Richardson and the style that bears his name
Inspired by the extant Romanesque buildings of Medieval Europe, Henry Hobson Richardson introduced a new and distinctive architectural style known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Other American architects carried the style across the country, tailoring it for houses (both freestanding and row), civic and municipal buildings, and commercial blocks and train stations.
Richardsonian Romanesque is versatile and adaptable, but certain design elements appear consistently, including:
| Buildings are always constructed of square masonry blocks in a variety of colors and finishes.
| Roofs are distinguished by their variety: hip roofs may cap large square masses or intersect with smaller front and side gables, and towers are topped with conical or pyramidal roofs.
| Entrances and window openings are often deeply recessed under rounded arches. Doorways are highly ornamented; wide arches are decorated with sculpted shapes and patterns.
| Corner towers may be in the round, or half-round and snugged against the building.
The Rindge Gifts
During the last quarter of the 19th century, Cambridge experienced unprecedented growth, and the need for additional civic buildings became apparent. Early in 1887 Mayor William E. Russell gathered a committee to appeal to the city’s wealthier residents to help finance the construction of a new public library. As part of his campaign, Mayor Russell approached his friend and former classmate Frederick Hastings Rindge, whose response surpassed all expectations.
Frederick Rindge was born in Cambridge in 1857 to Samuel Baker Rindge, a wealthy Cambridge merchant, and Clarissa (Harrington) Rindge, who was wealthy in her own right. The family included six children: all but Frederick died in childhood of scarlet fever. He entered Harvard College in 1875 but spent much of his senior year in Florida because of illness. He graduated as a member of the class of 1879 and traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States.
By 1887 Rindge’s life had changed dramatically: his father died in 1883 and his mother in 1885, making Frederick the sole inheritor of the family fortune, said to be in excess of $2.5 million. He soon married Rhoda May Knight and moved with her to California, hoping the climate would improve his health.
Rindge vowed to use part of his wealth for the public good. When Mayor Russell appealed to him for funds, Rindge responded generously, becoming Cambridge’s greatest benefactor: not only did he donate land on which to build the library, he donated the library itself. Later that year he wrote to Russell offering three more gifts in memory of his father: a new City Hall, a manual training school for boys, and a site for a new high school (which was not realized with Rindge funds).
Rindge, at home in Los Angeles, relied on a committee of trusted associates in Cambridge. The committee held limited design competitions, reviewed the submissions, and made recommendations to Rindge—but it was Rindge who made the ultimate decision. The committee was charged with overseeing the design and construction of the new buildings but to Rindge’s requirements. He kept ownership of the land and buildings until the projects met his expectations—then he gave everything to the city.
The Richardsonian Romanesque style was popular for public building in the 1880s. The three Rindge gift were all in that style, but each was designed by a different architectural firm. Thus, although each building is unique, each is in harmony with the others.
Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway. Van Brunt & Howe, 1889
Rindge awarded the contract for the new library to the prominent Boston architectural firm of Van Brunt & Howe (Henry Van Brunt and Frank M. Howe). Van Brunt and his family lived at 167 Brattle Street, Cambridge, in a house he designed. In 1884 the firm decided, surprisingly, to leave Boston for Kansas City, Missouri; Howe arrived in 1884, Van Brunt in 1887. The firm helped to spread the Richardsonian Romanesque style across the upper northwest: they built grand train stations for the Union Pacific Railroad, civic and municipal buildings, and handsome private residences. They also continued to accept commissions around Boston.
The Cambridge Public Library is constructed of large blocks of Dedham granite and ornamented with a contrasting reddish Longmeadow sandstone. The composition features a heavily ornamented entrance porch by an asymmetrically placed tower. The squat sandstone columns of the entrance porch carry elaborate capitals of intricately carved leaves, vines, and medieval figures. The exterior is clearly influenced by H.H. Richardson’s style, but the interior reflects “Henry Van Brunt’s expertise in the functional aspects of library design. … He made firewalls and iron stacks an original feature of the Cambridge library, helping to win the commission over both McKim, Mead and White and Peabody and Stearns” (Society of American Architects Archipedia).
Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue. Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, 1890
The building is not to be palatial, but comely and substantial, its architecture expressing honesty and strength. Elaborate decoration, interior or exterior, is not desired. F.H. Rindge
Frederick Rindge selected another well-known architectural firm for City Hall: Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, comprising: Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s nephew), Frank Ellis Alden, and Alfred Branch Harlow. Longfellow and Harlow had both worked for H.H. Richardson; Harlow had been with McKim, Mead & White. In Cambridge, the firm designed an elaborate Richardsonian Romanesque house for Edwin Abbott, 1 Follen Street (1889, now Longy School of Music of Bard College) and two Colonial Revival buildings, Brattle Hall (1889, now Brattle Theatre) and the J.A. Noyes house at 1 Highland Street (1894).
In accordance with Rindge’s wishes, the main exterior ornamentation is provided by the contrasting colors of masonry. All the exterior walls are pink Milford granite ashlar with rough-hewn surfaces. The foundation, belt courses between the floor levels, and window and door surrounds are all a deep brown Longmeadow brownstone. The contrasting colors of masonry, the horizontal bands of windows, and the arched entrance flanked by stocky engaged columns are all characteristic of the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The massive tower anchors the building, rising almost 160 feet over the entrance.
The two-ton bell, made by the Meneely Company of West Troy, New York, still rings the hours. Frederick Rindge believed in the power of representative government and the importance of every person’s vote, and an inscription, possibly written by Rindge himself, is cast in raised letters on the bell.
Cheerfully I ring the hour
From my house within the tower
But I would a lesson teach
Even bells men’s hearts may reach.
The Lesson:
The ballot free and pure
The rights of all secure
Wrong finds antidote
When each voter casts his vote.
The clock below the belfry was manufactured by the E. Howard Watch & Clock Company of Waltham with a clock face on each side of the tower. A specialist regularly retunes the clock, ensuring its accuracy.
Frederick Rindge formally deeded the completed building to the city on October 22, 1890.
Frederick Hastings Rindge to City of Cambridge
Stay tuned for the final installment, all about the Cambridge Manual Training School.
