Martin & Hall

Rhode Island Normal School, Providence, RI. 1895. Demolished.
Dalrymple Boathouse, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI. 1896.
St. John's Episcopal Church, East Boston, MA. 1897.
Irons & Russell Building, Providence, RI. 1903.
Shepard Stores, Providence, RI. 1903.
Belton Court, Barrington, RI. 1905.
Yellow Patch, Narragansett Pier, RI. 1916.

Martin & Hall was the architectural partnership of Frank W. Martin (March 9, 1863 – February 2, 1917)[1] and George F. Hall (1866–1928).[2] It was based in Providence, Rhode Island.

History

The firm was founded in February 1893 when the two men, who were both employed by Stone, Carpenter & Willson, decided to leave and open their own practice. However, some clients followed them, resulting in a rift between Stone, Carpenter & Willson and Martin & Hall. Due to this, both were denied membership to the AIA until the deaths of Alfred Stone and Edmund R. Willson.[2]

The firm was dissolved in upon Martin's death in 1917. It was continued as Hall's private practice, who ran an office until his death in 1928.[2]

Partner biographies

Frank Howard Martin was born in Seekonk, Massachusetts in 1863, just across the state line. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before leaving to work in New York City. He trained with several architects, including Richard Morris Hunt in 1886.[3] In 1888 he opened his own office, but soon relocated to Providence to work for Stone, Carpenter & Willson, where he gained a high level of responsibility.[4] He and Hall left in early 1893, and established Martin & Hall of February 1, 1893. He remained a member of the firm until his death in 1917.[2]

George Frederic Hall was born in Providence in 1866. He went to work for Stone, Carpenter & Willson in the 1880s. His employers allowed Hall to take private commissions, including a building for the Narragansett Boat Club, of which he was a member, in 1891.[5] Along with Martin, he left in early 1893. After Martin's 1917 death, Hall continued in private practice. However, his prominence quickly declined, and he designed no significant buildings until 1927, when he was commissioned to design the William H. Hall Free Library in Cranston.[6] During that time he also served as the supervising architect on the Industrial Trust Building. He died in 1928.

Major works

In Providence, Rhode Island:

Elsewhere in Rhode Island:

In Massachusetts:

Style

Stylistically, Martin & Hall were very typical. They were very capable, but not very original. They favored the popular styles of the day: the Colonial and Gothic Revivals. When faced with a major civic commission, they would use an aggrandizing Beaux-Arts design.

Their commercial buildings are among their most refined, the Shepard and Smith Buildings in particular. The Smith, especially, used a very sophisticated interpretation of the Chicago School, in the manner of Holabird & Roche.

Other than this, the work of Martin & Hall trends toward wooden residences, usually Colonial Revival. Though plain and unremarkable, they add to the essence of the city.

Associated Architects

References

  1. ↑ Technology Review 1917: 299.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jordy, William H. and Christopher P. Monkhouse. Buildings on Paper: Rhode Island Architectural Drawings, 1825-1945. 1982.
  3. ↑ American Architect and Building News 3 Sept. 1887: 115.
  4. ↑ Who's Who in New England. Ed. Alert Nelson Marquis. 1909.
  5. ↑ Engineering Record 25 April 1891: 352.
  6. ↑ Cranston, Rhode Island: Statewide Historical Preservation Report P-C-1. 1980.
  7. ↑ Engineering Record 15 July 1893: 116.
  8. ↑ American Architect and Building News 6 Oct. 1894: 6.
  9. ↑ Engineering Record 30 Sept. 1893: 292.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Woodward, Wm. McKenzie. Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources. 1986.
  11. ↑ Engineering Record 16 June 1896: 49.
  12. 1 2 3 Downtown Providence Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1984.
  13. ↑ American Architect and Building News 30 March 1895: xvi.
  14. ↑ Engineering Record 15 June 1895: ix.
  15. 1 2 Engineering Record 23 Nov. 1895: ix.
  16. ↑ Engineering News 17 Dec. 1896: 218.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Historic and Architectural Resources of the East Side, Providence: A Preliminary Report. 1989.
  18. ↑ American Architect and Building News 14 Nov. 1896: xv.
  19. ↑ Annual Report of the Board of Fire Commissioners for 1900. 1901.
  20. ↑ Annual Report of the State Board of Education, January, 1906. 1906.
  21. ↑ Engineering Record 12 Dec. 1908: 42c.
  22. ↑ "PPS honors 6 houses with Historic Property Markers". http://www.pbn.com/. 2 July 2008. Web.
  23. ↑ American Contractor 3 June 1916: 80.
  24. ↑ American Architect and Building News 14 Aug. 1897: xiii.
  25. ↑ Jordy, William H. Buildings of Rhode Island. 2004.
  26. ↑ Historic and Architectural Resources of Bristol, Rhode Island. 1990.
  27. ↑ Architectural Review Sept. 1902: 203.
  28. ↑ Historic and Architectural Resources of Barrington, Rhode Island. 1993.
  29. ↑ Annual Report of the Board of State Charities and Corrections, 1911. 1910.
  30. ↑ American Contractor 6 May 1916: 73.
  31. ↑ American Contractor 24 June 1916: 70.
  32. ↑ American Architect and Building News 25 Sept. 1897: iii.
  33. ↑ "Capron Park - Casino - Refreshment Stand". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web.
  34. ↑ American Contractor 3 June 1916: 81.
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