Notable James Renwick, Jr. Buildings


Renwick, Jr. was an architect of buildings across the United States. He had a full and impressive forty-year-long career. Renwick, Jr. began as an engineer on the Croton Aqueduct and would eventually become the supervising architect for New York State's Commission of Charities and Correction, the government agency that oversaw public health and hospitals in the region.

Renwick sketch of the north tower of the Smithsonian Castle, 1846, Smithsonian Institution Archives

Renwick sketch of the north tower of the Smithsonian Castle, 1846, Smithsonian Institution Archives

 
Architectural rendering by Ackerman's of the interior of Grace Church, New York City, Library of Congress

Architectural rendering by Ackerman's of the interior of Grace Church, New York City, Library of Congress

Timeline of James Renwick, Jr. and Important Building dates

 

1818

On November 11, James Renwick, Jr. is born in New York City

1836

Renwick, Jr. graduates from Columbia Engineering at the age of eighteen; Assistant engineer on the Croton Aqueduct in New York City

1842

Mark Twain House, 21 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, (demolished 1953)

1843

Renwick, Jr. wins competition to design Grace Church, New York, New York

1847

Renwick, Jr. complete designs of Smithsonian Institution Building, commonly known as 'The Castle', Washington, DC

1848

Calvary Church, New York, New York

1854

Construction of the Smallpox Hospital begins, Blackwell Island, New York

1858

Construction of St. Patrick’s Cathedral begins, New York, New York

1859

Corcoran Gallery of Art (commonly known as the Renwick Gallery), Washington, DC

1861

Vassar College (Main Building), Poughkeepsie, New York & City Hospital, Blackwell Island, New York

1866

St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, New York

1872

The Lighthouse on Roosevelt Island, New York, New York

1895

On June 29, James Renwick, Jr. dies at the age of 76, buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York

 

Gallery of Images from the Library of Congress