Harry E. Donnell

Harry Ellingwood Donnell (May 2, 1867 – February 25, 1959) was an American Beaux-Arts architect, who designed many commercial and residential structures in New York City and Long Island between 1894 and 1915.

Contents

Life

Harry E. Donnell (don-Nell) was born on May 2, 1867 in Portland, Maine, his family moving to New York City in 1875. Harry was graduated from City College of New York in 1886 and the Columbia School of Mines in 1887. In 1890 he was hired by the architect Richard Morris Hunt as the superintending architect for the construction of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.[1] He attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, entering Delgane in 1893 and returning to the United States in 1894. In 1895, he joined with another Beaux-Arts architect, Francis Kimball. Their firm designed many building in lower Manhattan including 111 Fifth Avenue, and the Brunswick Building at 225 Fifth Avenue. From 1900 to 1915, Donnell designed numerous residential homes[2] on the North Shore of Long Island including community libraries such as the Carnegie Library in Northport, New York.

In 1915, his father-in-law, George Hazard Robinson, who was a well known New York City financier, offered Donnell the opportunity to own and manage one of Robinson's companies; the S.S. Hepworth Machine Company. Hepworth was the largest manufacturer of rotating milling machines for the sugar cane industry, and located in Long Island City, New York. Donnell spent the remainder of his life as the Chief Executive Officer of Hepworth only utilizing his skills as an architect as a past-time.

Harry Donnell was married to Ruth Attmore Robinson (1870–1949), and together they lived in New York City but also maintained a country home on 200 acres (0.81 km2) on Eatons Neck, NY known as "The Hill." In 1927, the estate was subdivided into 3 and 4-acre (16,000 m2) parcels, and the Eaton Harbors Corporation was formed to own and maintain the private roads and bathing beaches for the common use of new owners. Donnell served as President of the corporation from 1927 to 1950.

From 1907 to 1921, Harry Donnell served as sole trustee of the Eaton's Neck School District. The District was merged with other surrounding school districts to form the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District in 1922.

On February 25, 1959 he died in New York City.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "In the Naval Observatory". The New York Times. November 15, 1890. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B0CE7D6113BE533A25756C1A9679D94619ED7CF. Retrieved 2011-11-26. 
  2. ^ "IN THE REAL ESTATE FIELD; Greater Diversity of Business Apparent". The New York Times. November 1, 1903. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E07E3D71439E433A25752C0A9679D946297D6CF. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
  3. ^ Carr, Edward A.T.; Michael W. Carr, Kari Ann Carr (1994). Faded Laurels, The History of Eaton's Neck and Asharoken. Heart of the Lakes Publishing. pp. 265–266. ISBN 1557871191, 9781557871190. http://books.google.com/books?id=OP4MAQAACAAJ&dq=faded+laurels. 

External links