Richard Howland Hunt
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, as Hunt & Hunt. The brothers were sons of the first American Beaux-Arts architect, 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...
(1827 — 1895). Richard practiced in his father's office until the elder Hunt's death in July 1895, and continued, not without initial resistance on the part of trustees, to carry out his father's designs for the central block of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. After a brief interval, the brothers formed a partnership in 1901 that was only terminated by Joseph's death in 1924.
Richard Howland Hunt, the older son, studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
, Paris, where his father Richard Morris Hunt had studied. In 1887 Richard Howland Hunt joined his father's offices, first as a draftsman and later an associate. In the interim following his father's death he attracted wealthy clients and built residences such as the Margaret Shepard house at 5 East 66th Street (1900), now housing the Lotos Club
Lotos Club
The Lotos Club is a gentleman's club in New York City. Founded in 1870 by a young group of writers and critics, Mark Twain, an early member, called it the "Ace of Clubs"...
.
Joseph Howland Hunt studied at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
and the School of Architecture at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
before following his brother to the École des Beaux-Arts, returning to New York in 1901. Urban residences by Hunt & Hunt include the two Beaux-Arts houses designed for George W. Vanderbilt at 645 and 647 Fifth Avenue, known as The "Marble Twins". Only No. 647, a designated New York City Landmark, survives today.
The brothers were primarily known for their elegant residences in Long Island, Tuxedo Park
Tuxedo Park
Tuxedo Park may refer to:*Tuxedo Park, Missouri, a community now merged with Webster Groves, Missouri*Tuxedo Park, New York, U.S.**Tuxedo Park , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, New York...
, New York, and Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. Their armory building for the 69th Regiment, New York
69th Regiment Armory
The 69th Regiment Armory located at 68 Lexington Avenue between East 25th and 26th Streets in Manhattan, New York City is a historical building which began construction in 1904 and was completed in 1906. The building is still used to house the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment, as well as for the...
, was the first armory to abandon pseudo-medieval crenellations.
Selected commissions
- George Washington Vanderbilt Houses, 645 and 647 Fifth Avenue, New York, called the "Marble Twins". 1902-05. Number 647 survives, a designated landmark, as the flagship store for VersaceVersaceGianni Versace S.p.A. , usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion label founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses...
; the site of 645 is now Olympic Tower. - Forest Hall, Milford, Pennsylvania. 1903. For James Pinchot, for whom Richard Morris hunt had built Grey Towers. (National Register of Historic Places)
- Sanderson estate, Oyster Bay, Long Island. (1885).
- 69th Regiment Armory69th Regiment ArmoryThe 69th Regiment Armory located at 68 Lexington Avenue between East 25th and 26th Streets in Manhattan, New York City is a historical building which began construction in 1904 and was completed in 1906. The building is still used to house the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment, as well as for the...
, between 25th and 26th Streets and Lexington and Park Avenues. 1903-06. - Edward Harden MansionEdward Harden MansionThe Edward Harden Mansion, also known as Broad Oaks, is a historic home located on North Broadway in Sleepy Hollow, New York, United States, on the boundary between it and neighboring Tarrytown...
, Sleepy Hollow, New YorkSleepy Hollow, New YorkSleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line.Originally...
, 1909. - First Precinct Police Station, New YorkNew York City Police MuseumThe New York City Police Museum celebrates the history and contributions of the New York City Police Department since its establishment in 1845. The museum is located in Lower Manhattan in New York City, near Wall Street and the South Street Seaport...
. 1909-11. - Amos R. E. Pinchot House, Park Avenue at 85th Street. 1910.
- Alumnae House and faculty accommodations, Vassar CollegeVassar CollegeVassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
. 1924. Half-timbered construction.
Collaborations with sculptors
As did many of the architects of the time, Hunt & Hunt designed bases and pedestals for sculptors. These include:- William McKinleyWilliam McKinleyWilliam McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
Monument by Charles MulliganCharles MulliganCharles J. Mulligan American sculptor born in Riverdale, Ireland. He immigrated to America at the age of 17 and found work as a stone cutter in Pullman, Illinois, near Chicago....
, Chicago, Illinois, 1905 - Sighting the Enemy for Edward Clark PotterEdward Clark PotterEdward Clark Potter was an American sculptor best known for his equestrian and animal statues. His works include the "Fortitude" lion in front of the New York Public Library.-Early years:...
in Monroe, MichiganMonroe, MichiganMonroe is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,733 at the 2010 census. It is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but both are politically independent. The city is located approximately 14 miles ...
, 1910 - Lafayette Monument by John Ferguson WeirJohn Ferguson WeirJohn F. Weir was an American painter and sculptor. He was the son of painter Robert Walter Weir, a professor of drawing at the Military Academy at West Point. His younger brother, J...
, Milford, PennsylvaniaMilford, PennsylvaniaMilford is a borough in Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat. Its population was 1,021 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1796 by Judge John Biddis, one of the state's first four circuit judges, who named the settlement after his ancestral home in Wales.Milford has a...