Part I: H.R.R. Richardson and the Romanesque Revival
Henry Hobson Richardson created and introduced to America a distinctive architectural style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. It derived from the architecture of Medieval Europe, especially that of France, which had been influenced by the region’s ancient Roman structures. Richardson admired many aspects of the Romanesque—its visual weight, rounded arches and towers, recessed windows and door, and the use of varied building materials—and used those elements to inspire his own designs.
Above: West front of Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers, France. Gibert Bochenek photo. Wikimedia
Below: West front of Church at Fontevraud Abbey. Jean-Christophe Benoist photo. Wikimedia
Henry was born in 1838 in rural Louisiana and spent part of his childhood in New Orleans. He enrolled in Tulane University in 1855 but soon transferred to Harvard College. The wealthy and affable young man formed lifelong friendships with fellow students such as Henry Adams (a future client) and Edward W. Hooper.
Richardson had intended to study civil engineering but was drawn to architecture and moved to Paris in 1860 to attend the École des Beaux-Arts. Money troubles forced him to leave the school, but he stayed on in Paris, working for a French architect, studying and practicing his craft, and traveling extensively.
He returned to the States in 1865. Two years later he married Julia Gorham Hayden of Boston, and the couple and their growing family (six children in all) settled on Staten Island. Richardson and his near neighbor—the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted—became good friends and colleagues. Richardson’s talent and connections brought in commissions, especially in New England, and the family moved to Brookline in 1874 (possibly to finish work on Trinity Church, Boston, 1872-77). *
Henry died in Brookline of Bright’s disease in 1886. Julia died in 1914.
Richardson’s New England commissions are diverse in style and size and include houses, community libraries, suburban railroad stations, and churches, as well as education, commercial, and civic buildings. He designed Sever and Austin halls for Harvard, which cites the latter “one of the best examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in the world.” Austin Hall’s façade is both grounded and vivacious: undressed (rusticated?) Longmeadow sandstone is laid in polychrome patterns that contrast with arches and an incised cornice band of pale Ohio sandstone. The round corner tower is topped with a conical roof; the recessed center entrance is approached through a triple Romanesque arch.
* In November 2020 a developer acquired properties on Cottage and Warren streets in Brookline, including the Richardson’s house at 25 Cottage and the house of John Charles Olmsted and his wife, Sophia, at 222 Warren (John Charles was Frederick’s nephew/stepson), and applied to the Brookline Preservation Commission for a demolition permit, which quickly imposed an 18- month demolition delay. BPC staff researched the properties and ultimately proposed the creation of the Richardson/Olmsted Local Preservation District that was approved at Brookline’s fall 2021 town meeting. The new district comprises 25 Cottage, 16 and 222 Warren (residences of John Charles), and 99 Warren Street known, the senior Olmsted’s house and studio.
Richardson freely adapted elements of the Romanesque in his own designs; other architects did the same with Richardsonian Romanesque, using Richardsonian elements in their own fashion. Tune in next week for a survey of Richardsonian Romanesque buildings in Cambridge–none of which were designed by the great architect.