Charles Edward Parker Explained

Charles Edward Parker
Birth Date:1826
Birth Place:Keene, New Hampshire
Death Date:1890
Death Place:Auburndale, Massachusetts
Practice:C. E. Parker; Bond & Parker

Charles Edward Parker (1826-1890) was an American architect from Boston, Massachusetts.

Life and career

After growing up in Keene, New Hampshire, Parker moved to Boston in the 1840s, where he worked for architect Gridley J. F. Bryant.[1] Around 1846, at the young age of 20, he established his own office. After several years of private practice, he joined the office of prominent architect Richard Bond as junior partner. The firm, Bond & Parker, existed from 1850 until 1853. He practiced alone for the rest of his career. He retired from active practice soon before his death in late 1890.[2]

Parker was the father of the noted composer Horatio Parker, born in Auburndale in 1863. Parker's Hora Novissima, written in 1893 after his father's death, was dedicated to him.[3] Of the influence of the father on the son, it was said that from him, "[Horatio] inherited an artistic nature and creative faculty",[4] though his primary artistic inspiration came from his mother.[5]

Legacy

Parker designed the Easthampton Town Hall and the Chicopee City Hall, as well as at least nine churches. Several of these, plus the City Hall in Chicopee, have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their architectural significance.

Architectural works

Year Building Address City State Notes Image Reference
1847 Brookline Reservoir Gatehouse 7 Warren St [6]
1848 Keene Town (City) Hall 11 Washington St Has been highly altered. [7]
1848 Gideon F. T. Reed House 35 Elm St
1850 Bank of Commerce Building 83 State St With Richard Bond. Demolished. [8]
1851 Concord Town House 22 Monument Sq With Richard Bond. [9]
1851 Isaac Davis Monument Town Green [10]
1851 Tremont Bank Building 41-43 State St With Richard Bond. Demolished. [11]
1853 J. B. Bradlee Building 50-52 Broad St Later known as the Architects' Building.
1857 64 Hancock St [12]
1857 Williston Hall Radically rebuilt in 1951 to plans by McKim, Mead & White. [13]
1859 Barrett Hall [14]
1859 South Congregational Church 27 Pleasant St [15]
1860 Eliot Church 474 Centre St Burned in 1887.[16] [17]
1863 First Congregational Church 134 Main St [18]
1863 St. James Episcopal Church 44 West St
1864 Shawmut Congregational Church 143 W Brookline St Largely demolished, but parts of the building survive as part of the Taino Tower Condominiums. [19]
1867 Soldier's Monument Old North Cemetery [20]
1868 Bethany Congregational Church 115 Main St Due to structural deficiences, the sanctuary was replaced in 1959 to designs by Freeman French Freeman of Burlington. [21]
1869[22] Easthampton Town Hall 43 Main St [23]
1868 Third Congregational Church 103 Springfield St Now Christ's Community Church. [24]
1871 17 Springfield St [25]
1873 23 Chapel St [26]
1875 Central Fire Station 44 Warren St Presently a facility of the local YMCA. [27]
1877 John Kimball House 10 N State St Highly altered. [28]
1881 Episcopal Church of the Messiah Has been significantly rebuilt. [29]

Notes and References

  1. Reed, Roger G. Building Victorian Boston: The Architecture of Gridley J. F. Bryant. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007.
  2. https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/50-52%20Broad%20Street%20Study%20Report_tcm3-23831.pdf "50-52 Broad Street Landmark Designation Report"
  3. Feder, Stuart. Charles Ives, "My Father's Song": A Psychoanalytic Biography. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
  4. Worcester County Musical Association: Forty-Fifth Annual Festival, in Mechanics' Hall, Worcester, Mass. Worcester, 1902.
  5. Elson, Louis C. The History of American Music. New York: MacMillan, 1904.
  6. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=bkl.33 "BKL.33"
  7. Griffin, S. G. A History of the Town of Keene: From 1732, when the Township was Granted by Massachusetts, to 1874, when it Became a City. 1904.
  8. Homans, Isaac Smith. Sketches of Boston, Past and Present: and of Some Few Places in its Vicinity. 1851.
  9. Sterner, Daniel. "Concord Town House (1851)". http://mass.historicbuildingsct.com/ . 8 June 2008.
  10. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=act.902 "ACT.902"
  11. Bankers Magazine and Statistical Register Feb. 1852: 667.
  12. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nwt.2137 "NWT.2137"
  13. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=amh.723 "AMH.723"
  14. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=amh.727 "AMH.727"
  15. A Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Concord, NH. Greater Concord Chamber of Congress, 2015.
  16. http://www.eliotchurch.org/history-of-the-eliot-church-of-newton.html "History of The Eliot Church of Newton, UCC"
  17. Directory of the Town of Newton. Newton, MA: Samuel Chism, 1871.
  18. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nam.208 "NAM.208"
  19. Stanwood, Edward. Boston Illustrated: A Familiar Guide to Boston and Its Neighborhood. 1893.
  20. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wey.909 "WEY.909"
  21. Montpelier Historic District NRHP Nomination Amendment. 2009.
  22. Web site: Library of Congress . loc.gov.
  23. Lyman, Payson W. Historical Address Delivered at the Centennial Celebration, in Easthampton, Mass., July 4, 1876. 1877.
  24. O'Gorman, James F. On the Boards: Drawings by Nineteenth-Century Boston Architects. 1989.
  25. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=chi.340 "CHI.340"
  26. https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nwt.1186 "NWT.1186"
  27. Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the City of Concord, for the Fiscal Year Ending February 1, 1876. 1876.
  28. New Hampshire Homes. 1895.
  29. American Architect and Building News 26 March 1881: x. Boston.

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