Wilson Eyre
Encyclopedia
Wilson Eyre, Jr. was an influential American
architect, teacher and writer who practiced in the Philadelphia area. He is known for his deliberately informal and welcoming country houses, and for being an innovator in the Shingle Style.
For his most important early houses, "Anglecot
" (1883) and "Farwood" (1884–85), he used a simple plan: a line of asymmetrical public rooms stretching along a single axis, extending even outside to a piazza. Like many Shingle Style architects, he employed the open "living hall" as an organizing element: all of the main first floor rooms connecting to the hall, often through large openings. In addition, he used staircases to extend the space of the hall to the second floor. According to architectural-historian Vincent Scully
: "This sense of extended horizontal plane and intensified "positive" scale evident in Eyre's work becomes later a basic component in the work of [Frank Lloyd] Wright
..." Eyre collaborated with artists such as Alexander Stirling Calder
and Louis Comfort Tiffany
.
Following his early success, Eyre became a leader in the international country life movement, lecturing in England, and corresponding with British and German architects. He was one of the first U.S. architects to be featured in the Arts & Crafts magazine International Studio, and he was published by Hermann Muthesius, the chronicler of the so-called "English" house of the turn of the century. Prior to Frank Lloyd Wright
's rise to prominence, Eyre was arguably the best-known domestic architect in the U.S. among foreign designers. His post-1890 country houses, such as "Allgates" (1910, expanded by Eyre & McIlvaine 1917) are among the most accomplished American essays in the restrained stucco cottage idiom popularized by C.F.A. Voysey and Ernest Newton
in England.
He was one of the founders and editors of House & Garden
magazine. He designed many distinctive gardens with his residences, and wrote extensively of the need for interaction between rooms and outdoor spaces.
He was also renowned for his distinctive artistic drawings, often in watercolor. His extant drawings are now housed in the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania. He was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects
in 1893. In August 1914 Eyre was stranded in Europe along with thousands of Americans attempting to escape the fighting that erupted in World War I. Eyre returned to the United States in late September and shared a cabin with Augustus P. Gardner, a member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
In 1917, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania
, and was one of the founders of the T Square Club of Philadelphia in 1883.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect, teacher and writer who practiced in the Philadelphia area. He is known for his deliberately informal and welcoming country houses, and for being an innovator in the Shingle Style.
Architect and author
The son of Americans living abroad, he was born in Florence, Italy, and educated in Europe, Newport, Rhode Island, and Canada. He studied architecture briefly at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined the Philadelphia offices of James Peacock Sims in 1877, and took over the firm on Sims’s death in 1882. In 1911, he entered into partnership with John Gilbert McIlvaine, and opened a second office in New York City. The firm of Eyre & McIlvaine continued until 1939.For his most important early houses, "Anglecot
Anglecot
The Anglecot, also known as the Potter Residence, is a historic residence in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by noted Philadelphia architect Wilson Eyre for Charles Adams Potter , a manufacturer of linoleum.Anglecot was a sanatarium in the 1970s...
" (1883) and "Farwood" (1884–85), he used a simple plan: a line of asymmetrical public rooms stretching along a single axis, extending even outside to a piazza. Like many Shingle Style architects, he employed the open "living hall" as an organizing element: all of the main first floor rooms connecting to the hall, often through large openings. In addition, he used staircases to extend the space of the hall to the second floor. According to architectural-historian Vincent Scully
Vincent Scully
Vincent Joseph Scully, Jr. is Sterling Professor Emeritus of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject...
: "This sense of extended horizontal plane and intensified "positive" scale evident in Eyre's work becomes later a basic component in the work of [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...
..." Eyre collaborated with artists such as Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder was an American sculptor and teacher; son of the sculptor Alexander Milne Calder, and father of the sculptor Alexander Calder...
and Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
.
Following his early success, Eyre became a leader in the international country life movement, lecturing in England, and corresponding with British and German architects. He was one of the first U.S. architects to be featured in the Arts & Crafts magazine International Studio, and he was published by Hermann Muthesius, the chronicler of the so-called "English" house of the turn of the century. Prior to 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...
's rise to prominence, Eyre was arguably the best-known domestic architect in the U.S. among foreign designers. His post-1890 country houses, such as "Allgates" (1910, expanded by Eyre & McIlvaine 1917) are among the most accomplished American essays in the restrained stucco cottage idiom popularized by C.F.A. Voysey and Ernest Newton
Ernest Newton
Ernest Newton, FRIBA, ARA was an English architect and President of Royal Institute of British Architects.-Life:Newton was the son of an estate manager of Bickley, Kent. He was educated at Uppingham School. He married, in 1881, Antoinette Johanna Hoyack, of Rotterdam, and had three sons...
in England.
He was one of the founders and editors of House & Garden
House & Garden (magazine)
House & Garden was an American shelter magazine published by Condé Nast Publications that focused on interior design, entertaining, and gardening....
magazine. He designed many distinctive gardens with his residences, and wrote extensively of the need for interaction between rooms and outdoor spaces.
He was also renowned for his distinctive artistic drawings, often in watercolor. His extant drawings are now housed in the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania. He was elected 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...
in 1893. In August 1914 Eyre was stranded in Europe along with thousands of Americans attempting to escape the fighting that erupted in World War I. Eyre returned to the United States in late September and shared a cabin with Augustus P. Gardner, a member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
In 1917, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Philadelphia Chapter 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...
. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The 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...
, and was one of the founders of the T Square Club of Philadelphia in 1883.
Residences
- "AnglecotAnglecotThe Anglecot, also known as the Potter Residence, is a historic residence in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by noted Philadelphia architect Wilson Eyre for Charles Adams Potter , a manufacturer of linoleum.Anglecot was a sanatarium in the 1970s...
" (Charles Adams Potter house), 401 E. Evergreen Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1883). Added to the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe 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 1982. - "Farwood" (Richard L. Ashurst house), Overbrook, Pennsylvania (1884–85, demolished).
- "Wisteria" (Charles A. Newhall house), 444 W. Chestnut Hill Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1884–85).
- Dr. Henry Genet Taylor House and OfficeDr. Henry Genet Taylor House and OfficeDr. Henry Genet Taylor House and Office, is located in Camden, New Jersey and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 12, 1971. The building was designed by Wilson Eyre and was built in 1884.-References:...
, 305 Cooper Street, Camden, New Jersey (1884–86). - Harriet D. Schaeffer house, 433 W. Stafford Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1888)
- Clarence Bloomfield MooreClarence Bloomfield MooreClarence Bloomfield Moore was an American archaeologist and writer...
house, 1321 Locust Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1890). - Henry Cochran house, 3511 Baring Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1891).
- Neil and Mauran houses, 22nd & Delancey Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1891).
- Dr. Joseph Leidy HouseDr. Joseph Leidy HouseThe Dr. Joseph Leidy House is a historic residence in the Washington Square West neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the home of Joseph Leidy , a noted American paleontologist....
and office, 1319 Locust Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1894). - Mrs. Evan Randolph house, 218 W. Chestnut Hill Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1906).
- Alterations to Wilson Eyre house, 1003-05 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1909–1910). Added to the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe 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 1977. - "Allgates" (Horatio Gates Lloyd mansion), Coopertown Road, Haverford, Pennsylvania (1910, expanded by Eyre & McIlvaine 1917). Added to the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe 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 1979. - Additions to "Bel Orme" (Thomas Mott house), Matson Ford & County Line Roads, Radnor, Pennsylvania (Eyre & McIlvaine) (1917).
- Clover Hill Farm, 910 Penn Valley Rd Media, Pennsylvania (1907).
Other buildings
- Mask & Wig ClubhouseMask and WigThe Mask and Wig Club, founded in 1889 by Clayton Fotterall McMichael, is the oldest all-male collegiate musical comedy troupe in the United States...
, 310 Quince Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1894, altered by Eyre 1901). Murals by Maxfield ParrishMaxfield ParrishMaxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the twentieth century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.-Life:...
. Added to the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe 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 1979. - University of Pennsylvania Museum, 3260 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (with Frank Miles DayFrank Miles DayFrank Miles Day was a Philadelphia-based architect who specialized in residences and academic buildings. In 1883, he graduated from the Towne School of the University of Pennsylvania, and traveled to Europe. In England, he apprenticed under two architects, and won the 1885 prize from the...
and Cope & StewardsonCope & StewardsonCope & Stewardson was an architecture firm best known for its academic building and campus designs. The firm is often regarded as a Master of the Collegiate Gothic style. Walter Cope and John Stewardson established the firm in 1885, and were later joined by Emlyn Stewardson in 1887...
) (1895–99). - Corn Exchange BankCorn Exchange BankThe Corn Exchange Bank was founded in 1853 in New York, but had branches in other states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. It was a retail bank that acquired many community banks. In 1929 it was renamed the Corn Exchange Bank and Trust Company. In 1954 it merged with Chemical Bank...
, Northeast corner 2nd & Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1896). - Carnegie LibraryCarnegie LibraryCarnegie Library, Carnegie Public Library, Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie Free Public Library, Andrew Carnegie Library, Andrew Carnegie Free Library or Carnegie Library Building may refer to any of the following Carnegie libraries:- California :*Carnegie Library , listed on the National Register...
, McPherson Square, 601 E. Indiana Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Eyre & McIlvaine) (1915–17) - Swann Memorial FountainSwann Memorial FountainThe Swann Memorial Fountain is a fountain sculpture located in the center of Logan Circle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States....
, Logan Circle, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Eyre & McIlvaine, architects; Alexander Stirling CalderAlexander Stirling CalderAlexander Stirling Calder was an American sculptor and teacher; son of the sculptor Alexander Milne Calder, and father of the sculptor Alexander Calder...
, sculptor) (1921–24).
Buildings elsewhere
- Charles Lang Freer HouseCharles Lang Freer HouseThe Charles Lang Freer House is located at 71 East Ferry Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Originally built by the industrialist and art collector Charles Lang Freer whose gift of the Freer Gallery of Art began the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The house is currently the Merrill Palmer...
, 71 E. Ferry Street, Detroit, Michigan (1890). Eyre altered the carriage house in 1906, to install The Peacock Room by James McNeill WhistlerJames McNeill WhistlerJames Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
(now in the Freer Gallery, Washington, DC). Added to the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe 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. - Detroit ClubDetroit ClubThe Detroit Club is a private social club located at 712 Cass Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. The building was constructed in 1891 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.- History :...
, 712 Cass Avenue, Detroit, Michigan (1891). Added to the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe 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 2005. - "Northcote" (Stephen Parrish house), Lang Road, Cornish, New Hampshire (1893). Located near the Cornish Art ColonyCornish Art ColonyThe Cornish Art Colony was a popular art colony centered in Cornish, New Hampshire from about 1895 through the years of World War I. Attracted by the natural beauty of the area, about 100 artists, sculptors, writers, designers, and politicians lived there either full time or during the summer...
, this became the home/studio of the client's son, the painter Maxfield ParrishMaxfield ParrishMaxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the twentieth century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.-Life:...
. - Newcomb College Memorial Chapel, 6th & Chestnut Streets, New Orleans, Louisiana (1894–95, demolished 1954). Stained glass by Louis Comfort TiffanyLouis Comfort TiffanyLouis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
. - "Meadowcroft" (Theodore E. Conklin mansion), Southampton, Long Island, New York (1904). Lighting by Louis Comfort TiffanyLouis Comfort TiffanyLouis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
. - E.S. Sands mansion, Southport, Connecticut (1905)