Wikipedia

Holman K. Wheeler

Holman K. Wheeler was a prolific Massachusetts architect. Wheeler (working alone or with partners) is responsible for designing more than 400 structures in the city of Lynn alone,[1] including the iconic High Rock Tower which is featured prominently on the Lynn city seal. While practicing in Lynn and Boston over a career spanning at least 35 years Wheeler designed structures throughout the Essex County area, including Haverhill, Marblehead, Newburyport, Salem, Swampscott, and Lynn. Wheeler is responsible for a total of five Lynn structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, more than any other person or firm.

Holman King Wheeler
Born(1859-10-26)October 26, 1859
Berlin, Massachusetts, US
DiedDecember 1943(1943-12-00) (aged 84)
Newton, Massachusetts, US
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationArchitect
Practice
  • Wheeler & Northend
  • H. K. Wheeler (independent practice)
  • Wheeler & Betton
  • Wheeler & Johnson
Buildings
County Courthouse, Salem, 1891.
Lynn Armory, Lynn, 1893.
High Rock Tower, Lynn, 1904.
English High School, Lynn, 1915 addition.

Life

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Holman King Wheeler was born October 26, 1859, in Berlin, Massachusetts.[2] He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then located in Boston. He graduated in 1882.[3] He had worked in the offices of Lynn architects beginning in 1878, and began working on his own by 1883.[1][4] In 1884 he formed the firm of Wheeler & Northend in Lynn, with Salem architect W. Wheelwright Northend. Northend resumed his independent practice around 1893, and Wheeler continued alone. In 1904 he established a partnership with Charles L. Betton, Wheeler & Betton. Betton had left by 1914, and Wheeler established Wheeler & Johnson with Leonard P. Johnson.[5] By 1919, Wheeler had left the Lynn area, heading south to Boston. He did at least one project from his office in that city,[6] but had retired to his and his wife's home in Newton by 1920.[7]

Partners

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Northend

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William Wheelwright Northend was born in 1857 in Salem to later Massachusetts State Senator William Dummer Northend. He was the younger brother to Mary Harrod Northend.[8] Originally intending to practice law, he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1880. Turning to architecture, he worked for Hartwell & Richardson and Cobb & Frost. He then attended M. I. T. for a year before studying in Paris.[9] Prior to establishing a firm with Wheeler, he had opened an office in Salem.[10] After the firm's dissolution, he practiced alone for a year before his death in 1894.[8] He was the architect of Swampscott's Phillips High School, opened in 1894[11] and demolished c.2018.[12] (Sources disagree on whether Northend or Wheeler was the architect.)[13]

Betton

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Charles Louis Betton was born in 1870, and died in 1934 in Lynn. After leaving Wheeler, Betton established his own office. He designed the Pickering School in 1916 on Conomo Ave, Lynn.[14] He also did extensive industrial work.

Johnson

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Leonard P. Johnson was a consulting architect for Willett, Sears and Company until January 1, 1914, when he took over the office of George A. Cornet in Lynn after Cornet was elected the city's commissioner of public property.[15] By 1923, he was an architect and construction engineer for the American Woolen Company and had moved to the company's Shawsheen Village.[16] He was also an architect for Coolidge Shepley Bulfinch and Abbott and did residential work in Andover, Massachusetts. He died on March 8, 1967, at the Masonic Home in Charlton, Massachusetts, at the age of 89.[17]

Architectural works

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Wheeler & Northend, 1884-1893

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Holman K. Wheeler, 1893-1904

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  • 1894 - The Phillips School, Greenwood Avenue, Swampscott, Massachusetts
    • Sources disagree on whether Northend or Wheeler was the architect.[11][13]
    • First High School in Swampscott[12]
    • Demolished c.2018[12]
  • 1895 - Naumkeag Building, 203 Essex St, Salem, Massachusetts[37]
  • 1895 - Hugh E. Murphy Building, Washington St near Monroe St[42]
  • 1895 - Proctor Building, 31 Exchange St, Lynn, Massachusetts[43]
  • 1895 - Edward Heffernan Block, 516-520 Washington Street, Lynn, Massachusetts[44]
    • Demolished September 2021[45]
  • 1897 - Henry B. Falls Apartments, 110-120 Broad St, Lynn, Massachusetts[46]
  • 1900 - Bacheller School, 35 Lynnfield St, Lynn, Massachusetts[47][48]
  • 1900 - Jackman School, School St, Newburyport, Massachusetts[49]
    • Demolished.
  • 1901 - Lynn Business College, 112 Exchange St, Lynn, Massachusetts[50]
  • 1902 - Eugene A. Putnam Apartments, 95 Union St, Lynn, Massachusetts[51]

Wheeler & Betton, 1904-1914

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Wheeler & Johnson, 1914-c.1918

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Holman K. Wheeler, c.1918-1919

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Architectural drawings

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  •  
    House for Sylvanus P. Gardner, Haverhill, Massachusetts.
    E. Eldon Deane, delineator.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Industries of Massachusetts: Historical and Descriptive Review of Lynn, Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Salem, Beverly, Peabody, Danvers, Gloucester, Newburyport, and Amesbury, and their leading Manufacturers and Merchants. International Publishing Co. 1886. p. 52. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  2. ^ Albert Gallatin Wheeler (1914). The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America. American College of Genealogy. p. 390. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  3. ^ Technology Review Jan. 1920: 80.
  4. ^ American Architect and Building News 2 July 1883: 2.
  5. ^ Salem City Directory (PDF). 1914. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b The American Contractor, Volume 40. F. W. Dodge Corporation (published 1919-10-11). 1919. p. 50. Retrieved 2020-02-22. Archt. Holman K. Wheeler, 120 Tremont st., Boston.
  7. ^ American Contractor 11 Oct. 1919: 50.
  8. ^ a b c Samuel Atkins Eliot (1914). Biographical history of Massachusetts: biographies and autobiographies of the leading men in the state, Volume 5. Massachusetts biographical society. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  9. ^ Biographical Sketches of the Members of the Class of 1880, Bowdoin College. 1890.
  10. ^ The Essex County Directory for 1884-85. 1884.
  11. ^ a b Dempsey/FitzPatrick (June 1993). "Phillips High School". Massachusetts Historical Commission. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  12. ^ a b c William J. Dowd (Aug 9, 2018). "In Swampscott, 124-year-old time capsule unearthed". GateHouse News. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  13. ^ a b Forty-Sixth Annual Report of the Town of Swampscott, Mass (PDF). G.H. & A.L. Nichols (published 1898-02-28). 1898. p. 83. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  14. ^ Bridgemen's Magazine April 1916: 243.
  15. ^ "North Andover". The Andover Townsman. February 20, 1914. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  16. ^ "22 York Street". Andover Historic Preservation. Memorial Hall Library.
  17. ^ "Obituaries". The Andover Townsman. March 16, 1967. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  18. ^ Gary L. Ecelbarger (2001). Frederick W. Lander: The Great Natural American Soldier. LSU Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780807125809. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  19. ^ "Block Grader, The" mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  20. ^ "Greenwood, John House" mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  21. ^ "Gardner, Sylvanus Porter House" mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  22. ^ Annual Report of the Auditor of Accounts of the City of Lynn for the Year Ending December 20, 1888. 1889.
  23. ^ Arthur Krim (February 1993). "Lynn Police Department Stable". Massachusetts Historical Commission. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  24. ^ Annual Report of the Auditor of Accounts of the City of Lynn for the Year Ending December 20, 1889. 1890.
  25. ^ a b Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Volume 17. National Fire Protection Association. 1923. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  26. ^ "View of 94 Elmwood Road residence, corner of Monument Avenue, Swampscott, Mass., undated". https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/gusn/196830/. n.d. Web.
  27. ^ "Rowell, Myra S. - Coulhurst, George H. L. House" https://mhc-macris.net/Details?MhcId=SWA.51. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  28. ^ "Heffernan Block". Massachusetts Historical Commission. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  29. ^ a b c City of Lynn 1897 Atlas. L. J. Richards & Co. 1897. p. A. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  30. ^ a b City of Lynn 1924 Atlas. L. J. Richards & Co. 1924. p. A. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  31. ^ "Earl, John Building". Massachusetts Historical Commission. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  32. ^ The Lynn Directory. Sampson, Murdock, & Company. 1906. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  33. ^ The Essex County Directory. Briggs & Company. 1891. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  34. ^ The Lynn Directory. Sampson, Murdock, & Company. 1906. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  35. ^ The City Documents: Comprising the Mayor's Address, the Annual Reports... Whitten & Cass, Printers. 1891. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  36. ^ Potter, John Myron, ed. (1892). The Oxford Club Souvenir. Potter & Potter, Printers. p. 48. Retrieved 2020-03-08. In selecting Wheeler & Northend for architects, they looked to a well-established, but young and enterprising firm to build for future reputation.
  37. ^ a b Tolles, Bryant F. Architecture in Salem: An Illustrated Guide. 1983.
  38. ^ Shoe and Leather Reporter, Volume 54. Shoe and Leather Reporter Company. 1893. p. 270. Retrieved 2020-03-08. Lucien Newhall block, corner of Oxford and Willow streets and Central avenue, Lynn, Mass.
  39. ^ Diane Shephard (2002). Lynn in the Victorian Era. Arcadia Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 9780738511375. Retrieved 2020-03-08. A home that did belong to a shoe manufacturer was that of Lucien Newhall
  40. ^ David Newhall Johnson (1880). Sketches of Lynn, Or, The Changes of Fifty Years. T.P. Nichols, Printer. p. 478. Retrieved 2020-03-08. Lucian Newhall (w) Oxford street, between Willow street and Central avenue, 1875
  41. ^ Public Documents of Massachusetts for the Year 1894. 1895.
  42. ^ "Building Intelligence". The American Architect and Building News. 48 (155): 4. 1895-05-04. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  43. ^ "Proctor, Thomas E. Building" mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  44. ^ "Heffernan, Edward Block" https://mhc-macris.net/Details?MhcId=LYN.420 Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  45. ^ "Two New High-Rise Developments Coming to Downtown Lynn" https://www.ediclynn.org/news/111720.html
  46. ^ "Falls, Henry B. Block" https://mhc-macris.net/Details?MhcId=LYN.620. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  47. ^ American Architect and Building News 16 June 1900: xi.
  48. ^ "The New Bacheller School, Lynnfield Street". Daily Evening Item. Lynn, Mass. 1901-01-23. Retrieved 2023-08-23. Holman K. Wheeler, the architect, has used the modern hospital construction
  49. ^ City of Newburyport, Mayor's Address and the Annual Reports to the City Council for the Year 1901. 1902.
  50. ^ "Lynn Business College" mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  51. ^ American Architect and Building News 12 July 1902: xi.
  52. ^ Morgan, Kieth N. Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston. 2009.
  53. ^ Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide 13 Aug. 1904: 376.
  54. ^ a b B. R. Pfeiffer (August 1977). "Littlefield, William B. Building". Massachusetts Historical Commission. Retrieved 2021-12-13. Architect(s): Wheeler and Betton; Wheeler and Johnson
  55. ^ B. R. Pfeiffer (May 1977). "Goddard Brothers Department Store". Massachusetts Historical Commission. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  56. ^ "Brewster Apartment Building" mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  57. ^ Charles Nelson Sinnett (1908). Richard Pinkham of old Dover, New Hampshire and his descendants East and West. Rumford Printing Co. p. 235. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  58. ^ Cecil Munsey (2003). Lydia's Medicine 130 Years Later (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  59. ^ "General News of the Drug World: Greater New York". American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record, Volumes 52-53. American Druggist Publishing Company (published 1908-05-28). 1908. p. 296. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  60. ^ "Pinkham, Arthur House". Massachusetts Historical Commission. July 1977. Retrieved 2021-12-13. Common Name: Struzziero, Arthur Funeral Home - Lucia Lighting Company
  61. ^ American Contractor 5 June 1915: 69.
  62. ^ American Contractor 9 Dec. 1916: 21.
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