G. W. & W. D. Hewitt
Encyclopedia
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...
. The firm specialized in churches, hotels and palatial residences, especially crenelated mansions such as Maybrook (1881), Druim Moir
Druim Moir Historic District
Druim Moir, also known as the Houston Estate Historic District, is a historic district in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Druim Moir was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979...
(1885–86) and Boldt Castle
Boldt Castle
Boldt Castle, located on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands of the Saint Lawrence River, along the northern border of New York State, is a major landmark and tourist attraction in its region.-History:...
(1900–04). The last was built for George C. Boldt, owner of Philadelphia's Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (1902–04), G.W. & W.D. Hewitt's most famous building.
Career
George Hewitt worked in the office of John NotmanJohn Notman
John Notman was a Scottish-born American architect, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is remembered for his churches, and for popularizing the Italianate style and the use of brownstone.-Career:...
, and became an expert on English ecclesiastical architecture. In 1867, he formed a partnership with John Fraser
John Fraser (architect)
John Fraser was a Scottish-born American architect who practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC....
and Frank Furness
Frank Furness
Frank Heyling Furness was an acclaimed American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his eclectic, muscular, often idiosyncratically scaled buildings, and for his influence on the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan...
, which lasted until 1871. The younger men formed their own firm, Furness & Hewitt, whose most notable building was the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
(1871–76). Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
worked briefly as a draftsman for Furness & Hewitt (June - November 1873), and left descriptions of the Hewitt brothers:
"George Hewitt [was] a slender, moustached person, pale and reserved, who seldom relaxed from pose. It was he who did the Victorian Gothic in its pantalettes, when a church building or something of the sort was on the board. With precision, as though he held his elements by pincers, he worked out the decorous sublimities of inanity, as per the English current magazines and other English sources. He was a clean draftsman, and believed implicitly that all that was good was English. Louis regarded him with admiration as a draftsman, and with mild contempt as a man who kept his nose in books.
"But George Hewitt had a younger brother named John [William?], and John was foreman of the shop. He was a husky, smooth-faced fellow under thirty. Every feature in his clean cut, rather elongated face, bespoke intelligence and kindness, in fact a big heart. He had taken a fancy to Louis from the start. He was the 'practical man' and Louis ran to him for advice whenever he found himself in a tight place. John was patience itself and made everything clear with dainty sketches and explanatory notes. These drawings were beautiful and Louis frankly told him so. He begged John to teach him 'touch' and how to make such sketches, and especially how to 'indicate' so crisply. This John did. In fact, it was not long before he made of Louis a draftsman of the Upper crust, and Louis's heart went out to lovable John in sheer gratitude."
Sullivan seems to have misremembered William Hewitt's name, or perhaps there was a third Hewitt brother, John. Furness & Hewitt continued until 1875, and George opened his own firm, making his brother William a partner in 1878.
In the early 1880s, Henry H. Houston
Henry H. Houston
Henry Howard Houston was a leading Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist. He was in charge of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Chestnut Hill Railroad which was built in the 1880s to link downtown Philadelphia with the wealthy and growing suburbs to the northwest.Houston attended St...
, a director of 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....
, began developing 3000 acres (12.1 km²) in the western Chestnut Hill
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Boundaries:Chestnut Hill is bounded as follows:...
section of Philadelphia. The Hewitt brothers did the planning for the upper-class suburb and designed the principal buildings, including a resort hotel, the Wissahickon Inn (1883–84) (now Chestnut Hill Academy
Chestnut Hill Academy
Chestnut Hill Academy, commonly referred to as CHA, is a Pre-K to 12 all-male independent college preparatory school located in northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
); the first clubhouse for the Philadelphia Cricket Club
Philadelphia Cricket Club
The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania.-History:...
(1883–84, burned 1909); Houston's own mansion, Druim Moir
Druim Moir Historic District
Druim Moir, also known as the Houston Estate Historic District, is a historic district in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Druim Moir was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979...
(1886); and St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church (1888). More than 100 Chestnut Hill houses were designed by the Hewitts.
Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of Duke University...
did his apprenticeship with the firm. Phineas Paist worked for the firm, and became a partner in it. Following George's 1907 retirement, the firm continued as Hewitt, Stevens & Paist.
Churches
- Providence Presbyterian Church at Bustleton, 2087 Old York Rd., Burlington, NJ (1878)
- Church of Saint John the Evangelist, 1720 Old Black Horse Pk., Runnemede, NJ (1880–81)
- Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Ln., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA (1888)
- St. Mary's Memorial Episcopal Church, 104 Louella Ave., Wayne, PA (1889-90)
- St. Andrew's Church, 50 York St., Lambertville, NJ (1891)
Residences
- "Maybrook" (Henry C. Gibson mansion), Wynnewood, PA (1881)
- Edwin T. Coxe mansion, 280 W. Walnut Ln., Germantown, Philadelphia, PA (1885)
- Houston-Sauveur house (Louis C. Sauveur house), 8205 Seminole Ave., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA (1885)
- "Druim MoirDruim Moir Historic DistrictDruim Moir, also known as the Houston Estate Historic District, is a historic district in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Druim Moir was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979...
" (Henry H. Houston mansion), Willow Grove Ave. & Cherokee St., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA (1885–86) - "Brinkwood" (Samuel F. Houston mansion), Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA (1885–86)
- William Thompson Harris mansion, Highland & Bryn Mawr Aves., Cynwyd, PA (1886)
- Spruce Hill speculative row, 4206-18 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA (1886)
- William C. Sharpless house, 5446 Wayne Ave., Germantown, Philadelphia, PA (1886)
- Henry Lister Townsend house, 6015 Wayne Ave., Germantown, Philadelphia, PA (1887).
- "Briar Crest" (William Henry Maule mansion), Villanova, PA (pre-1897)
- Boldt CastleBoldt CastleBoldt Castle, located on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands of the Saint Lawrence River, along the northern border of New York State, is a major landmark and tourist attraction in its region.-History:...
, Heart Island, Alexandria Bay, New YorkAlexandria Bay, New YorkAlexandria Bay is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,080 at the 2010 census.The Village of Alexandria Bay is in the Town of Alexandria.Keewaydin State Park is southeast of the village...
(1900–04) - Music room addition to Horace Brock house, 1920 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA (1902–03), (now Helen Corning Warden Theater, Academy of Vocal ArtsAcademy of Vocal ArtsThe Academy of Vocal Arts is a school dedicated to providing free higher education to aspiring opera singers. The school was founded in 1934 by Helen Corning Warden and is located at 1920 Spruce Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:...
)
Hotels, businesses and institutional buildings
- Wissahickon Inn (now Chestnut Hill AcademyChestnut Hill AcademyChestnut Hill Academy, commonly referred to as CHA, is a Pre-K to 12 all-male independent college preparatory school located in northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
), 500 W. Willow Grove Ave., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA (1883–84) - Philadelphia Cricket ClubPhiladelphia Cricket ClubThe Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania.-History:...
, 415 W. Willow Grove Ave., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA (1883–84, burned 1909) - Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad Station (C & L Depot), Lebanon, PA (1885)
- Hahnemann Hospital, 15th & Race Sts., Philadelphia, PA (pre-1888, demolished)
- Kensington Branch, Philadelphia YWCA, Philadelphia, PA (1891)
- Olympic Hotel, Blackwell Point, Tacoma, WA (1891–93), (now Stadium High SchoolStadium High SchoolStadium High School is a 100-year-old high school in Tacoma, Washington and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original building burned to a shell while it was still a partially...
) - Receiving Ward, Episcopal Hospital, Front St. & Lehigh Ave., Philadelphia PA (1892–94, demolished)
- Wistar InstituteWistar InstituteThe Wistar Institute is a biomedical center, with a focus on cancer research and vaccine development. It is located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pa...
, 3601 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA (1892–94) - Philadelphia BoursePhiladelphia BourseThe Philadelphia Bourse Building was founded in 1891 by George E. Bartol, a grain and commodities exporter. It was modeled after the Bourse in Hamburg, Germany. It was completed in 1895. The architects were G. W. & W. D. Hewitt.-Background:...
, 13 S. 5th St. (facing Independence Mall), Philadelphia, PA (1893–95) - Gibson Building, 1307-11 Market St., Philadelphia, PA (1897, demolished)
- "The Castle" (Tau chapter of Psi UpsilonPsi UpsilonPsi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only...
Fraternity), University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, 250 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA (1897–99) - Hahnemann Medical College, Broad & Race Sts., Philadelphia, PA (pre-1899, demolished)
- Pitcairn Building, 1027-31 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA (1901)
- Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Broad & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1902–04)