Gordon Parker Cummings
| Gordon Parker Cummings | |
|---|---|
 Montgomery Block, 1862.jpg The Montgomery Block, San Francisco, designed by Cummings in 1853; photograph c. 1862 | |
| Born | c. 1809 New York, U.S. |
| 💀Died | March 1, 1889 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.March 1, 1889 |
| 💼 Occupation | Architect |
Gordon Parker Cummings (c. 1809 – March 1, 1889) was an American architect who practiced in Philadelphia and California and has been described as "one of the first bi-coastal American architects."[1] He designed the Montgomery Block in San Francisco (1853), then the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and the city's first fireproof structure,[2] and the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Building in Philadelphia (1850), described as the first iron-fronted building in the United States outside of New York.[1] He served as supervising architect for the California State Capitol during two periods, completing the project in 1874.[3]
Early career in Philadelphia
Cummings was born in New York State and was in architectural practice in Philadelphia by 1844.[1] By 1846 he was teaching at the Carpenters' Company school of architecture, a position he held until January 1849.[1] During this period he designed buildings in a range of historicist styles, including a house for Frances Hopkinson in the Egyptian Revival (1845), a Presbyterian church on Fairmount in Greek Ionic (1847), and the Grand Lodge of Colored Masons in Early English Gothic (1851).[1] He also contributed three drawings (nos. 21, 50, and 105) to Thomas Ustick Walter's Two Hundred Designs for Cottage and Villas (Philadelphia, 1846).[1]
In 1850 Cummings designed the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Building on Chestnut Street, constructed entirely of cast iron, making it the first iron-fronted building in the United States outside of New York City.[1]
First California period
The California Gold Rush attracted Cummings to San Francisco, where he appears in city directories from 1852 with an office at 152 Montgomery Street.[1] From this first stay, two buildings are documented: the Union Hotel (1852–53) and the Montgomery Block (1853).[1] The Montgomery Block, a four-story brick commercial building erected by Henry Halleck at the corner of Washington and Montgomery Streets, was San Francisco's first fireproof building and the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at the time of its construction.[2] It later housed Mark Twain, Jack London, Ambrose Bierce, and Emma Goldman among its tenants before its demolition in 1959.[2] Cummings returned to Philadelphia by 1855.
Return to Philadelphia
Back in Philadelphia, Cummings joined 18 other architects in 1861 as a founding signatory of the application requesting a charter for the Pennsylvania Institute of Architects.[1] He also became a member of the St. Andrews Society in 1857.[1]
California State Capitol
.jpg)
In 1865 Cummings returned to California. The Alta California reported on August 2, 1865 that he was "an architect of repute at home and abroad" and "one of the first practitioners of his beautiful art on the shores of the Pacific."[1] He was appointed assistant to Reuben Clark, the Capitol's architect of record. Clark was admitted to a Stockton mental institution in 1865 and died there the following year; Cummings was placed in charge of the project on January 1, 1866, becoming the third supervising architect after M. Frederic Butler and Clark.[1][3] Architects Kenry Kenitzer and A. A. Bennet succeeded him briefly between 1870 and 1872; Cummings then returned and completed the project, with all work suspended by the State Board of Capitol Commissioners on March 31, 1874.[3] The Capitol workmen presented Cummings with a walking cane with a gold quartz head, which he bequeathed to a friend in his will.[1]
Following completion of the Capitol, Cummings maintained a private practice in San Francisco, during which he designed the California Building for the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia.[1]
Later life
Cummings reappeared in Philadelphia city directories from 1878 and continued to be listed there until 1888 or 1889.[4] He died on March 1, 1889, at the Pennsylvania Masonic Home, at approximately 80 years of age.[1] His will bequeathed his portrait by Emanuel Leutze, painter of Washington Crossing the Delaware, to John McArthur Jr.[1]
Selected works
| Building | Location | Year(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Mutual Life Insurance Building | Philadelphia | 1850 | First iron-fronted building in U.S. outside New York City |
| Union Hotel | San Francisco | 1852–53 | |
| Montgomery Block | San Francisco | 1853 | Demolished 1959 |
| California State Capitol | Sacramento, California | 1866–1874 | Supervising architect (two periods) |
| California Building, Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 | Philadelphia | 1876 |
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 "Cummings, Gordon Parker (c. 1809–1889)". Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kamiya, Gary (October 26, 2018). "Iconic SF building was home to Bohemians for decades. Then it was destroyed". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Construction". California State Capitol Museum. California Department of General Services. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Gordon Parker Cummings". Pacific Coast Architecture Database. University of Washington. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
External links
- Gordon Parker Cummings at the Pacific Coast Architecture Database
- Gordon Parker Cummings at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
This article "Gordon P. Cummings" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Gordon P. Cummings. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
