.gif)
Robert Mills (architect)
Encyclopedia
Robert Mills most famously known for designing the Washington Monument
, is sometimes called the first native born American
to become a professional architect
, though Charles Bulfinch
perhaps has a clearer claim to this honor. Mills studied in Charleston, South Carolina
as a student of Irish
-born architect James Hoban
—who later designed the White House
, which became the official home of US presidents. Both Hoban and Mills were Freemasons.
, Mills moved to Philadelphia
in 1802 where he became an associate and student of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. He gradually became known in his own right. Some Philadelphia building
s that he designed are Washington Hall, Samson Street Baptist
Church, and the Octagon Church for the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia
. He also designed the Upper Ferry Bridge covering. He also designed and built the still-original First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia
in 1802. This church later was the home to Woodrow Wilson
who grew up in the church while his father, Joseph R. Wilson
was Pastor. In 1808 he created blueprints for a prison used mostly for reform. In 1811 the prison was constructed in Mt Holly, New Jersey. "With the possible exception of [their] neighbor, Eastern States Penitentiary, it is the most significant prison building in the United States" says Historic Burlington County Prison Museum Association.
In 1812, Mills designed the Monumental Church
in Richmond, Virginia which was built to commemorate the death of 72 people in the Richmond Theatre. This incident sparked (no pun intended) his later interest in fireproofing measures.
Moving to Baltimore, he designed St. John's Episcopal Church, the Maryland House of Industry, and the Maryland Club. He is noted for designing the nation's first Washington Monument
, in Baltimore, which began construction in 1815.
In 1820, he was appointed as acting commissioner of the Board of Public Works in South Carolina
. In 1823, Mills was the superintendent of public buildings. In the next few years, he designed numerous buildings in South Carolina
including court houses, the campus of the University of South Carolina, jails, and the Fireproof Building
in Charleston. In 1825, he authored an Atlas of the State of South Carolina
. One year later, he published Statistics of South Carolina. He reputedly designed the Old Horry County Courthouse
, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1971.
In 1836 he won the competition for the design of the Washington Monument
which is his best known work.
He also designed the Department of Treasury
building and several other federal buildings in Washington, D. C. including the U.S. Patent Office Building
. In South Carolina, he designed county courthouse
s in at least 18 counties, some of the public buildings in Columbia
, and a few private homes. He also designed portions of the Landsford Canal
, Chester County
, on the Catawba River
in South Carolina.
Mills was an early advocate
of buildings designed to include fireproof
materials. A fire in Kingstree, South Carolina
destroyed much of the upper floor of a courthouse called the Fireproof Building
which had been designed by Mills, but the county records on the first floor were protected due to his fireproofing measures. A fire also destroyed much of the Lancaster County, South Carolina Courthouse in August 2008.
He died in Washington, D.C.
in 1855 and was buried at the Congressional Cemetery.
. This was the dominant style of building that was winning architectural design competition
s and major projects of the time, both in Europe and in America. Under the umbrella of neoclassicism, his designs were partly Palladian
, Georgian
and often Greek Revival
.
Apart from stylistic movements in architecture going on in the world at his time, Robert Mills was involved in the more local context of building in the Mid-Atlantic States
. There, and especially in Washington D.C., were many figures contributing architecture of high quality. To build as Mills did on what is now the National Mall
, he had to contend with the planning strictures of Pierre Charles L'Enfant
, as well as Andrew
and Joseph Ellicott
. Being an architect of the now Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
he was also undoubtedly influenced by Thomas Jefferson
and Jeffersonian architecture
. Mills, with Jefferson and others, was able to create a distinctive federal style
of architecture.
One of Mills' descendants, P.J. Mills
of New Orleans
, is a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
.
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
, is sometimes called the first native born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to become a professional 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...
, though Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession....
perhaps has a clearer claim to this honor. Mills studied in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
as a student of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
-born architect James Hoban
James Hoban
James Hoban was an Irish architect, best known for designing The White House in Washington, D.C.-Life:James Hoban was born and raised in a thatched cottage on the Earl of Desart's estate in Cuffesgrange, near Callan in Co. Kilkenny...
—who later designed the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, which became the official home of US presidents. Both Hoban and Mills were Freemasons.
Life
Born in Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, Mills moved to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in 1802 where he became an associate and student of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. He gradually became known in his own right. Some Philadelphia building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s that he designed are Washington Hall, Samson Street Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church, and the Octagon Church for the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia
First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia
The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is a Unitarian Universalist congregation located at 2125 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
. He also designed the Upper Ferry Bridge covering. He also designed and built the still-original First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
in 1802. This church later was the home to Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
who grew up in the church while his father, Joseph R. Wilson
Joseph R. Wilson
Joseph Ruggles Wilson, Sr. was a prominent Presbyterian theologian and father of President Woodrow Wilson and of Joseph Ruggles Wilson, Jr..-Biography:...
was Pastor. In 1808 he created blueprints for a prison used mostly for reform. In 1811 the prison was constructed in Mt Holly, New Jersey. "With the possible exception of [their] neighbor, Eastern States Penitentiary, it is the most significant prison building in the United States" says Historic Burlington County Prison Museum Association.
In 1812, Mills designed the Monumental Church
Monumental Church
Monumental Church is a former Episcopal Church that stands at 1224 E. Broad Street between N. 12th and College Streets in Richmond, Virginia. Designed by architect Robert Mills, it is one of America's earliest and most distinctive Greek Revival churches and is listed on the National Register of...
in Richmond, Virginia which was built to commemorate the death of 72 people in the Richmond Theatre. This incident sparked (no pun intended) his later interest in fireproofing measures.
Moving to Baltimore, he designed St. John's Episcopal Church, the Maryland House of Industry, and the Maryland Club. He is noted for designing the nation's first Washington Monument
Washington Monument (Baltimore)
The Washington Monument in the elegant Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland was the first architectural monument planned to honor George Washington.-History:...
, in Baltimore, which began construction in 1815.
In 1820, he was appointed as acting commissioner of the Board of Public Works in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. In 1823, Mills was the superintendent of public buildings. In the next few years, he designed numerous buildings in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
including court houses, the campus of the University of South Carolina, jails, and the Fireproof Building
Fireproof Building
The Fireproof Building, also known as County Records Building, is located at 100 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina. It was designed by Robert Mills and constructed by John G. Spindle. It was completed by 1827. At that time, it was the most completely fireproof building in America and it is...
in Charleston. In 1825, he authored an Atlas of the State of South Carolina
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a map of Earth or a region of Earth, but there are atlases of the other planets in the Solar System. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats...
. One year later, he published Statistics of South Carolina. He reputedly designed the Old Horry County Courthouse
Old Horry County Courthouse
Old Horry County Courthouse, now known as Conway City Hall, is a historic court house building located at Conway in Horry County, South Carolina. It was built between 1824 and 1825 and reputedly designed by Robert Mills . It is a two story Classical Revival brick building...
, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1971.
In 1836 he won the competition for the design of the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
which is his best known work.
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
building and several other federal buildings in Washington, D. C. including the U.S. Patent Office Building
Old Patent Office Building
The historic Old Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C. covers an entire city block defined by F and G Streets and 7th and 9th Streets NW in Chinatown. After undergoing extensive renovations, the building reopened on July 1, 2006 and was renamed The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art...
. In South Carolina, he designed county courthouse
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
s in at least 18 counties, some of the public buildings in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, and a few private homes. He also designed portions of the Landsford Canal
Landsford Canal
The Landford Canal was the farthest upstream of a series of canals built on the Catawba and Wateree Rivers to provide a direct water route between the upstate settlements and the towns on the fall line. It is located along the Catawba River in Chester County and Lancaster County west of Lancaster...
, Chester County
Chester County, South Carolina
Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 34,068; in 2005 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had dropped to 33,228. Its county seat is Chester.-Geography and climate:...
, on the Catawba River
Catawba River
The Catawba River is a tributary of the Wateree River in the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. The river is approximately 220 miles long...
in South Carolina.
Mills was an early advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
of buildings designed to include fireproof
Fireproof
-Track List for Original 2002 Release:# "Fireproof" – 3:46# "Just 2 Get By" – 4:17# "Echelon" – 3:25# "Stay Up" – 3:40# "Behind Closed Doors" – 2:55# "Epidemic" – 3:14# "Hindsight" – 2:57# "Light at My Feet" – 3:28# "A Shame" – 3:17...
materials. A fire in Kingstree, South Carolina
Kingstree, South Carolina
Kingstree is a town in and the county seat of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,328 at the 2010 census.-History:...
destroyed much of the upper floor of a courthouse called the Fireproof Building
Fireproof Building
The Fireproof Building, also known as County Records Building, is located at 100 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina. It was designed by Robert Mills and constructed by John G. Spindle. It was completed by 1827. At that time, it was the most completely fireproof building in America and it is...
which had been designed by Mills, but the county records on the first floor were protected due to his fireproofing measures. A fire also destroyed much of the Lancaster County, South Carolina Courthouse in August 2008.
He died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1855 and was buried at the Congressional Cemetery.
Context
The broadest context for Mills' architecture was neoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
. This was the dominant style of building that was winning architectural design competition
Architectural design competition
An architectural design competition is a special type of competition in which an organization or government body that plans to build a new building asks for architects to submit a proposed design for a building. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel of design professionals...
s and major projects of the time, both in Europe and in America. Under the umbrella of neoclassicism, his designs were partly Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
, Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
and often Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
.
Apart from stylistic movements in architecture going on in the world at his time, Robert Mills was involved in the more local context of building in the Mid-Atlantic States
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
. There, and especially in Washington D.C., were many figures contributing architecture of high quality. To build as Mills did on what is now the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
, he had to contend with the planning strictures of Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Pierre Charles L'Enfant was a French-born American architect and civil engineer best known for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C..-Early life:...
, as well as Andrew
Andrew Ellicott
Andrew Ellicott was a U.S. surveyor who helped map many of the territories west of the Appalachians, surveyed the boundaries of the District of Columbia, continued and completed Pierre Charles L'Enfant's work on the plan for Washington, D.C., and served as a teacher in survey methods for...
and Joseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Ellicott ....
. Being an architect of the now Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle of West...
he was also undoubtedly influenced by Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and Jeffersonian architecture
Jeffersonian architecture
Jeffersonian Architecture is an American form of Neo-Classicism or Neo-Palladianism embodied in American president and polymath Thomas Jefferson's designs for his home , his retreat , his school , and his designs for the homes of friends and political allies...
. Mills, with Jefferson and others, was able to create a distinctive federal style
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
of architecture.
One of Mills' descendants, P.J. Mills
P.J. Mills
Percy Joseph Mills, Jr., known as P. J. Mills , is a retired businessman residing in New Orleans, Louisiana, who served from 1968-1972 as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish in the northwestern corner of the state.Known as one of the...
of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, is a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
.
Further reading
- Robert Mills: America's First Architect, by John Bryan, Princeton Architectural Press.