James H. Windrim (1840-1919), Architect
James H. Windrim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 4, 1840 to James and Catherine Windrim. His father, a grocer, was born in Scotland and his mother in Ireland.[2][3] By age 19, the younger James was living with his mother, listed in the 1860 Census as "apt archt" [apprentice architect].[4] He married Marry Barr McCucheon in 1862 and they had a son and a daughter who lived to adulthood.[3] Their son John Torrey Windrim, became an architect and practiced with his father. James Windrim was appointed Supervising Architect of the Treasury in 1889 after Treasury Secretary Windom requested the resignation of Will A. Freret.[5] Windrim served two years, from the spring of 1889 to April 1891. He cannot be credited with principal design work on any Nebraska projects during his tenure as Supervising Architect, but given projects' protracted planning and construction, his office contributed to several on-going federal projects in Lincoln, Nebraska City, Fremont and Omaha, as detailed below. Windrim resigned from the Treasury Department in 1891 to become director of Public Works of Philadelphia, before returning to private practice with his son in 1895.[f] He died in 1919.[6][7]
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
Education & Professional Associations
1850-1856, Girard College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2][6]
1860, apprenticed to architect John Notman, Philadelphia.[2][4]
1860s-1867, architect for Pennsylvania Railroad, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[[#References{2]]]
1867-1889, architect, Philadelphia.[2]
1871-1880s, architect for Girard Estate, Philadelphia.[2]
1879-1886, president of Philadelphia chapter of American Institute of Architects.[7]
1889-1891, Supervising Architect of the Treasury.[5][6]
1891-1895, Director of Public Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2][6]
1882-1915, principal architect, James H. Windrim & Son, with his son John Torrey Windrim, Philadelphia.
Nebraska Buildings & Projects
Completion of U.S. Post Office (1889), Nebraska City, Nebraska.[13][b]
Site selection process for a federal building (1889-1890), Omaha, Nebraska.[8][c]
Site work at U.S. Courthouse and Post Office (1889-1890), Lincoln, Nebraska.[13][14][d]
Site selection for a U.S. Post Office (1890-1891), Fremont, Nebraska.[15][16][e]
Notes
a. A small-town Nebraska newspaper reported tersely in April, 1889: "Secretary [of the Treasury] Windom has appointed James H. Windrim, of Philadelphia, Supervising Architect of the Treasury, vice Will A. Freret, resigned by request."[5]
b. J. H. Windrim's Annual Report for 1889 mentioned that while the preceding year's report (1888) stated that the Nebraska City building was "practically completed," it was found that further work was necessary in 1888-1889. By the year ending September 30, 1889, over $111,000 had been expended, leaving a balance of about $600.[13]
c. The Omaha Bee newspaper reported as early as March 29, 1889 that "Mr. Windrim, the new supervising architect...," was receiving dueling petitions for two different location for the Omaha federal building.[8] In June the Bee announced that the block bounded by 16th St. (east), 17th St. (west), Capital Ave. (north) and Dodge St. (south) had been selected and that the next step was to secure title to the site. "After this is done Supervising Architect Windrim will complete the plans and specifications for the building,"[9] but the newspaper reported (with some frustration) that Windrim would not speculate about the appearance of the not-yet-drawn building's design.[10] More than a year later, Windrim expressed his intention to defer design work on the Omaha building "in hope that a bill extending the cost may become a law and permit a more elaborate building..."[11][12] Consequently, it was Windrim's successor, W. J. Edbrooke, who would design Omaha's post office in 1892.
d. Windrim's Annual Report for 1889 mentioned that $5,000 had been appropriated for site work in Lincoln. In 1890, he reported in reference to the Lincoln, Nebraska federal building that "Bills were also introduced to provide for the extension and enlargement of the building" and that his department provided "all of the information on file in this Department as to the expediency of the measure..." which was "...still pending."[13][14] Fifteen years elapsed before a larger Lincoln Post Office was commenced under the administration of Supervising Architect J. K. Taylor.
e. Windrim reported in 1890 that the site acquisition process had begun for a Fremont post office. The process was still incomplete at the time of the September, 1891 report. [14][15] The Fremont design was finally accomplished in 1892 under Edbrooke.
f. One of Windrim's late projects was the Smith Memorial Arch, funded by a $500,000 bequest from Philadelphian Richard Smith. Smith stipulated not only that Windrim design the memorial, but also included a depiction of the architect among the thirteen bronze portrait sculptures in the project. Samuel Murray sculpted the Windrim bust in 1898 and the monumental arch was completed in 1912 in West Fairmont Park in Philadelphia.[16]
References
1. Antoinette J. Lee, Architects to the Nation: The Rise and Decline of the Supervising Architect's Office (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 147.
2. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "James Hamilton Windrim," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
3. Ancestry.com. "U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current," s.v. "Mary Barr Windrim," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
4. Ancestry.com. "1860 United States Federal Census," s.v. "James Windram [sic]", [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
5. "Windrim Honored," Nebraska Journal-Leader (Ponca, Nebraska) (April 4, 1889), 3.
6. "James Hamilton Windrim...died," Reading (Pennsylvania) Times (April 30, 1919). 12.
7. Sandra L. Tatmam, "Windrim, James Hamilton (1840-1919)," in Philadelphia Architects and Buildings, database accessed on-line July 31, 2024 at https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/21564
8. "Referred to Windrim. The New Supervising Architect Studying the [Omaha] Postoffice Site," Omaha (Nebraska) Evening Bee (March 29, 1889), 5.
9. "The Postoffice Located. The Planters' House Site Wins the Prize," Omaha (Nebraska) Bee (June 14, 1889), 1.
10. "Omaha's Federal Building. No Chance to Begin Work on It This Season," Omaha (Nebraska) Evening Bee (June 24, 1989), 5.
11. "Supervising Architect Windrim stated...he would defer action...," Omaha (Nebraska) Evening World-Herald (October 8, 1890), 5.
12. "A Larger Appropriation. It is Needed for the Omaha of Ten Years Hence. The Supervising Architect's Dictum," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (July 12, 1890), 1.
13. J. H. Windrim, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending September 30, 1889, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1889), 47 (Lincoln), 70 (Nebraska City).
14. J. H. Windrim, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending September 30, 1890, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1890), 45 (Fremont), 60 (Lincoln).
15. W. J. Edbrooke, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending September 30, 1891, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1891), 73-74 (Fremont).
16. "Smith Memorial Arch" in Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, on-line data base accessed August 2, 2024 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Memorial_Arch
Other Sources
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer, “James H. Windrim (1840-1919), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, August 2, 2024. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
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