Edward Dow (architect)

Edward Dow
Born	July 11, 1820 Lemington, Vermont, U.S.
Died	July 31, 1894 (1894-08-01) (aged 74) Concord, New Hampshire, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Architect
Relatives	Wallace L. Dow (nephew)
Practice	Colby & Dow; Edward Dow; Dow & Wheeler; Dow & Randlett

Culver Hall, New Hampshire College, 1869.

Town Hall, Charlestown, 1872.

Board of Trade Building, Concord, 1873.

New Hampshire State Prison, Concord, 1878.

Town Hall, Tilton, 1879.

Memorial Arch, Northfield, 1882.

Thompson Hall, University of New Hampshire, 1892.

Town Hall, Antrim, 1893.

Edward Dow (July 11, 1820 – July 31, 1894) was an American architect from New Hampshire.

Life and career

Dow was born in Lemington, Vermont, July 11, 1820. The son of a carpenter, he began learning his father's trade at a young age. At the age of 16, the family moved to Newport, New Hampshire, where young Dow began an apprenticeship with Ruel Durkee. In 1847 he moved to Concord and established himself as a carpenter.[1] By 1851 he had established the firm of Colby & Dow, builders, with J. M. Colby.[2] Around 1856 he set out on his own again, this time as an architect.[3][4]

He remained in private practice until 1876, when he took Giles Wheeler (1834-1915) into Dow & Wheeler.[5] Wheeler had, years before, apprenticed with Colby & Dow, and had rejoined the firm in 1873. The two worked together until 1885, when Wheeler left to supervise the construction of the new U. S. Post Office.[6] However, Dow continued to practice as Dow & Wheeler until 1890. That year, James E. Randlett (1846-1909), formerly the keeper of the state house, became a partner.[7] Dow & Randlett was dissolved upon Dow's death in 1894.

From at least 1882 until 1892, architect Albert E. Bodwell (1851-1926) was apparently Dow's chief designer. He left to establish his own office with Charles E. Sargent in 1892.[8]

Dow's nephew, Wallace L. Dow, studied architecture with Dow & Wheeler from 1877 to 1880, when he left New Hampshire for South Dakota, where he would become a noted architect.[9]

Selected works

Edward Dow, c.1856-1876

• 1857 - Phenix Hotel, 46 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire[10]
  • Demolished.
• 1859 - House for George E. Jenks, 76 School St, Concord, New Hampshire[11]
• 1859 - St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 21 Centre St, Concord, New Hampshire[12]
• 1860 - New Hampshire State Prison Warehouse, 2½ Beacon St, Concord, New Hampshire
• 1863 - Concord High School, 27 N State St, Concord, New Hampshire[13]
  • Burned in 1888.
• 1866 - Littleton High School, High & School Sts, Littleton, New Hampshire[14]
  • Demolished.
• 1866 - New Hampshire Statesman Building, 18 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire[12]
• 1866 - Penacook Academy, 116 N Main St, Boscawen, New Hampshire[11]
• 1868 - Hill Block, 66 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire[12]
• 1868 - Trinity M. E. Church, 137 Main St, Montpelier, Vermont[15]
• 1869 - Culver Hall, New Hampshire College, Hanover, New Hampshire[16]
  • Demolished.
• 1872 - Charlestown Town Hall, 11 Summer St, Charlestown, New Hampshire[16]
• 1872 - Newport Town Hall, 20 Main St, Newport, New Hampshire[17]
  • Burned and partially rebuilt in 1885.
• 1872 - Trinity Episcopal Church, 247 Main St, Tilton, New Hampshire[18]
• 1873 - Board of Trade Building, 83-85 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire[12]
  • Largely demolished.
• 1874 - Conant Hall, New Hampshire College, Hanover, New Hampshire[19]
  • Demolished.
• 1876 - Morrill Bros. Block, 55 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire[12]

Dow & Wheeler, 1876-1882

• 1877 - House for Alvah W. Sulloway, 26 Peabody Pl, Franklin, New Hampshire[20]
  • Demolished.
• 1878 - New Hampshire State Prison, 281 N State St, Concord, New Hampshire[21]
• 1879 - Tilton Town Hall, 257 Main St, Tilton, New Hampshire[18]
• 1880 - Nashua Union Station, Temple St, Nashua, New Hampshire[22]
  • Demolished.
• 1881 - Penacook Fire Station, 25 Washington St, Penacook, New Hampshire[23]
• 1881 - The Temple, Temple Ave, Ocean Park, Maine[24]
• 1882 - Memorial Arch, Tilton Arch Park, Northfield, New Hampshire
• 1883 - Northfield Union Church, Sondogardy Pond Rd, Northfield, New Hampshire
• 1884 - West Street Ward House, 41 West St, Concord, New Hampshire[25]
• 1887 - Bank Block, 291 Main St, Tilton, New Hampshire[18]
• 1887 - House for Charles C. Danforth, 39 Green St, Concord, New Hampshire[20]
  • Demolished.
• 1887 - Perkins Inn, Old Henniker & Hopkinton Rds, Hopkinton, New Hampshire[26]
  • Demolished.
• 1888 - Odd Fellows Building, 18 Pleasant St, Concord, New Hampshire[12]
• 1888 - West Concord Fire Station, 450 N State St, West Concord, New Hampshire[27]
• 1889 - "The Boulders" for A. Perley Fitch, 150 Garnet St, Sunapee, New Hampshire[20]
  • Demolished.
• 1889 - Orphans' Home of Concord, 1942 Dunbarton Rd, Concord, New Hampshire[28]
  • Demolished.
• 1890 - Concord Gas Light Building, 24 Bridge St, Concord, New Hampshire[29]

Dow & Randlett, 1890-1894

• 1892 - Bristol Savings Bank Building, 10 N Main St, Bristol, New Hampshire[30]
• 1892 - Conant Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire[31]
• 1892 - Epping Town Hall, 157 Main St, Epping, New Hampshire[31][32]
• 1892 - Thompson Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire[31]
• 1893 - Antrim Town Hall, 66 Main St, Antrim, New Hampshire[33]
• 1893 - Phenix Hall, 40 N Main St, Concord, New Hampshire[12]
• 1893 - "Pleasant View" for Mary Baker Eddy, 227 Pleasant St, Concord, New Hampshire[34]
  • Demolished.
• 1894 - Y. M. C. A. Building, 12 N State St, Concord, New Hampshire[12]

References

1. "Edward Dow". Granite Monthly Jan.-Feb. 1890: 50.
2. Reports of the Board of Visitors, Trustees, Building Committee, and of the Superintendent of the N. H. Asylum for the Insane, June Session, 1851. 1851.
3. Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of New Hampshire, June Session, 1856. 1856.
4. Bacon, George F. "Edward Dow, Architect". The Leading Business Men of Concord and Vicinity. 1890.
5. The New-Hampshire Register, Farmers' Almanac, and Business Directory for 1877. 1877.
6. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire. Ed. Ezra S. Stearns. Vol. 4. 1908.
7. "James E. Randlett". Granite Monthly Sept. 1909: 305.
8. Gilmanton Academy NRHP Nomination. 1983.
9. Dumke, Jennifer. W. L. Dow: The Architect Who Shaped Sioux Falls. 2013.
10. "New Phenix Hotel". Researches and Recorder of the Merrimack Valley Jan. 1858: 185.
11. Tolles, Bryant F., Jr. New Hampshire Architecture: An Illustrated Guide. 1979.
12. Downtown Concord Historic District NRHP Nomination. 2000.
13. Annual Report of the Schools in the City of Concord, for the Year Ending March, 1864. 1864.
14. Jackson, James R. History of Littleton, New Hampshire. Vol. 2. 1905.
15. Montpelier Historic District NRHP Nomination Amendment. 2009.
16. Charlestown Town Hall NRHP Nomination. 1984.
17. Wheeler, Edmund. The History of Newport, New Hampshire: From 1766 to 1878. 1879.
18. Tilton Downtown Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1983.
19. Barrett, Frank J., Jr. Images of America: Early Dartmouth College and Downtown Hanover. 2008.
20. New Hampshire Homes. 1895.
21. Manufacturer and Builder April 1878: 80.
22. American Architect and Building News 3 April 1880: 148.
23. Annual Report of the Receipts and Expentitures of the City of Concord for the Fiscal Year Ending January 31, 1882. 1882.
24. The Temple NRHP Nomination. 1975.
25. Annual Report of the Receipts and Expentitures of the City of Concord for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 1884. 1885.
26. Lord, C. C. Life and Times in Hopkinton, N.H. 1890.
27. Annual Report of the Receipts and Expentitures of the City of Concord for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 1888. 1889.
28. Journal of the Proceedings of the 89th Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Hampshire. 1889.
29. Electrical World 21 June 1890: 425.
30. Central Square Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1983.
31. Thompson Hall NRHP Nomination. 1996.
32. Blanchard, Corey. Images of America: Epping. 2015.
33. School and Financial Reports of the Town of Antrim for the Year Ending February 15, 1894. 1894.
34. "Specifications: for house for Mrs. Mary G.B. Eddy to be erected in Concord, N.H./by Dow & Randlett". http://nhhistory.library.net/ Archived 2015-07-05 at the Wayback Machine. n.d. Web.