Charles A. Alexander (1827-1888), Architect
Charles A. Alexander, born in Boston in 1827, practiced architecture in his native New England for the first half of his career, with considerable success in Portland, Maine. After the Civil War he spent a few years in New York City, then was based in Chicago for another two decades. He had married Mary C. A. Granger in 1849 and they had at least a son and a daughter by 1860.[3][5] This page is centered on his single known work in Nebraska--a large mansion in Omaha for one of the most prominent attorneys of the city, A. J. Poppleton. When Alexander died in New York City in 1888, his passing was remarked upon in Maine, NYC, and Chicago.[f] This page is intended to provide some context for Poppleton's "Elizabeth Place" within Alexander's long career.
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the Format and contents of Nebraska architect entries page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Alexander is not found in Nebraska city directories.
Educational & Professional Associations
1850-1851: practiced in Boston with architect William Washburn (1808-1890).[1][2][11][a]
1851-c. 1865: architect in Portland, Maine.[1][3][4
c. 1865-1870: architect, New York City.[1][6]
1870-1888: architect and draughtsman (1887-1888), Chicago, Illinois.[7][d]
Buildings & Projects
Chestnut Street Methodist Church (1857), 15 Chestnut Street, Portland, Maine.[1][10][a]
Sugar House (1866), York, Maple, and Danforth Streets, Portland, Maine.[12]
Elizabeth Place/Andrew J. Poppleton residence (1880), Sherman Avenue, corner of Spruce, Omaha, Nebraska.[8][9][b][c]
Lake house of O. W. Potter (1883), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.[13]
Jekyll Island clubhouse and other improvements (1886-1887), Jekyll Island, Georgia.[14][e]
Notes
a. Earle Shettleworth referred to this church in 1966 as Alexander's single remaining Portland work that retains much of its original appearance, except for the loss of two slender spires at the facade. With those spires, the church would have even more closely resembled a William Washburn church in Boston, Grace Church of 1835. (SEE Reference 11.) An 1857 description of the new church mentions "The organ...case was designed by the architect of the church and is in excellent keeping with its principal features."[10] The Portland church has since been converted to "Grace Restaurant" and event space, while still retaining integrity of the original design.[1][2] That venue's website is at https://www.trineeventsgrace.com/ (accessed December 27, 2023)
b. An Omaha newspaper reported in 1879 that among the guests registered at Withnell Hotel were two gentlemen from Chicago, "Wm. H Wilcox [sic]" and "Chas. A. Alexander." Both were architects with offices in Chicago at that time and practices that took them well beyond the Windy City. William H. Willcox designed Nebraska's second State Capitol, along with other works in Lincoln, and Alexander presumably was visiting in connection with the Poppleton project.[8]
c. Omaha Daily Bee published an centerfold of images and extensive text on January 1, 1881 about major buildings in the city constructed in the previous year. The illustration of A. J. Poppleton's "Elizabeth Place" was accompanied with the following:
"A. J. Poppleton's Residence. [See Illustration.] The residence erected last year by A. J. Poppleton, Esq., on Sherman Avenue, corner of Spruce, is by far the most expensive and substantial in the state, costing, with barn and other improvements about $40,000. The plans were drawn by C. A. Alexander, of Chicago, is of the Old English style, built of brick with slate roof, two stories and a basement, and occupies a tract of five acres of ground. It has a front of 44 feet, is 62 feet through the center north and south, and 70 feet through the center east and west, with a kitchen addition 28 feet wide. The barn, which is a very handsome building, is 30x60."[9]
Andrew Jackson Poppleton (1830-1896) was a pioneer settler of Omaha, an early mayor, and a leading Nebraska attorney for decades, including a quarter of a century as Union Pacific Railroad's general attorney. Shortly before building his mansion in 1880, he had served pro bono as one of two attorneys for Ponca Chief Standing Bear, his family, and friends at the habeas corpus hearing "Standing Bear v. Crook" in May 1879. The "Trial" led to Judge Dundy's landmark finding that Native Americans were "persons within the meaning of the law" and as such had rights.[20]
d. A watercolor "Ruined Church at Blois" by C. A. Alexander received a favorable comment from an art critic at a Chicago art Exposition in 1878.[15]
e. An Asheville (North Carolina) newspaper reported in 1886 on development of Jekyl [sic] Island off the coast of Georgia by twenty New York millionaires "and Mr. Marshal [sic] Field of Chicago" as "an elegant pleasure and shooting park...an earthly paradise...They also intend to make it the winter rendezvous of their elegant yachts. They are having erected a large brick and marble club house...to cost $165,000 or more....The foundations for the club house are already completed and the work of erecting the various buildings and general improvements is going on under the personal supervision of Mr. Charles A. Alexander, of Chicago, one of the most eminent architects in America, who was sent out for the purpose, and to guard against any possible defects, it has been decided not to let any portion of the work out by contract, but to have it done under the Mr. Alexander's immediate direction."[14]
f. Alexander died suddenly on a brief visit to New York City on May 20, 1888, apparently of a heart attack. The hotel at which he was staying, the Brevoort House, knew him only as a Chicago architect who "was an occasional guest of the hotel for short periods at a time."[16] The New York hotel notified Leland Hotel in Chicago by telegram, requesting "Please inform friends." Mr. Lewis Leland told Chicago Tribune that "Mr. Alexander is an architect of prominence" who had boarded at Leland Hotel prior to traveling to New York, but Leland did not know his friends.[[#References[17]]] The Inter Ocean newspaper in Chicago was better informed, calling Alexander "a wealthy architect of Chicago...about 55 years of age" with a brother-in-law in Chicago.[18] Within a few days, news of Alexander's death reached Portland, Maine, where he seems to have been better remembered as "formerly of this city...[and] a well known architect. After leaving Portland he settled in Chicago where he has since lived."[19]
References
1. Earle Shettleworth Jr., “Portland’s Heritage…Many of city’s notable buildings designed by distinguished architect,” Evening Express (Portland, Maine) (July 23, 1966), 16.
2. "Chestnut Street Methodist Church," National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form (1977), entered on NRHP October 20, 1977. Accessed on-line December 28, 2023 at https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/9ee5fdf1-9004-412c-8545-6e0cd1e0ef75/
3. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census, s.v. “Charles A. Alexander,” [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
4. Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865, s.v. “Charles A. Alexander,” [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
5. “Marriages…At New Haven, Ct….Mr. Charles A. Alexander , to Miss Mary C. A. Granger, both of Boston,” Boston (Massachusetts) Evening Transcript (September 6, 1849), 3.
6. New York City directories listed as C. A. Alexander as "architect" 1867-1870.
7. Chicago city directories listed C. A. Andrews as "architect" 1870 (with advertisement), 1882, 1885; “draughtsman” 1888 & 1889.
8. “The following were registered at the Withnell House yesterday:…Wm. H. Wilcox, Chas. A. Alexander…Chicago,” Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald (August 14, 1879), 8.
9. "A. J. Poppleton's Residence. [See Illustration.]," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (January 1, 1881), 15; and 13 (illustration of "Elizabeth Place, Residence of A. J. Poppleton, Erected 1880").
10. "Rise of Methodism in Portland...Description of the [Chestnut Street Methodist] Church," Eastern Argus (Portland, Maine) (June 25, 1857), 2.
11. “William Washburn (architect),” Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed December 27, 2023, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Washburn_(architect)
12. "Portland Sugar House," (cornerstone laying of storehouse of J. B. Brown & Sons), Portland (Maine) Daily Press (September 21, 1866), 1.
13. "Personals...Chas. A. Alexander, architect of O. W. Potter's house, was in town the fore part of the week," Lake Geneva (Wisconsin) Herald (January 19, 1883), 5. SEE also "Lake Geneva 6-bedroom cottage...lists for $1.74 million," Chicago Tribune (May 10, 2020), 7-4 (illustrated).
14. "Millionaire Rendezvous," Asheville (North Carolina) Citizen-Times (December 1, 1886), 4.
15. "Art--Col. Eastman Criticises the Exposition Pictures.--Work of the Resident and Absent Chicago Artist," Chicago Tribune (September 29, 1878), 11.
16. "Charles A. Alexander," New-York Tribune (NY, NY) (May 21, 1888), 5.
17. "Where Are Mr. Alexander's Friends?," Chicago Tribune (May 21, 1888), 3.
18. "C. A. ALexander's Sudden Death," The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois) (May 21, 1888), 3.
19. "Mr. Charles A. Alexander, formerly of this city, died..at the Brevoort House in New York...," Portland (Maine) Daily Press (May 24, 1888), 4.
20. "Andrew Jackson Poppleton," Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, accessed December 28, 2023 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson_Poppleton
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer & D. Murphy, “Charles A. Alexander (1827-1888), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 28, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 21, 2024.
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