Warren was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island. He arrived in Bristol in 1800, and began to design and build unique Federal-style houses for the upper and middle class residents of that town.[1] In 1823, Warren left Providence and went south to Georgetown, South Carolina, where he became a building contractor.[2] In 1826 Warren moved back to Rhode Island, opening an architect's office in Providence.[3] In 1828, he collaborated with fellow Providence architect James C. Bucklin of Tallman & Bucklin in the design of the Westminster Arcade, designing the Westminster Street facade. He joined Tallman & Bucklin formally in 1830, the firm becoming Warren, Tallman & Bucklin. This firm was dissolved the following year, although they occasionally collaborated in later years.[4] Warren would become the foremost architect in southeastern New England, working as far away as Plymouth.
For a few months in 1835 and 1836, Warren worked with Alexander J. Davis in New York, who had recently left his partnership with Ithiel Town. The Congregational Church in New Bedford was conceived under Davis at this time, but was built by Warren after he had returned to Providence.
Although he had never been to Greece, Warren was a master of Greek architectural styles.[5] In 1838, he designed a set of three Greek Revival houses within 50 feet of each other on Hope Street in Bristol. Each house represented one of the different Greek styles: an Ionic house for future governor Francis M. Dimond, a Corinthian house for Captain Josiah Talbot, and a Doric house for Captain John Fletcher.[5] The latter is now demolished.[5]
Warren continued in solo practice until 1846, when he took his son Osborn Warren as partner. The new firm was known as Russell Warren & Son, and lasted for two years, when Russell and Osborn are listed separately in the directory.[6] From then until his death, Warren practiced independently. His commissions waned in the 1850s, owing to the emergence of other architects such as Thomas A. Tefft and Alpheus C. Morse.
Warren died in 1860. He is buried in Grace Church Cemetery, Providence, Rhode Island.
In 1842, at the dedication at New Bedford of Warren's new Parker House, the president of the corporation said of Warren and Providence, "Her architects have made it a “City of Palaces”; she has furnished us with hosts who will give to the world a stranger’s welcome."[7]
Architectural works
William DeWolf House (1808, demolished)
Russell Warren, 1800–1823 and 1826–1830
William van Doorn House, 86 State St., Bristol, RI (1807)[8]
Hey-Bonnie Hall (William DeWolf House), 127 Poppasquash Rd., Bristol, RI (1808) - Demolished 1944.[9]
Russell Warren House, 92 State St., Bristol, RI (1810)[8]
Thomas Nelson House, 82 State St., Bristol, RI (1810)[8]
Linden Place (George DeWolf House), 500 Hope St., Bristol, RI (1810)[8]
Benjamin Bosworth House, 515 Hope St., Bristol, RI (1815) - Demolished.[10]
^The Exercises at the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Westminster Congregational Society. 1878.
^"University of Rhode Island Library: Special Collections and Archives: Guide to the Records of St. Mark's Episcopal Church 1828-2010". http://www.uri.edu/. n.d. Web.
^Anger, Jenny. "The Rise of the Professional Architect". Thomas Alexander Tefft: American Architecture in Transition, 1845-1860. Ed. Kathleen A. Curran. Providence, RI: Brown University, 1988.
^Greene, Welcome Arnold. The Providence Plantations for 250 Years. Providence: J. A. & R. A. Reid, 1886.
^Hoffman, Charles and Tess. North by South: The Two Lives of Richard James Arnold. 1988.
^Historic and Architectural Resources of Tiverton, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report. 1983.
^Historic and Architectural Resources of West Warwick, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report. 1987.
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