Emlen T. Littel

Emlen T. Littel (1840-1891) was an American architect active in New York City and Philadelphia.

Born in Philadelphia, Littel was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a reputation for his ecclesiastical design. In New York City, examples of his work included the Church of the Incarnation on Madison Avenue; Rectory of the Zion Church and House of St. John the Baptist on 17th Street. In Philadelphia, he designed the Church of St. James and its school building. Other work in upstate New York included Zion Episcopal Church (Palmyra, New York) and St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Poughkeepsie, New York), and also Christ Church, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Littel’s church designs feature a style characterized as parish Gothic: nave plan, chancel, pointed windows, and other Gothic elements. In this he joined Richard Upjohn as well as others in the mid-to-late nineteenth century in creating churches of similar Gothic designs.

Additionally, the Battle of Monmouth Monument unveiled at Freehold, New Jersey, on November 13, 1884 was designed by Littel and Douglas Smythe and sculptor J. E. Kelly.

Littel was well known professionally, and an active member of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.); he was elected President shortly before his death, and earlier (1862–63) had served as Secretary of the A. I. A.

References

Notes

Sources

• Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased), Henry F. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey. New Age Publishing Co., Los Angeles 26, Calif., 1956
• Obituary, Architecture and Building, June, 1891