Alfred B. Mullett (1834-1890), Architect
Alfred B. Mullett was born in Taunton, England, April 7, 1834 to Augustine A. and Hannah Mullett. Alfred was eight when his family arrived in New York City.[1] By 1850 the family was in Springfield, Ohio, where both fifteen-year-old Alfred and his father were listed as farmers.[2] In 1860, Alfred was identified as an architect "of the firm of Isaiah Rogers & Son" in Cincinnati, when he embarked on a European study tour.[3] In 1862, Rogers was appointed Supervising Architect of the U. S. Treasury and less than a year later Mullett was appointed "chief clerk" in that office.[4][5] Mullett was promoted to Supervising Architect in 1866 and served in that role for a tumultuous eight years, designing some of the largest public buildings in the country of that era including the "State, War, and Navy Building" adjacent to the White House (aka Old Executive Office Building).[6] Mullett's two Nebraska projects are identified below. He resigned as Supervising Architect in 1874.[7]
Mullett married Pacific Pearl Myrick in Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1865 and they had six children.[8][9] The two elder sons, Thomas A. and Frederick W., became architects and practiced with their father in Washington, D.C. as A. B. Mullett & Sons. In poor health and beset with debts, A. B. Mullett died by his own hand on October 20, 1890.[9][10][11][12][15][16]
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Educational & Professional Associations
1860: architect "of the firm of Isaiah Rogers & Son" in Cincinnati, embarked on a 6-month European tour "studying the architectural gems of the Old World."[x1
]1860-1863: architect with Isaiah Rogers, Cincinnati, Ohio.[15]
1866-1874: architect, U.S. Treasury, Washington, D. C.[12][16]
1875-1889: architect, New York City and Washington, D. C.[6][16]
1889-1890: architect and partner with sons Thomas A. & Frederick W. Mullett as A. B. Mullett & Company.[22][c]
Nebraska Buildings & Projects
U.S. Post Office & Courthouse (1869-1874), Omaha, Nebraska.[13][16][17][18][a]
U.S. Post Office & Courthouse (1874-1879), 920 O, 121 N. 10th, Lincoln, Nebraska.[13][14][19][b] (LC13:C09-001)
Notes
a. In his Annual Report for 1869, Mullett reported "An excellent site has been donated for the proposed court-house and post office at Omaha, Nebraska, and arrangements made for an immediate commencement of work." His Annual Report of 1871 detailed that the first story was nearly completed but he felt it necessary "to call attention to the impossibility of completing the building within the amount of appropriation, according to the original plans [as]...a three-story building, with an attic..." Instead, the appropriation "...will compel the completion ...as a two-story structure. This will not furnish sufficient room for the proper transaction of the public business, and will necessitate an extension at no distant day..."
In 1873, Mullett provided a fine perspective view of the Omaha Custom House/Post Office and commented "The public building at Omaha, Nebr. is now inclosed [sic] and will be ready for occupancy at an early day. The work has been performed in a substantial manner, and at fair prices. The building is elegant and convenient, but perhaps open to the criticism that it is too good for the locality. I am of the opinion, however, that is it not desirable to erect inferior buildings in cities of the prospective importance of Omaha, and feel confident that the future of the town will justify the action of the Department."
Mullett's successor William Appleton Potter reported in 1875 that the "Omaha, Neb., Court-House and Post-Office...Within the past fiscal year...has been completed and furnished, and is now occupied."[17][18][19]
b. Mullett did the initial design for the building but resigned from the Treasury position not long after commencement of construction. His successor W. A. Potter detailed in his 1875 Annual Report that the excavation and masonry walls for the basement were completed, but "During the winter's suspension of the work, it was found that the plans prepared by the late Supervising Architect involved the necessity of an expenditure in excess of the amount to which the cost of the building was limited; and...I was directed to prepare new plans...[which] were prepared and approved..." Construction resumed under Appleton through 1876. In the 1877 Annual Report, his successor James G. Hill noted "After considerable difficulty and delay, suitable building material was obtained for the superstructure of this building, and during the past year...the exterior and interior walls carried above the attic-floor joists." Hill supervised completion of construction by 1879.[13][14][20][21]
c. Thomas and Frederick Mullett published a "Co-Partnership Notice" in December 1890, two months after their father's suicide, announcing that "The partnership heretofore existing under the firm name of A. B. Mullett & Co. will be continued at the same place of business and under the same title."[22] City Directories of Washington D.C. listed the firm into the 1930s and Thomas A. Mullett practiced until his death in 1935.[23]
References
1. Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, s.v. "Alfred B. Mullett," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
2. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Alfred Mullett," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
3. "Off for Europe," Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer (July 15, 1860), 2.
4. "Appointment.--Isaiah Rogers, of Ohio, has been appointed engineer in charge of the Bureau of Construction, Treasury Department, and supervising Architect," National Republican (Washington, D.C.) (July 25, 1862), 2.
5. "Personal.--A. B. Mullett, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been appointed chief clerk of the Office of Construction in the Treasury Department," Washington (D.C.) Chronicle (April 27, 1863), 3.
6. "Alfred B. Mullett," in Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, [database on-line] accessed July 1, 2024.
7. "News Summary. Personal and Political. A. B. Mullett...has tendered his resignation to Secretary Bristow...," The Granger (Auburn, Nebraska (December 4, 1874), 1.
8. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, U.S., Marriage Records, 1840-1915, s.v. "Alfred B. Mullett," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
9. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "Alfred B. Mullett," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
10. "A. B. Mullett Kills Himself," Buffalo (New York) Courier Express (October 21, 1890), 1.
11. AIA Historical Directory of American Architects: A Resource Guide to Finding Information About Past Architects, accessed May 25, 2010, http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/ahd3000702.aspx
12. 1870 United States Census, s.v. “Alfred Mullett,” Georgetown, Washington, District of Columbia, accessed through HeritageQuestOnline.com.
13. Oliver B. Pollak, Nebraska Courthouses: Contention, Compromise, and Community [Images of America Series] (Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2002), 119, 120. [725.1.P771n]
14. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
15. Henry F. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey. Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased). Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 1970, 432.
16. "Architectural drawing for a government building ("U.S. Court House & Post Office"), Omaha, Nebraska," Library of Congress; Photos, Prints, Drawings. Accessed July 15, 2016. https://www.loc.gov/item/95861109/
17. Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year 1869 (Washington: Government Printing Office), 1869, 6.
18. Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year 1871 (Washington: Government Print Office), 1871, 8.
19. Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year 1873 (Washington: Government Print Office), 1873, 8 (with perspective between pp. 8 & 9).
20-10. Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year 1875. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875, 5. Accessed July 15, 2016. https://books.google.com/books?id=pCArAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=supervising+architect+of+the+treasury+omaha&source=bl&ots=spCnI5S4VY&sig=jCDD8h5u9mXsvd7gCFg_lFpeGkw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwif-fOt6fXNAhVMOCYKHQduCd4Q6AEIJzAC#v=onepage&q=supervising%20architect%20of%20the%20treasury%20omaha&f=false
21. Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year 1877 (Washington: Government Print Office), 1877, 6.
22. Washington D.C. city directories and "Co-Partnership Notice," (Washington, D.C.) Sunday Herald (December 14, 1890), 5.
23. "Thomas A. Mullett Rites Held Today," Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) (January 4, 1935), 9.
Other Sources
Entry in Macmillan, Encyclopedia of Architects (New York: Macmillan, 1982).
Page Citation
D. Murphy & E. F. Zimmer, “Alfred B. Mullett (1834-1890), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, April 16, 2015; updated July 1, 2024. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
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