Whitney Warren

Warren was born in New York City on January 29, 1864. He was one of nine children born to George Henry Warren I (1823–1892) and Mary Caroline (née Phoenix) Warren (1832–1901).{{cite news |title=George Henry Warren |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1892/04/09/106887783.pdf |work=New York Times |date=April 9, 1892 |accessdate=2010-07-25 }} His siblings included Lloyd Warren, who was also an architect,{{cite news |title=Sleep-Walk Plunge Kills Lloyd Warren; Famous Architect Falls From His Sixth-Floor Apartment in Early Morning. Suicide Theory Discarded. Victim Had Suffered From Somnambulism. Created BeauxArts Institute |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/10/26/archives/sleepwalk-plunge-kills-lloyd-warren-famous-architect-falls-from-his.html |work=New York Times |date=October 26, 1922 |accessdate=2010-07-25 }} and George Henry Warren II,{{cite book|last1=Weeks|first1=Lyman Horace|title=Prominent Families of New York: Being an Account in Biographical Form of Individuals and Families Distinguished as Representatives of the Social, Professional and Civic Life of New York City|date=1898|publisher=Historical Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/prominentfamilie00week/page/604 604]|url=https://archive.org/details/prominentfamilie00week|accessdate=1 March 2018|language=en}} a stockbroker who was the father of Constance Whitney Warren.{{cite news |title=George H. Warren ... A Founder of Concern That Once Owned Metropolitan Opera's Home, Dies at 87. Kin Of Noted Architect. Graduate of Columbia and Its Law School, but Never Had Practiced. Formerly Broker |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/06/04/archives/george-h-warreni-realtybxoff-ioial-a-founder-of-concern-that-once.html |work=New York Times |date=June 4, 1943 |accessdate=2010-07-25 }} He was a cousin of the Goelets{{refn|group=lower-alpha|His sister Harriette Louise Warren (1854-1912) was married to Robert Goelet and was the mother of Robert Walton Goelet (1880–1941).}} and Vanderbilts{{refn|group=lower-alpha|His relative, Lucy Warren (1853–1894), was married to Benjamin Kissam (1818–1891), the brother of Maria (née Kissam) Vanderbilt (1821–1896), wife of William Henry Vanderbilt.}} and the grandson of U.S. Representative Jonas Phillips Phoenix.{{cite web |title=PHOENIX, Jonas Phillips - Biographical Information |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000319 |website=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |accessdate=13 July 2018}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Warren's paternal grandfather Nathan Warren (1777–1834) was the brother of Stephan Warren (1783–1847), father of Joseph M. Warren (1813–1896), a U.S. Representative from New York.{{cite book |title=Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation |date=1915 |publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company |page=357 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-kpAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA357 |accessdate=13 July 2018 |language=en}}}}

In 1883, he enrolled at Columbia University to study architecture, but only stayed for one year.{{cite web |title=Warren and Wetmore: Architects of the Vanderbilt |url=https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/about-us/history/warren-and-wetmore-architects-of-the-vanderbilt/ |website=www.vanderbiltmuseum.org |publisher=Vanderbilt Museum |accessdate=13 July 2018}} He was shown on official Columbia University records as a member of the class of 1885 of the School of Mines, Columbia University.{{Cite book|last=University|first=Columbia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4cfAAAAYAAJ&q=Whitney+Warren+columbia+school+of+mines&pg=PA47|title=Annual Register of Officers and Students|date=1881|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2NMAAAAYAAJ&q=Whitney+Warren+columbia+school+of+mines&pg=RA1-PA30|title=Columbia Spectator|date=1881|publisher=Spectator Publishing Company|language=en}} From 1884 until 1894, Warren spent ten years at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. There he studied under Honoré Daumet and Charles Girault,{{Cite EB1922|wstitle=Warren, Whitney}} and met fellow architecture student Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, who would, in 1897, join the Warren and Wetmore firm.

File:2011-09-24 17.42 Leuven, universiteitsbibliotheek ceg74154 foto4.jpg designed by Warren and built from 1921–1928]]

Warren returned to New York in 1894, and began practicing as an architect.{{cite web |title=Warren, Whitney, 1864-1943. Whitney Warren papers, 1914-1926: Guide. |url=http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~hou00340 |website=oasis.lib.harvard.edu |publisher=Houghton Library, Harvard Library, Harvard University |accessdate=12 July 2018}} One of his first clients was the lawyer Charles Delevan Wetmore. After their successful collaboration, Warren convinced Wetmore to become his partner and they organized Warren and Wetmore with Warren as the architect and Wetmore responsible for the business side of the firm.{{cite web |title=Warren & Wetmore architectural drawings and photographs, 1889-1938. |url=https://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/archival/collections/ldpd_3460596/ |website=www.columbia.edu |publisher=Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University |accessdate=13 July 2018}}

During World War I, Warren was involved in organizing the Comité des Étudiants Américains de l'École des Beaux-Arts Paris; a student-run charity in support of the French cause. He also supported actively the claims of Italy in the Adriatic, during and after the war. He was an intimate friend of Gabriele d'Annunzio, and was appointed diplomatic representative in the United States of the "Free State of Fiume". He was the author of Les Justes Revendications de l'Italie: la Question de Trente, de Trieste et de l'Adriatique. Many of his addresses, delivered 1914-1919, were published and widely distributed.

Warren retired in 1931, but occasionally served as consultant. Warren took particular pride in his design of the new library building of the Catholic University of Leuven, which was finished in 1928. The library was severely damaged by British and German forces during World War II, but was completely restored after the war.

Two of the firm's major works were the construction of Grand Central Terminal and of the Biltmore Hotel, both in New York City.

In 1884, Warren was married to Charlotte Augusta Tooker (1864–1951) in Newport, Rhode Island.{{cite news |title=A WEDDING IN NEWPORT {{!}} MR. WHITNEY WARREN, OF NEW-YORK, AND MISS TOOKER.FASHIONABLE SOCIETY WELL REPRESENTED—THE TOILETS OF THE LADIES—THE PRESENTS AND THE BRIDE'S HOUSE. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1884/07/18/106281231.pdf |accessdate=12 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=July 18, 1884}} Charlotte was the eldest daughter of Gabriel Mead Tooker, a prominent New York lawyer and member of Mrs. Astor's famous "Four Hundred". She was also the cousin of Col. Clermont Livingston Best's daughter, Annie Livingston Tooker Best, wife of Elizur Yale Smith, the son of Wellington Smith, members of the Yale family.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20195440/papa-bears-second-wife/ Papa Bear’s second wife, Baby Best's Long Quest of a Perfect Man], The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 02 Aug 1925, p. 87[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40549342/separation-of-elizur-yale-smith-annie/ Separation of Elizur Yale Smith & Annie Best], The Washington Post Washington, District of Columbia, 08 May 1908, p. 12{{cite book |last1=Nicholls |first1=Charles Wilbur de Lyon |title=The Ultra-fashionable Peerage of America: An Official List of Those People who Can Properly be Called Ultra-fashionable in the United States |date=1904 |publisher=G. Harjes |page=54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spcIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA54 |access-date=12 July 2018 |language=en}}[https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/06/mrs-vladimir-behr-a-society-figure-78.html Mrs. Vladimir Behr, A Society Figure, 78], The New York Times, 6 July, 1964 Together, they are the parents of:{{cite book |last1=Boughton |first1=James |title=Bouton--Boughton Family: Descendants of John Boution, a Native of France, who Embarked from Gravesend, Eng., and Landed at Boston in December, 1635, and Settled at Norwalk, Ct |date=1890 |publisher=J. Munsell's Sons |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nig3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA15 |accessdate=12 July 2018 |language=en}}

• Charlotte Augusta Warren (1885–1957), who married William Greenough in 1907.{{cite news |title=MISS WARREN A BRIDE. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Whitney Warren Weds William Greenough. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/12/27/106771891.pdf |accessdate=13 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=December 27, 1907}}
• Gabrielle Warren (1895–1971),{{cite news |title=Obituary 1 -- No Title |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9403EEDE1E3FE63ABC4953DFBE66838A669EDE |accessdate=13 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=July 31, 1971}} who married Reginald Bulkeley Rives (1890–1957),{{cite news |title=GUEST ON YACHT KILLED BY MAST; Reginald Rives of Newport Was a Retired Air Officer and Stock Broker Here Retired Stock Broker |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/07/01/84738987.pdf |accessdate=13 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=July 1, 1957 |language=en}} a nephew of George Rives and Edward Bulkeley,{{cite book |title=Princeton Alumni Weekly |date=1957 |publisher=Princeton Alumni Weekly |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxJbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA33 |accessdate=13 July 2018 |language=en}} in 1917.{{cite news |title=REGINALD B. RIVES WEDS MISS WARREN Younger Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Whitney Warren a Bride in St. Thomas's Chapel. CEREMONY AMID ROSES Many Prominent in Society Among the Guests -Reception Held In Ballroom of the Ritz. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/02/04/118132812.pdf |accessdate=13 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=February 4, 1917}}
• Whitney Warren Jr. (1898–1986),{{cite news |title=Philanthropist Whitney Warren dies at age 88 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/70655323/?terms=whitney%2Bwarren |accessdate=12 July 2018 |work=Santa Cruz Sentinel |date=13 Jan 1986 |page=12 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Beaton |first1=Cecil |title=The Unexpurgated Beaton: The Cecil Beaton Diaries as He Wrote Them, 1970-1980 |date=2007 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=9780307429520 |page=421 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PTAewdfMm3gC&pg=PT421 |accessdate=12 July 2018 |language=en}} who was a horticulturalist and patron of the arts.{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Paul |title=Lost Newport: Vanished Cottages of the Resort Era |date=2010 |publisher=Applewood Books |isbn=9781429091121 |page=64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izvEaOf8ATwC&pg=PA64 |accessdate=12 July 2018 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=Tara |title=Born On This Day: Whitney Warren Jr. 1898-1986 |date=March 3, 2016 |url=https://tarahanks.com/2016/03/03/born-on-this-day-whitney-warren-jr-1898-1986/ |accessdate=12 July 2018}} Warren Jr. was referred to as "an overly rich bachelor operating in San Francisco" who traveled around the world.{{cite news |title=WHITNEY WARREN JR. SAILS.; Leaves for 35,000-Mile Tour, Which Will Include South Seas. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1924/01/09/104240200.html?pageNumber=21 |accessdate=12 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=January 9, 1924 |language=en}}

In 1927, Warren and his brother George each inherited $2,314,143 from the estate of their uncle, Lloyd Phoenix.

Warren died after a nine-week illness on January 24, 1943, at New York Hospital in New York City.{{cite news |title=WHITNEY WARREN, ARCHITECT, 78, DIES; Designer of the Grand Central Terminal and Rebuilding of Louvain Library, Belgium HAD PRACTICAL APPROACH Specialized With His Partner, C. D. Wetrnore. in Railroad Structures, Hotels, Offices |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1943/01/25/85073653.html?pageNumber=13 |accessdate=13 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=January 25, 1943 |page=13 |language=en}} At the time of his death, Warren resided at 280 Park Avenue in New York City and was a member of the Knickerbocker Club, the Racquet and Tennis Club, and the Church and South Side Sportsmen's Clubs. After a service at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, he was buried at Island Cemetery in Newport.{{cite news |title=LEADING ARCHITECTS AT WARREN FUNERAL; Rites for Noted Designer Are Held in St. Thomas Church |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1943/01/27/88512825.pdf |accessdate=13 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=January 27, 1943 |language=en}} His widow died in 1951 and was buried alongside him in Newport.{{cite news |title=MRS. WARREN DIES; ARCHITECT'S WIDOW; Leader in French Relief Work During First World War-- Set Up Secours National |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/09/13/84865517.pdf |accessdate=13 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=September 13, 1951 |language=en}}

In 1917, Warren received the Medal of Honor from the American Institute of Architects for the firm's work.

Works by Warren are found in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.[http://collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/18042021/ Whitney Warren | People | Collection of Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum]

Notes

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Sources

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:hou00340 Guide to Whitney Warren's papers, MS Am 2113-2113.5], at Houghton Library, Harvard University
• [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/archival/collections/ldpd_3460596/ Warren & Wetmore architectural drawings and photographs, 1889-1938.] at Columbia University

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Category:1864 births

Category:1943 deaths

Category:American architects

Category:American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts

Category:Vanderbilt family

Category:Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni