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Francis H. Kimball

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Francis Hatch Kimball (September 24, 1845 – December 20, 1919) was an American architect practicing in New York City, best known for his work on skyscrapers in lower Manhattan and terra-cotta ornamentation. He was an associate with the firm Kimball & Thompson. His work includes the Empire Building, Manhattan Life Insurance Building, and Casino Theatre. All but one of Kimball's works were in the United States.

Francis H. Kimball
Born(1845-09-24)September 24, 1845
Kennebunk, Maine, US
DiedDecember 20, 1919(1919-12-20) (aged 74)
New York City, US
OccupationArchitect
Signature

Life

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Kimball was born in Kennebunk, Maine. He went on to study architecture in England. In 1879 he joined forces with Thomas Wisedell, with whom he designed the 1882 Casino Theatre on Broadway, and other projects.[1] Wisedell died in 1884. Kimball practiced independently until 1892, when he formed Kimball & Thompson with G. Kramer Thompson. That partnership ended in 1898.

Kimball's Victorian Gothic Catholic Apostolic Church in New York City (1897) was praised by influential architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler as there being "no more scholarly Gothic work in New York."[2] Kimball was also a pioneer in the use of ornamental terra-cotta in the United States, evident on the Corbin Building; on a striking row of townhouses that he designed at 133–143 West 122nd Street in Harlem; and on the Montauk Club in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Contemporaries described Kimball as the "father of the skyscraper".[3]

A 1917 article in The New York Times noted his bankruptcy.[4] Kimball died in 1919 in New York City and buried at Linwood Cemetery in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts.[5]

Works before 1892

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Reading Terminal Headhouse, 1115–41 Market St., Philadelphia, PA (1891–93). Now part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Works as part of Kimball & Thompson (1892–1898)

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Empire Building

From 1892 to 1898, he was part of Kimball & Thompson which built:

Works after 1898

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  • 111 Fifth Avenue (1904), Manhattan, New York; a "21-sty limestone and brick office building, 41.3×264.5 and irregular," for $1,250,000.00.[13]
  • 513–515 West 161st Street (1905), Manhattan, New York; a "3-sty brk and stone engine house", for the city of NY at a cost of $62,000.[13] – now FDNY Hook & Ladder 34/Engine 34
  • (with Harry E. Donnell) Brunswick Building (1906), Manhattan, New York; Beaux-Arts building located on the site of the former Brunswick Hotel at 225 Fifth Avenue, on Madison Square Park
  • Mills Buildings (1906), SE corner of William Street, Manhattan, New York; an "11-sty brick and stone bank and office building" for J. & W. Seligman & Co. at a cost of $500,000.[13]
  • 111 Broadway (1906), SW corner of Broadway and Cedar Street, Manhattan, New York; a "21-sty brick and stone office building," for $3,000,000.00.[13]
  • City Investing Building,(1906–1908; razed 1968) 56 Cortlandt Street, Manhattan, New York; 26-story skyscraper built near the Singer Tower[13]
  • 37 Wall Street (1906–1907), Manhattan, New York; commissioned for the Trust Company of America. Now residential building with Tiffany & Co as main floor tenant
  • 142 Liberty Street (1909), Manhattan, New York; a "3-sty and basement brick and reinforced concrete store and loft building" for A. L. White and F. M. Hilton of 62 Cedar St, at a cost of $15,000.[13]
  • 224 West 57th Street (1909), Broadway and 57th St, Manhattan, New York; two 9-story automobile showrooms.[13]
  • 66 57th St and Broadway (1909), Manhattan, New York; a "9-sty and basement concrete and brick garage" for $175,000.[13]
  • Broadway and the SE corner of Astor Place (1910), Manhattan, New York; a "2-sty brick and stone loft, slag roof, copper skylights, wire glass, copper cornices, terra cotta blocks, steam heat, doors fireproofed, metal sash and frames, fireproof trim, limestone" for $300,000.[13]
  • The Adams Express Buildings (1912), Manhattan, New York; Nos. 57–61 Broadway and Nos. 33–41 Trinity Place, a 32-story office building for $2 million.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Kevin D., Murphy; Lisa, editors, Reilly (June 8, 2017). Skyscraper Gothic: Medieval Style and Modernist Buildings. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 9780813939735. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite book}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ a b Gray, Christopher (2003). New York streetscapes : tales of Manhattan's significant buildings and landmarks. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-8109-4441-1. OCLC 50808948.
  3. ^ The American Architect, Volume 117, Part 1. Architectural & Building Press, Incorporated. 1920. p. 24. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "F.H. Kimball A Bankrupt.; "Father of the Skyscraper" and Designer of Notable Buildings". The New York Times. April 4, 1917. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Francis H. Kimrall Buried; Architect of Many Theatres and 'Skyscrapers' Dead at 74 Years". The New York Times. December 29, 1919. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Stern, Robert A. M.; Mellins, Thomas; Fishman, David (1999). New York 1880: Architecture and Urbanism in the Gilded Age. Monacelli Press. p. 896. ISBN 978-1-58093-027-7. OCLC 40698653.
  7. ^ "Kimball, Francis Hatch | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada".
  8. ^ "A Victorian Stroll, Saint John, N.B."
  9. ^ "New York Architectural Terra-Cotta Works Building" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. August 24, 1982. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  10. ^ Young, Michelle (March 12, 2020). "A Terra Cotta Beauty Sits Alone Beneath the Queensboro Bridge". Untapped New York. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Shockley, Jay (June 25, 1996). "Empire Building" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  12. ^ "Manhattan Life Insurance Building, New York City". Emporis. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Office for Metropolitan History Archived February 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, "Manhattan NB Database 1900–1986," (February 7, 2010)
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