.}} Fitchburg, Massachusetts (1891)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=FIT.4 FIT.4]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Lawrence Armory, Lawrence, Massachusetts (1892-93, demolished)Report of the Auditor of Accounts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the Year Ending December 31, 1892 (Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1893)Report of the Auditor of Accounts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the Year Ending December 31, 1893 (Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1894)
• Lincoln School (former), Wakefield, Massachusetts (1892)
• Expansion of the Norfolk County Courthouse,{{efn|name=Norfolk|Addition of a large southern wing and new dome.}} Dedham, Massachusetts (1892-95, NHL and NRHP 1972)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=DED.385 DED.385]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• House for George P. Davis,{{efn|name=Emerson|A contributing property to the Cypress–Emerson Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1985.}} Brookline, Massachusetts (1893)[https://mhc-macris.net/#!/details?mhcid=BKL.1634 Historic Building Detail: BKL.1634]
• Springfield Armory,{{efn|name=Gardner|In association with supervising architects Gardner, Pyne & Gardner of Springfield. Partially destroyed in the 2011 Springfield Tornado, later restored.}} Springfield, Massachusetts (1894-95, NRHP 1976)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=SPR.204 SPR.204]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Fall River Armory,{{efn|name=Destremps|In association with supervising architect Louis G. Destremps of Fall River. A contributing property to the Downtown Fall River Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1983.}} Fall River, Massachusetts (1895-97)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=FLR.3 FLR.3]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Expansion of the Middlesex County Courthouse,{{efn|name=Lowell|A contributing property to the South Common Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1982.}} Lowell, Massachusetts (1895-97)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.393 LOW.393]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Middlesex County Registry of Deeds and Probate Court,{{efn|name=Middlesex}} Cambridge, Massachusetts (1896-1900)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=CAM.379 CAM.379]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Remodeling of the Middlesex County Courthouse,{{efn|name=Middlesex}} Cambridge, Massachusetts (1898-1901)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=CAM.331 CAM.331]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• New Bedford Armory,{{efn|name=Bedford|A contributing property to the North Bedford Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1979.}} New Bedford, Massachusetts (1902-04)"[https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=NBE.2297 NBE.2297]", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 30 2021.
• Oneida County Courthouse,{{efn|name=Fraser}} Utica, New York (1905-09, altered 1955-59)"Construction News" in [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Engineering_News/ADNKAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Engineering News] 53, no. 23 (June 8 1905): 216
• Robert Fraser Department Store,{{efn|name=Fraser|Designed in association with Alfred C. Turner of Boston. A contributing property to the Downtown Genesee Street Historic District, NRHP-listed in 2016.}} Utica, New York (1905-07)Charles L. Hubbard, "The Heating and Ventilating of Stores" in [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Engineering_Review/wDg8AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Engineering Review] 18, no. 1 (January 1908): 2-5.

{{Gallery

|title=|align=center

|File:Merrick Public Library (Banister Memorial Hall) - Brookfield, Massachusetts - DSC02342.JPG

|Merrick Public Library, Brookfield, Massachusetts, 1883-84.

|File:WakefieldMA OldGreenwoodUnionChurch.jpg

|Greenwood Union Church, Wakefield, Massachusetts, 1884-85.

|File:WakefieldMA 6AdamsStreet.jpg

|House for R. Pote Wait, Wakefield, Massachusetts, 1886-87.

|File:NorthfieldNH HallMemorialLibrary 02.jpg

|Hall Memorial Library, Northfield, New Hampshire, 1887.

|File:Competitive design for Lowell City Hall, Wait & Cutter.jpg

|Rejected competition design for the Lowell City Hall and Lowell City Library, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1888.

|File:South Armory, Boston, Massachusetts.jpg

|South Armory, Boston, Massachusetts, 1888-91.

|File:Fitchburg Armory area.jpg

|Fitchburg Armory, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 1891.

|File:NorfolkCoCourt.JPG

|Expansion of the Norfolk County Courthouse, Dedham, Massachusetts, 1892-95.

|File:State Armory - Springfield, MA.JPG

|Springfield Armory, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1894-95.

|File:Bank Street Armory.jpg

|Fall River Armory, Fall River, Massachusetts, 1895-97.

|File:Middlesex Superior Court; Lowell, MA; north and west (front) sides; 2011-09-03.JPG

|Expansion of the Middlesex County Courthouse, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1895-97.

|File:Middlesex Probate and Family Court.jpg

|Middlesex County Registry of Deeds, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1896-1900.

|File:Utica, New York - 12 - Genesee Street looking southwest from Bleecker Street - 20210828.jpg

|Robert Fraser Department Store (center), Utica, New York, 1905-07.

|File:Oneida County Court House.jpg

|Oneida County Courthouse, Utica, New York, 1905-09.

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