J. Pickering Putnam

J. Pickering Putnam (April 3, 1847 – February 23, 1917) also known as J.P. Putnam or John Pickering Putnam, was an American architect and designer who "pioneered the concept of the modern apartment building."[1] He designed several buildings in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. He earned a number of design patents related to plumbing, ventilation, and the like, such as US Patent No.563,064 (1896), a design for a washbasin.[2]

Brief biography

Putnam was born as "John Amory Putnam" in Boston in 1847, to John Pickering Putnam (1813-1867) and Harriet Upham (1820-1905).[3] He was one of 4 children; his siblings were Mary Upham Putnam (1843-1920); Harriet Putnam (b. 1845); and Sarah Gooll Putnam (1851-1912), a painter.[1][4]

Putnam graduated from the Boston Latin School, and from Harvard College in 1868. He then trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, in 1869, and the Royal Academy of Architecture, Berlin, 1870-1872.[5][6] "The war interrupted his studies. Leaving Paris for Berlin, he was twice arrested as a Prussian spy, while sketching in the streets."[7]

On returning to the US in 1872 he began practicing architecture and was associated professionally with George Thomas Tilden. In 1885 Putnam married Grace Cornelia Stevens; they had 2 children: Grace Elizabeth Putnam (b. 1887) and John Pickering Putnam, Jr. (b. 1892).[7] He was a member of the Boston Society of Architects; St. Botolph Club; Portfolio Club of Boston; and The Cold Cut Club of Boston.[7]

Selected designs

Further reading

Works by Putnam

About Putnam

References

  1. 1 2 Erin L. Pipkin. "Striking in Its Promise": The Artistic Career of Sarah Gooll Putnam. The Massachusetts Historical Review, Vol. 3, (2001); p.99.
  2. ↑ United States Patent Office. Washbasin, 86C. Patent No. 563,064, dated June 30, 1896.
  3. ↑ The Harvard graduates' magazine, v. 25. 1917; p.622.
  4. ↑ Portrait of a lady. Boston Herald. Boston, Mass.: Mar 27, 1998. pg. 045.
  5. 1 2 3 Bainbridge Bunting. Houses of Boston's Back Bay: An Architectural History, 1840-1917. Harvard University Press, 1999.
  6. ↑ Bryant Franklin Tolles. Summer cottages in the White Mountains: the architecture of leisure and recreation, 1870 to 1930. University Press of New England, 2000.
  7. 1 2 3 Harvard Class of 1868. Secretary's report. 1908; p.116+.
  8. ↑ American architect and building news 49, no.3. Aug 1895.
  9. ↑ Elaine Malloy, Daniel Malloy, Alan J. Ryan. Hopedale. Arcadia Publishing, 2002; p.60. Includes illustration of the house.
  10. ↑ Portfolio Club. The sketch book, no.6. Boston: 1873. Includes illustration of the cottage.
  11. ↑ Jeffrey W. Limerick. The Grand Resort Hotels of AmericaThe Grand Resort Hotels of America. Perspecta, Vol. 15, Backgrounds for an American Architecture (1975); p.87-108.
  12. ↑ "J. Pickering Putnam". BOSarchitecture.
  13. ↑ Ask the Globe. Boston Globe. Jul 15, 1986. pg. 72.
  14. ↑ Catalogue, joint exhibition of the Boston Society of Architects and the Boston Architectural Club, from April 15 to April 21. Boston: published for the Committee by Bates & Guild, 1895
  15. ↑ Back Bay landmark undergoes updating. Boston Globe. Aug 13, 1989. pg. A.34.
  16. ↑ Catalogue, joint exhibition of the Boston Society of Architects and the Boston Architectural Club. 1895
  17. ↑ Work will be commenced in the spring; Commonwealth Hotel, Largest Structure in the World, Will Soon be Erected on the Back Bay. Boston Daily Globe. Feb 2, 1896. p.16.
  18. ↑ American architect and building news. 1896
  19. ↑ The Annual American Catalogue 1899. 1900. p. 173.

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