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Richard Clipston Sturgis

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Richard Clipston Sturgis
Born(1860-12-24)December 24, 1860
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedMay 8, 1951(1951-05-08) (aged 90)
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
NationalityUnited States
OccupationArchitect

Richard Clipston Sturgis (1860-1951), generally known as R. Clipston Sturgis, was an American architect based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Life and career

Richard Clipston Sturgis was born December 24, 1860 in Boston, Massachusetts to Russell and Susan Codman (Welles) Sturgis. His father was a son of merchant Russell Sturgis and a brother of architect John Hubbard Sturgis. He was educated in the private school of George Washington Copp Noble, now the Noble and Greenough School. He entered Harvard College in 1877, graduating in 1881. From 1881 to 1883 to worked in the office of his uncle, Sturgis & Brigham. He then sailed to England, where he worked until late 1884 for London architect Robert William Edis, then engaged on an extension to Sandringham House. After leaving Edis he spent two years touring Europe. In August of 1886 his uncle dissolved his partnership, and the younger Sturgis returned to Boston to help manage the office.[1]

In May of 1887 John Hubbard Sturgis returned to his native England to manage his father's affairs, with the younger Sturgis left in charge in Boston. In February of 1888 his uncle died in England, and the younger Sturgis succeeded to the practice.[2] He was responsible for completing his uncle's unfinished works, including the Church of the Advent and the new building of the Boston Athletic Association. In May he formed a partnership with William Robinson Cabot, known as Sturgis & Cabot.[3] Cabot was a son of architect Edward Clarke Cabot.[4] This continued until it was dissolved in May of 1895, after which Sturgis continued alone.[5] In July of 1902 he formed a new partnership with George Edward Barton, known as Sturgis & Barton.[6] In addition to a Boston office this firm also had a New York office at Tuxedo Park. This partnership was dissolved after a period of six years. He again was sole proprietor of his firm until 1922, when he reorganized his firm as The Office of R. Clipston Sturgis, with William Stanley Parker, William B. Coffin, William Adams, S. Winthrop St. Clair and Alanson Hall Sturgis, his nephew, as associates.[7] Ten years later, in 1932, Sturgis retired. The firm was then reorganized as Sturgis Associates Inc. Parker was head of the new firm, though Sturgis remained associated as a consultant.[8]

Sturgis was regarded as a leader in the architectural profession. In 1891 he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.[9] From 1908 to 1912 he was president of the Boston Society of Architects. In 1913-14 he was first vice president of the American Institute of Architects, and president in 1914-15.[10] He was also involved in the Society of Arts and Crafts of Boston, and served as its fourth president from 1917 to 1920.[11] Other organizations to which Sturgis belonged include: the Harvard Clubs of Boston and New York, the Somerset Club, the Tavern Club, the Union Boat Club, the Loyal Legion, the English-Speaking Union, the Colonial Society of Massachusetts and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[10]

From 1902 until 1909 Sturgis was a member of the Board of School-house Commissioners of the School-house Department, a department of the Boston city government that had charge of the selection of sites, appointment of architects and supervision of construction of new schools throughout Boston.[10][2]

Perkins School for the Blind

Among Sturgis' most significant commissions was the new campus of the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Sturgis was asked to design the campus when third director of the school Edward Allen[12] found its current home in Watertown, Massachusetts. Sturgis chose the popular style of the time called English Collegiate Gothic when designing the campus. Allen required Sturgis to incorporate a "family-style" cottage system implemented by Samuel Gridley Howe. This cottage system was meant to replicate the idea of a family setting and help teach student independent living skills (Activities of Daily Life). This cottage style included students of all ages living together in a family like unit with "four teachers, a cook, and a household assistant oversaw 20 students in each cottage[13]". While the structure of cottage style living has somewhat changed from its first implementation at the school, this cottage style of living still exists at Perkins.

Sturgis also considered the unique mobility needs of students with visual impairments and designed the building to reflect this.

  1. He used many right angles to help with orientation. Right angles help students more easily understand cardinal direction at any given time.[13]
  2. Equidistant corridors: Each side of the building mirrors the other meaning the student can cognitively map one side of the building and then because of their mirroring know the other side of the building as well.
  3. Stairs on the sides of corridors: To help predictability of where a student can find stairs.
  4. Sightly tilted walkways: To help the student understand if their straight line of travel has been affected.
  5. Animal tiles on columns: To serve as a tactile marker of a space aiding in orientation (knowing where one is). Think of it like a sign for someone who is visually impaired- braille was not used at Perkins at this time)
  6. Rosettes carved into the wood of the seats in the chapel: To again be used as a tactile marker

Personal life

Sturgis married in 1882 to Esther Mary Ogden of Troy, New York.[2] They had two sons, one of whom died in infancy, and one daughter. His surviving son, Richard Clipston Sturgis Jr., was born March 17, 1884 at Canterbury in Kent, England.[2] He followed in his father's footsteps, attending Harvard College after which he worked for Parker & Thomas in Boston and Howard & Galloway in San Francisco before joining his father's office in 1907. He died October 18, 1913 at his parents' home in Boston following a sudden illness.[14] Their daughter, Dorothy Margaret (Sturgis) Harding was born July 28, 1891.[2] She was also a designer and was noted in particular for her bookplates.

After retiring from active practice, Sturgis moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where the family had formerly spent only their summers. The family home, known as Martine Cottage, was bought by Sturgis in 1890. He died there on May 8, 1951 at the age of 90.[15] His wife, Esther Mary, had died November 23, 1935 at Winsley in Wiltshire, England while traveling abroad.[16]

His sketchbooks and notebooks are archived in the Boston Athenæum.[17]

Selected architectural works

Sturgis also designed the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute seal.

References

  1. ^ "Richard Clipston Sturgis" in Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report of the Class of 1881 of Harvard College (Cambridge: Harvard College Class of 1881): 138-139.
  2. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference app was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Personal," Engineering and Building Record 18, no. 1 (June 2 1888): 10.
  4. ^ L. Vernon Briggs, History and Genealogy of the Cabot Family, 1475-1927, vol. 2 (L. Vernon Briggs, 1927)
  5. ^ "Architects' Removals," American Architect and Building News 48, no. 1011 (May 11 1895): xii.
  6. ^ "Architects' Removals," American Architect and Building News 77, no. 1384 (July 5 1902): x.
  7. ^ "Personals," American Architect 122, no. 2406 (November 8 1922): 437.
  8. ^ "Personals," American Architect 142, no. 2610 (August 1932): 101.
  9. ^ "R. Clipston Sturgis," aiahistoricaldirectory.atlassian.net, AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, n. d. Accessed June 24 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "Richard Clipston Sturgis" in Fortieth Anniversary Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1881 of Harvard College (Cambridge: University Press, 1921): 233.
  11. ^ Maureen Meister, Arts & Crafts Architecture: History and Heritage in New England (Hanover: University Press of New England, 2014)
  12. ^ "Edward Ellis Allen". www.aph.org.
  13. ^ a b French, Kimberly (2004). Perkins School for the Blind. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 0738535990.
  14. ^ "Richard Clipston Sturgis Jr." in Secretary's Third Report, Harvard College Class of 1905 (Cambridge: Harvard College Class of 1905): 430-432.
  15. ^ "R. Clipston Sturgis: Designed Buildings in Boston; at 90," Boston Globe, May 9 1951, 12.
  16. ^ "Mrs. R. Clipston Sturgis," Boston Globe, November 24 1936, 14.
  17. ^ Sturgis, R. Clipston. "Sketchbooks and notebooks from the office of R. Clipston Sturgis" – via catalog.bostonathenaeum.org Library Catalog.
  18. ^ Francis, Rell (1976). Let Justice Be Done. Cyrus Dallin Art Museum. pp. 50–51.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  19. ^ "Black Rock Gardens Cooperative - Bridgeport, CT 06605 by the Fairfield Metro Station". www.blackrockgardenscooperative.com.
  • Built in Boston: City and Suburb 1800-1950, Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1978

Media related to Richard Clipston Sturgis at Wikimedia Commons

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