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William Washburn (1808-1890) was an American architect practicing in Boston, Massachusetts.

Life and career

William Washburn was born October 7, 1808 in Lyme, New Hampshire,"Mr. William Washburn," Engineering News 24, no. 45 (November 8 1890): 419. and moved to Boston when he was quite young.

Washburn's education and training is unknown, though he may have received some instruction from the architect from the architect Isaiah Rogers. Regardless, in 1830 he was Rogers' assistant in that architects' conversion of the old State House into the Boston City Hall.Re-dedication of the Old State House, Boston, July 11, 1882 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1883)

He first appears in the Boston directories in 1831, as a housewright, at the same address as his brothers, Jeremiah and Theodore. By 1833 the brothers had formed a partnership, J. Washburn & Brothers, housewrights.Boston Directories, 1830-1890. In this capacity Washburn was designer of some of the buildings built by that firm, including Grace Episcopal Church in 1835 and the National Theatre in 1836.W. S., "Grace Church," American Magazine 2, no. 10 (June 1836): 414. After his older brothers' insolvency broke up the Washburn partnership sometime in 1843, Washburn joined fellow carpenter Charles W. Brown, as Charles W. Brown & Company. From 1839, Washburn was a member of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. In 1846 the Association initiated the Revere House project, and Washburn was appointed building committeemember, designer and superintendent."William Washburn," in Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1892): 554-555. At this time his partnership with Brown was dissolved.

The Boston directories first note Washburn as an Architect in 1849, at which time he was in partnership with Charles A. Alexander. Washburn & Alexander was dissolved in 1851, when Alexander relocated to Portland, Maine.[https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/77000063.pdf Chestnut Street Methodist Church NRHP Registration Form] (1977) Washburn was again alone until about 1854, when he was joined by Edwin Lee Brown and Washburn & Brown. By 1856 Brown had been replaced by Frederick H. Moore. Washburn & Moore was dissolved the following year, when Moore relocated to Keokuk, Iowa.[https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/84001270_text E. H. Harrison House NRHP Registration Form] (1984) Washburn again practiced alone until 1860, when he was joined by his son Moses Washburn in the firm of William Washburn & Son. Father and son were together until at least 1872. From 1873 directories place them at the same business address, but no formal partnership is noted. Washburn continued to practice until his death, but few projects are noted after 1880.

William Washburn died October 31, 1890 in Boston. Obituaries were published in the American Architect and Building News"Death of William Washburn," American Architect and Building News 30, no. 776 (November 8 1890): 77. and Engineering News.

Political life

Washburn was active in City politics during the buildup to the Civil War. He would run for office a number of times in the 1840s and 1850s on several party tickets. He lost all of these until 1853, when he was chosen to represent Ward 6 in the Common Council of Boston as a Free Soiler."Affairs in and About the City," Atlas (Boston), May 19 1853, 2. In 1854 he was elected to the Board of Alderman, now on the Know Nothing ticket."The Mayoralty, Etc.," Atlas (Boston), December 4 1854, 2."Municipal Election," Atlas (Boston), December 12 1854, 2. In January he was elected chairman of the board."Boston Municipal Government," Boston Daily Advertiser, January 2 1855, 1. Later that year he became a member of the emerging Republican Party,"Republican Meeting in Ward Six," Atlas (Boston), October 15 1855, 1. and resigned his Alderman's seat soon after."City Affairs," Boston Daily Advertiser, November 22 1855, 1. He remained a vocal supporter of the Republicans, and at his death was noted as a vocal opponent of slavery.

Jeremiah Washburn dies 1847, aged 50."Deaths," Atlas (Boston), July 27 1847, 2.

Theodore Washburn dies 1848, age 43"Deaths," Atlas (Boston), November 27 1848, 2.

Architectural works

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! Year !! Building !! Address !! City !! State !! Notes !! Image !! Reference

1835Grace Episcopal Church41 Temple StBostonMassachusettsPurchased by the North Russell Street M. E. Church in 1865, and known as the First M. E. Church of Boston from 1873. Demolished in the 20th century.100pxPhoebe B. Stanton, The Gothic Revival and American Church Architecture (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1968)
1836National Theatre129 Portland StBostonMassachusettsBurned in 1852.100pxJames Fisher, "National Theatre," Historical Dictionary of American Theatre: Beginnings (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015)
1840United States HotelBeach and Lincoln StsBostonMassachusettsDemolished.100pxDenys Peter Myers, "The Greek Revival," in Maine Forms of American Architecture, ed. Deborah Thompson (Waterville, ME: Colby College of American Art, 1976): 95-140.
1847Revere HouseBowdoin SquareBostonMassachusettsThe 1804-built mansion of Kirk Boott was incorporated into the new hotel, accounting for the unusual shape of the building. Washburn was also responsible for a large addition in 1848."Enlargement of the Revere House," Atlas (Boston). October 23 1848, 2. Demolished in 1919.100pxJane Holtz Kay, Lost Boston (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1980)
1848Sagadahoc House72 Front StBathMaineBurned in 1894.
1851American House56 Hanover StBostonMassachusettsDemolished in 1935.100px
1851State Street Church159 State StPortlandMaineExtant, but altered. The exterior was rebuilt in 189X to a design by John Calvin Stevens, though the interior remains largely as designed by Washburn.State Street Church, Portland, Maine, 1852-1902: Services in Commemoration of the Organization of the Church, March 17, 1852, and of the Dedication of the New House of Worship, June 2, 1852 (Portland, ME: State Street Church, 1902)
1852Remodeling of the Cattle Fair HotelWashington and Market StsBrighton, BostonMassachusettsOriginally built in 1830. On the exterior, the work included a third floor and a central portico. Demolished.William P. Marchione, The Bull in the Garden: A History of Allston-Brighton (Boston: Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Boston, 1986)
1853First Baptist Church12 Somerset StBostonMassachusettsDemolished.100pxRev. Rollin Heber Neale, An Address Delivered on the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Organization of the First Baptist Church, Boston, June 7, 1865 (Boston: Gould & Lincoln, 1865)
1853Tremont Temple88 Tremont StBostonMassachusettsDemolished in 1894.100px
1854Wood's Hotel148 Middle StPortlandMaineAlso called Wood's Marble Hotel or the Marble Hotel. The hotel was largely completed by 1855, but never opened. Its owner, John M. Wood, died in 1864. The unfinished, unfurnished hotel was destroyed in the fire of 1866."Valuable Hotel Property for Sale," Boston Daily Advertiser, November 20 1865, 2.John Neal, Account of the Great Conflagration of Portland, July 4th and 5th, 1866 (Portland: Starbird and Twitchell, 1866)
1855Parker House60 School StBostonMassachusettsWashburn was also responsible for additions in 1860 and 1866. When a final major addition was added 1885, the job instead went to Gridley J. F. Bryant. Demolished in 1926.100pxRoger G. Reed, Building Victorian Boston: The Architecture of Gridley J. F. Bryant (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2006)
1858House for Henry A. Fuller79 Raymond StCambridgeMassachusetts"Real Estate," Boston Daily Advertiser, April 30 1861, 4.
1863Houses for James French610-630 Tremont StBostonMassachusetts"Sales by Auction," Boston Daily Advertiser, April 17 1863, 3."For Sale for Investment," Boston Daily Advertiser, April 22 1864, 3.
1867Alterations to the Massachusetts State House57 Hancock StBostonMassachusettsVarious alterations to both the exterior and exterior, largely reversed in later restorations. However, some of Washburn's alterations remain. On the exterior, these include the cornice and balustrade, which were raised in order to accomodate an additional level. On the interior, his renovation to the modern Senate chamber is largely intact.100px"Improvement of the State House," Lowell (MA) Daily Citizen, June 5 1867, 2.
1868Charlestown City Hall (former)3 City SquareCharlestown, BostonMassachusettsDemolished in 1913.100px
1870House for Charles Roberts57 Hancock StBostonMassachusetts100pxKeith N. Morgan, Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2009)
1874Beethoven Hall617 Washington StBostonMassachusettsRebuilt in 1879 as the Park Theatre, demolished in 1990.City of Boston: Report of the Inspector of Buildings for the Year 1874 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1875)
1881Adams House559 Washington StBostonMassachusettsDemolished.American Architect and Building News 10, no. 305 (October 29 1881): 212.

Notes

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References

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