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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