John McArthur, Jr.

John McArthur Jr (1823–1890) was a prominent American architect practicing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designer of some of the city's most ambitious buildings of the Civil War era, few of his works survive. He is best remembered as the architect of the landmark building, Philadelphia City Hall.

Contents

Career

John McArthur Jr was born in Bladenock, Scotland, on 13 May 1823,[1] and came to the United States with his family when he was ten years old. Much of his mature style was characterized by Italianate and Second Empire forms and several of his best known buildings feature mansard roofs, which he helped to introduce and popularize in the United States. During the American Civil War McArthur planned 24 temporary war hospitals, including Fort Delaware's 600 bed hospital on Pea Patch Island.[2]

Philadelphia has looked up to McArthur’s architecture for more than a century. The 250-foot-tall tower-and-spire of his Tenth Presbyterian Church (1854) was the tallest structure in the city when built. (Its 150-foot wooden spire was removed in 1912.) Later, this was surpassed by the tower of City Hall (1874–1901), topping out at a height of 548 feet (167 meters), which was the tallest occupied building in the world when completed. Until the late 20th century, an unwritten agreement among architects in Philadelphia kept all future buildings at a height lower than the top of the statue of William Penn atop McArthur’s tower.

McArthur was married to Matilda Prevost; they had 2 sons, 2 daughters. He was a Presbyterian and a member of Tenth Church; he died in Philadelphia on January 8, 1890.

Architectural Work - Partial Listing

Philadelphia Buildings

Demolished Philadelphia Buildings

Buildings Elsewhere

Gallery

References

  1. ^ http://www.jstor.org/pss/988539
  2. ^ The Annual Report of the Library Company of Philadelphia, by Library Company of Philadelphia, page 52
  3. ^ http://www.tenth.org/index.php?id=144
  4. ^ http://www.brynmawr.edu/cities/courses/05-306/proj2/jmw2b/locations.html
  5. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_Mikveh_Israel
  6. ^ http://www.vahistorical.org/lva/firstpres.htm
  7. ^ Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress, Milliard Fillmore, 1853, p 738
  8. ^ Mare Island is a National Register historic district #75002103, and also a National Historic Landmark.
  9. ^ http://dsh.thomas-industriesinc.com/
  10. ^ http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~library/special/survey/pardee.html
  11. ^ Source: The Architect’s and Builders Pocket-Book, by Frank Eugene Kidder, 1908, page 1546
  12. ^ http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/blog/warren-state-hospital-information