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Robert Storer Stephenson
Born(1858-02-18)18 February 1858[1][2]
Brooklyn, New York
Died26 May 1929(1929-05-26) (aged 71)[3][4]
Westport, Connecticut
NationalityAmerican
Alma materAmherst College
OccupationArchitect
SpouseKatherine Schermerhorn Stephenson
PracticeMcKim, Mead & White; Stephenson & Wheeler
BuildingsEdgerton, Wrexleigh, Brewster & Co. factory

Robert Storer Stephenson (1858–1929) was an American architect who was active in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Among numerous private and commercial buildings of that time, he is particularly known for designing two mansions: industrialist Frederick F. Brewster's Tudor-revival house in New Haven's Edgerton Park (completed 1909; demolished 1964)[5][6]: 4, 6 [7] and "Wrexleigh," attorney John Anson Garver's "cottage" on Oyster Bay Cove, on Long Island (completed c.1913).[8][9]

Biography

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Robert Storer Stephenson was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 18, 1858, to George Storer and Ellen T. (née Brewster) Stephenson.[1][2]

He graduated from Amherst College in 1880.

He died May 26, 1929, after a lengthy illness.[3][4]

Career

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Edgerton House, New Haven, Connecticut, designed by Stephenson for Frederick F. Brewster, as seen c. 1913.
Wrexley House, designed by Stephenson for John Anson Garver, on Oyster Bay Cove, on Long Island, as seen c. 1915.
Brewster automobile factory, as seen c. 1915.
Brewster automobile factory, as seen in 2019—serving as headquarters for JetBlue.

Soon after completing college, Stephenson joined the renowned architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, which was known for promoting the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York at the end of the 19th century.[3][2] He left this firm in 1882 and eventually formed his own, Stephenson & Wheeler.[10] He was a partner at Stephenson & Wheeler from 1886 to 1921, when he retired.

Stephenson was best known for his work for wealthy families in the environs of New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut. These included Edgerton (Connecticut) and Wrexleigh (New York), as well as designing homes for Charles Bigelow, Thomas E. Gillespie, and Oliver Gould Jennings (882 Fifth Avenue, New York City).[11][12][10] However, he was also the Architectural Advisor to the Church Committee of the Newark, New Jersey Diocese and in that capacity was responsible for designing or co-designing several churches, among them the Trinity Congregational church in East Orange, New Jersey (1891, in partnership with Ernest Greene).

In 1911, Stephenson was also responsible for an innovative design for Brewster & Co., automobile manufacturers' factory in Queen's. An article in Carriage Monthly described it: "The new factory at Long Island City L.I., built especially for light and heavy carriage and automobile work, is of the most improved kind and will be a model for the next few generations."[13] An American Architect article contended, "The automobile factory of Brewster & Co. is an unprecedented proposition in factory construction."[14] The building was particularly notable for its distinctive clocktower, which The AIA guide to New York City characterized as "constructivist" in style.[15] A 2001 New York Times article went into further detail about the building and its plaza:

The architects Stephenson & Wheeler designed a 400,000-square-foot red brick factory, simple in style but with a high clock tower with sinuous tracery. The careful detailing of the clock tower set the building apart from other industrial buildings—it seems to reflect the Secession style explored in factory and industrial architecture and public works in northern Europe around that time. The plaza originally was landscaped, but its sense of ceremonial space was destroyed by the later construction of elevated subway lines, which now completely dominate the area.[16]

The Times article traces some of the building's history—including the production of Rolls-Royce automobiles in the 1920s and 1930s and building's acquisition and renovation by MetLife c. 2000. As of 2010 JetBlue's headquarters have occupied the building.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Jones, Emma C. Brewster (1908). The Brewster Genealogy 1566-1907. New York: The Grafton Press. p. 351.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ a b c Montague, W. L. (1901). Biographical Record of the Alumni and Non-Graduates of Amherst College 1871-1896. Amherst, MA: Carpenter & Morehouse. p. 163.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ a b c "R. S. Stephenson, Architect, Is Dead". Times Union. May 28, 1929. p. 26. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Robert S. Stephenson; New York Architect Dies at His Home in Westport, Conn". The New York Times. May 28, 1929. p. 31. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  5. ^ "Park History & Facilities". Edgerton Park Conservancy. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Janice L. Elliott and Marian Staye (March 10, 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Edgerton". National Park Service. and Accompanying 17 photos from 1988, and 2 of mansion in 1960 and 1964 (captions on page 10 of text document)
  7. ^ "New Haven -- Community Gardens at Edgerton Park". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  8. ^ Price, C. Matlack (March 1914). "A Recent Country House on Long Island: The Garver Residence at Oyster Bay" (PDF). The Architectural Record. Vol. 35, no. 3. pp. 181–201. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  9. ^ "J. A. GARVER FUNERAL HELD IN OYSTER BAY". The New York Times. October 27, 1936. p. 25. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Withey, Henry F.; Withey, Elsie Rathburn (1970). Biographical dictionary of American architects (Deceased). Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc. pp. 570–571.
  11. ^ Miller, Tom (May 22, 2015). "The 1899 Oliver Gould Jennings House -- No. 7 East 72nd Street". Daytonian in Manhattan. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  12. ^ 882 Fifth Avenue is the location to which Jennings moved from the more elaborate mansion at 7 East 72nd Street, known as the Oliver Gould Jennings House.
  13. ^ "One of the Best Known Carriage Factories". www.coachbuilt.com. July 1912. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Building for Brewster & Co". American Architect. Vol. 99, no. 1851. June 14, 1911. pp. 231–232. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  15. ^ AIA guide to New York City. New York: Crown Publishers. 2000. ISBN 978-0-8129-3106-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  16. ^ Gray, Christopher (July 22, 2001). "Streetscapes/Long Island City, Queens; After Hard Times, 1910 Auto Factory Gets New Life". The New York Times. p. 7. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  17. ^ McGeehan, Patrick (March 22, 2010). "JetBlue Headquarters to Stay in New York". Retrieved May 15, 2024.
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