Bruce Price
Encyclopedia
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
of many of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
's Château-type stations and hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s. A fine example of his work for CP is Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's Windsor Station
Windsor Station (Montreal)
Windsor Station is a former train station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formerly serving as the city's Canadian Pacific Railway Station.Windsor Station was the Canadian Pacific Railway's headquarters built between 1887 and 1889. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by New York architect...
and the chateau
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
of CP co-founder James Ross
James Ross (Canadian businessman)
James L. Ross , was a Scottish-born Canadian civil engineer and businessman, who developed his fortune in railway construction.-Early life:...
now known as Chancellor Day Hall at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
Born in Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
, Bruce Price practiced briefly in Baltimore and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
, before moving to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1877. Price married Josephine Lee of Wilkes-Barre. His daughter Emily Price Post
Emily Post
Emily Post was an American author famous for writing on etiquette.-Background:Post was born as Emily Price in Baltimore, Maryland, into privilege as the only daughter of architect Bruce Price and his wife Josephine Lee Price of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania...
, was the author of novels and, later, books on etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
.
Early in his career, Price worked on a series of domestic projects which culminated in the design and layout of Tuxedo Park
Tuxedo Park, New York
Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 731 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
, a vacation community in New York. The Shingle style houses Price built at Tuxedo, with their compact massing and axial plans, influenced several young architects including Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
.
After four years of internship (1864–68) in the office of the Baltimore architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s Niernsee
John Rudolph Niernsee
John Rudolph Niernsee was an American architect, the head architect for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He was born as Johann Rudolph Niernsee in Vienna, Austria and immigrated to the United States in 1837, at age 22...
& Neilson
James Crawford Neilson
James Crawford Neilson , or J. Crawford Neilson, was a Baltimore, Maryland-based architect. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1816. After the death of his father in 1822 the famiily moved to England and in 1824 to Brussels...
, he began his professional work in Baltimore with Ephraim Francis Baldwin
Ephraim Francis Baldwin
Ephraim Francis Baldwin was an American architect, best known for his work for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and for the Roman Catholic Church.-Personal life:...
as a partner. Following a brief study trip to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, he opened an office in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he practiced from 1873 to 1876. He then settled in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he designed many office buildings, among them the American Surety Building
American Surety Building
The American Surety Building is a historic skyscraper located at 100 Broadway, New York City, New York, opposite Trinity Church. It has been declared a landmark as one of Manhattan's most influential early skyscrapers....
, the St. James Building, and the International Bank
International Bank
International Bank , Limited is a full-service bank based in Liberia. The bank was created when the International Trust Company of Liberia created a commercial banking department in 1960. In 2000 the International Trust Company became the International Bank. It is headquartered in Monrovia....
. One of the residential works which made him famous was the laying out of Georgian Court, the neo-Georgian residence of George Jay Gould I
George Jay Gould I
George Jay Gould I was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading both the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad ....
in Lakewood, New Jersey.
Price invented, patented, and built the parlor bay-window cars for the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
and for the Boston and Albany
Boston and Albany Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail and CSX. The line is used by CSX for freight...
. This work prompted the Canadian Pacific Railways to consider his portfolio. He designed the Château Frontenac
Château Frontenac
The Château Frontenac, currently known as Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, is a grand hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980...
in Quebec for the railway (arguably the structure Price is most identified with), as well as the first Banff Springs Hotel
Banff Springs Hotel
The Fairmont Banff Springs or simply the Banff Springs Hotel is a former railway hotel constructed in Scottish Baronial style located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The original hotel, designed by American architect Bruce Price, was built between spring of 1887 and 1888 by the Canadian...
in Alberta and many other hotels and stations. He also collaborated with sculptor Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...
on the Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
Memorial (1898) set into the wall of New York's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, and several memorial buildings at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
He was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
(1890), and belonged to the Architectural League of New York
Architectural League of New York
The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines"....
as well.
He is buried, along with his wife and son, in Hollenbach Cemetery in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Selected works
- ca. 1870 10 East Chase StreetBuildings at 10, 12, 14, and 16 East Chase StreetBuildings at 10, 12, 14, and 16 East Chase Street is a historic set of rowhouses located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Number 10 is a -story brick townhouse with a 3-bay front façade, fitted with marble facing from ground to first floor level. It is believed to have been designed by...
, Baltimore, Maryland - 1881 James Alfred Roosevelt EstateJames Alfred Roosevelt EstateJames Alfred Roosevelt Estate, also known as Yellowbanks, is a historic estate located at Cove Neck in Nassau County, New York. It is located several hundred feet west of Sagamore Hill, home of President Theodore Roosevelt. It was designed by noted architect Bruce Price in 1881 as a summer home...
, Cove Neck, New YorkCove Neck, New YorkThe Village of Cove Neck is a village located within the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 286 at the 2010 census.-History:... - 1886 Sterling HomesteadSterling HomesteadThe Sterling Homestead is the home on Main Street, in Stratford, Connecticut that was created by John William Sterling in 1886. Sterling House is a Romanesque mansion on the property. In its early days it was the home of the Sterling family...
- 1888 Banff Springs HotelBanff Springs HotelThe Fairmont Banff Springs or simply the Banff Springs Hotel is a former railway hotel constructed in Scottish Baronial style located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The original hotel, designed by American architect Bruce Price, was built between spring of 1887 and 1888 by the Canadian...
(Price section destroyed 1925) - 1891 Welch Hall, Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
- 1893 Château FrontenacChâteau FrontenacThe Château Frontenac, currently known as Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, is a grand hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980...
- 1894 American Surety BuildingAmerican Surety BuildingThe American Surety Building is a historic skyscraper located at 100 Broadway, New York City, New York, opposite Trinity Church. It has been declared a landmark as one of Manhattan's most influential early skyscrapers....
- 1896 Georgian Court
- 1900 Old Washington County LibraryOld Washington County LibraryOld Washington County Library is a historic library building located at 21 Summit Avenue in Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, United States. It is a two story Neo-Georgian stone masonry structure of monumental proportions, built 1900-01. The building appears to be one huge story from the...
, Hagerstown, MarylandHagerstown, MarylandHagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the... - 1902 Audrain BuildingAudrain BuildingThe Audrain Building is an architecturally significant commercial building located at 220-230 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island.The building was constructed 1902-1903 to designs by noted architect Bruce Price...
- 1903 Northfield ChateauNorthfield ChateauThe Northfield Chateau, also variously known as Chalet Schell and Birnam House, was a large mansion on Birnham Road in Northfield, Massachusetts...
- 1904 Thomas T. Gaff HouseThomas T. Gaff HouseThe Thomas T. Gaff House is the diplomatic residence of the Colombian ambassador to the United States, a post currently held by Gabriel Silva Lujan...
- 1909 Clarence Moore HouseEmbassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, D.C.The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, D.C., , is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United States and a contributing property to the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District.The embassy is located at 1746 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C...
See also
- Canada's railway hotels
- Canadian Pacific hotelsCanadian Pacific hotelsCanadian Pacific Hotels was a division of Canadian Pacific Railway that operated a series of hotels across Canada. Most of these resort hotels were originally built and operated by the railway's Hotel Department, while a few were acquired from Canadian National Hotels...
- Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
External links
- Bruce Price on Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...