Hartwell and Richardson was a Boston, Massachusetts architectural firm established in 1881, by Henry Walker Hartwell (1833–1919) and William Cummings Richardson (1854–1935). The firm contributed significantly to the current building stock and architecture of the greater Boston area. Many of its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]
Richardson, twenty years younger than Hartwell, studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He won the Boston Society of Architects' 1875 prize as best young architect, and worked on his own until the 1881 partnership. Richardson was the principal designer in the firm, and Hartwell took care of the engineering and oversaw construction.[4]
The firm's clients tended to be successful businessmen, rather than Boston "society."[3] Early on, the firm specialized in churches and municipal buildings. First Baptist Church (1881) in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Town Hall (1881) in Belmont, Massachusetts, both completed in the first year of the partnership, probably were Hartwell's designs. Richardson's polychromy added lightness to Christ Church (1882) in Andover, Massachusetts and the First Spiritual Temple (1885) in Boston, Massachusetts. Even in informal styles such as the Queen Anne or Shingle-Style, that allowed for enormous freedom, Richardson's designs were conservative, sometimes even symmetrical, but beautifully detailed. Of particular note is a cluster of distinguished 1880s houses in the Avon Hill neighborhood of Cambridge.
Two of the firm's churches offer a direct contrast: The Broadway Winter Hill Congregational Church (1890) in Somerville, Massachusetts is an informal, Shingle-Style composition. The Central Congregational Church (1895) in Newton, Massachusetts, composed of similar elements, is a more formal, Romanesque-Revival building, that would be symmetrical, absent the adjacent tower. Each probably reflected the wishes of the client, but they demonstrate that Richardson was accomplished in a range of styles.
In 1895, with the addition of English architect James Driver (1859–1923), the firm became Hartwell, Richardson and Driver, and continued under that name until Driver's retirement in 1921.[6] The name reverted to Hartwell and Richardson, even though Hartwell had died in 1919, and the firm continued until Richardson's death in 1935.
In the 20th century, public schools and the occasional commercial building comprised much of the firm's output.[7] At least six of their high school buildings have been converted into apartments or condominiums.
State Normal Art School (1889, demolished), 68 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts.[15] Hartwell and Richardson had their offices in this building.
Newton Classical High School (1898–99, demolished 1973), Walnut Street, Newtonville, Massachusetts; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[22]
Trenton High School (1899–1900), Chestnut & Hamilton Avenues, Trenton, New Jersey; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[23]
Cambridge Latin School (1900, demolished 1980), Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[24]
Dorchester Latin High School (1900), Talbot Avenue & Centre Street, Boston, Massachusetts; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[25] The firm also designed the 1910 addition.[26] Now Latin Academy Apartments.
McKeen Memorial Hall (1903–04), Abbot Academy, Andover, Massachusetts; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[27][28]
Manchester High School (1904), 1146 Main Street, Manchester, Connecticut; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[29] Now Bennet Apartments for senior citizens.
Waltham Savings Bank (1905), Waltham, Massachusetts; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[43]
Company F State Armory (1909), Waltham, Massachusetts; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver. NRHP-listed.[1]
Residences
Alterations to Lyman Estate (1882–83), Waltham, Massachusetts.
"Seven Gables," Francis Henry Hastings House (1885), 190 North Avenue, Weston, Massachusetts.[44] Shingle-Style. A contributing property in Kendal Green Historic District.
Henry O. Underwood House (1885), 100 Common Street, Belmont, Massachusetts. Shingle-Style.
"Osgood Hill," Moses T. Stevens House (1886), 723 Osgood Street, North Andover, Massachusetts. NRHP-listed.[1]
Dr. W. B. Parker House (1886–88, altered), 248 Marlborough Street, Boston, Massachusetts.[47] One of the twin front doors led to Parker's residence, the other to his dentist's office. The right front door has been bricked over.
J. A. Wood House (1888), 3 Sacramento Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Shingle-Style. NRHP-listed.[1]
Thomas E. Proctor House (1893), 273 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts.[48] A 4-story, Neoclassical, double-width city house.
Isaac McLean House (1894), 2218 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. NRHP listed.[1] Now A Cambridge House Inn.[49]
Silas Peavy House (1905), 300 Kent Street, Brookline, Massachusetts; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[50]
Charles Phelps House (1905), 1 Ellington Avenue, Rockville, Connecticut; Hartwell, Richardson & Driver.[51]
"Hartwell & Richardson," The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, Volume 1 (Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 464.[2]
Susan Maycock Vogel, "Hartwell and Richardson: An Introduction to Their Work," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 32, No. 2 (May, 1973), pp. 132–146.[3]
