Paul Bartholomew

Infobox Architect


caption=
name=Paul A. Bartholomew
nationality=American
birth_date=birth date|1883|6|25|mf=y
birth_place=Cleveland, Ohio
death_date=death date and age|1973|12|8|1883|6|25|mf=y
death_place=
practice_name=Solo practitioner, also "Bartholomew & Smith", later "Bartholomew, Roach, Moyer, & Walfish", later "Bartholomew, Roach, & Walfish"
significant_buildings=YMCA, Troutman's Department Store, and First National Bank (all in Greensburg, Pennsylvania)
significant_projects=Design of Norvelt, Pennsylvania
awards=|

Paul A. Batholomew (1883-1973)cite book | last = Van Atta | first = Robert B. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A Centennial History of the City of Greensburg | publisher = Chas. M. Henry Printing Company | date = 1999 | location = Greensburg, Pennsylvania | pages = 243 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = ] was an architect in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Biography

Paul Batholomew was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 25, 1883.cite book | last = Boucher | first = John Newton | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Old and New Westmoreland, Volume 4 | publisher = The American Historical Society | date = 1918 | location = New York, New York | pages = 654 | url = http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh/ | doi = | id = | isbn = ] His parents were the Rev. A. H. Bartholomew, a Lutheran minister, and Rachael (Kuhns) Bartholomew. Most of Paul Bartholomew's childhood was spent in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Gettysburg College in 1905, and then studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he received a second degree in 1908.cite web|url=http://www.arch.state.pa.us/ |title=National Register of Historical Places - Citzens National Bank (Latrobe, Pennsylvania)|accessdate=2008-09-15 |format=PDF |work=ARCH: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archeology |publisher=Pennsylvania Museum and Historical Commission ] After graduation, he worked under architects in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, eventually settling in Greensburg, where he began his practice in 1910. Throughout most of his career, his office was in the Coulter Building (231 South Main Street). However, two 1929 publications list an office in the Keenan Building, Pittsburgh. [ cite journal|title=Architects' Building Bulletin|journal=The Charette|date=1929-Jan|first=|last=|coauthors=|volume=9|issue=1|pages=12|id= |url=http://shelf1.library.cmu.edu/Projects/Charette/|format=|accessdate=2008-09-07 ] [cite journal|title=Architects' Building Bulletin|journal=The Charette|date=1929-May|first=|last=|coauthors=|volume=9|issue=5|pages=9|id= |url=http://shelf1.library.cmu.edu/Projects/Charette/|format=|accessdate=2008-09-07 ]

Bartholomew formed a partnership with Brandon Smith (1889-1962), and the firm of Bartholomew & Smith functioned from 1915 to 1928. In 1928, Smith left to form his own firm, Smith & Reif.

Paul Bartholomew married Dorothy W. Lyon, a Greensburg resident, on November 1, 1916. They had a daughter, Jane Lyon Bartholomew. Paul Bartholomew passed away on December 8, 1973, at the age of 90.

Notable commissions

Among Bartholomew's commissions were the following:

* "Houses in Academy Hill, Greensburg": The Academy Hill Historic District was created by the National Park Service, in part, to recognize the houses Bartholomew designed in this traditionally elite neighborhood.cite web|url=http://www.arch.state.pa.us/ |title=National Register of Historical Places - Academy Hill Historic District |accessdate=2008-09-06 |format=PDF |work=ARCH: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archeology |publisher=Pennsylvania Museum and Historical Commission ] (Year of construction is in parentheses.) On North Main Street, he designed numbers 419 (1935), 431 (1920), 445 (1913), and 450 (1920). On North Maple Avenue, he designed numbers 528 (1913) and 552 (1922). On Walnut Avenue, he designed number 334 (1936).

The remaining items are in chronological order:

* "Greensburg YMCA": Located at 101 South Maple Avenue (corner of East Pittsburgh Street), in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, this 1912 structure is a four-story red brick building with Classical elements. This was Bartholomew's first major non-residential commission. The third and fourth floors consisted of rooms that could be rented, and that part of the building became a residence for elderly men of limited means. The second floor had meeting rooms, and the main floor had a lobby, gym, and residents' lounge. The basement had a swimming pool, weight room, and locker rooms. There was a sub-basement for mechanical equipment. Over the years, the building has undergone major renovations, and it no longer serves as a residence. Nonetheless, the exterior has hardly changed, except for a 1969 addition on the south side of the building to house a new pool.

* "Troutman's Department Store": Located in Greensburg, this is a six-story Italianate structure with a limestone and terracotta facade built in 1923.cite web|url=http://www.arch.state.pa.us/ |title=National Register of Historical Places - Downtown Greensburg Historic District |accessdate=2008-09-06 |format=PDF |work=ARCH: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archeology |publisher=Pennsylvania Museum and Historical Commission ] The building still stands at 202-226 South Main Street. Although the interior has been gutted and converted into offices and seniors' housing, the exterior remains unchanged and in excellent condition.

* "Lynch Hall" (1923): This Tudor-style mansion was built in 1923 for Charles McKenna Lynch, an executive of the H.C. Frick Coke Company. Its current street address is 150 Finoli Drive, Greensburg, Pennsylvania (actually located in Hempfield Township), where it serves as the administrative building for University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.

* "First National Bank": Now known as Southwest Bank, this seven-story red brick building is in a Classical Revival style, built in 1924 at 111 South Main Street, Greensburg. The architect is given as Bartholomew & Smith. [cite journal|title=Promoting Pittsburgh Professionally|journal=The Charette|date=1925-Dec|first=James M.|last=MacQueen|coauthors=|volume=5|issue=12|pages=1-3|id= |url=http://shelf1.library.cmu.edu/Projects/Charette/|format=|accessdate=2008-09-07 ]

* "Citizens National Bank": This 1926 building is in nearby Latrobe, where it is the tallest building of that borough. It is located at 816 Ligonier Street (corner of Main Street) in Latrobe. This six story, Classical Revival structure has a bank on the ground floor and offices on upper floors. It was later known as the Mellon Bank Building. The architects were the firm of Bartholomew & Smith, and the building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

* "Fort Jackson Hotel": This is a late-1920s, three-story, red brick structure at 19 South Washington Street in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, designed by the firm of Bartholomew & Smith. It was originally a hotel and was later converted into offices. [ cite journal|title=Architects' Building Bulletin|journal=The Charette|date=1926-April|first=|last=|coauthors=|volume=6|issue=4|pages=16|id= |url=http://shelf1.library.cmu.edu/Projects/Charette/|format=|accessdate=2008-09-15 ]

* "Community of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, originally Westmoreland Homesteads": This planned community in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, was built by the federal government during the Great Depression as one of 92 "subsistence homesteads" intended to address rural poverty.cite web|url=http://www.explorepahistory.com/ |title=Norvelt |accessdate=2008-04-30 |work=ExplorePAhistory.com |publisher=WITF, Inc. (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission] Paul Bartholomew received the commission to lay out the plan of streets, which he did in a nontraditional pattern of circles and semicircles. The layout was quite spacious with large lots, and it was intended that laid-off mine workers would be able to raise their own food. He also designed over 200 Cape Cod style houses for the community, as well as its public buildings. Land acquisition began in 1934, and the formal dedication, attended by Eleanor Roosevelt, was held on May 21, 1937. The community's name was changed from Westmoreland Homesteads to Norvelt in her honor. Although the individual buildings have been remodeled over the intervening years, a visitor can still gain a good sense of what the community was like when it opened.

* "Laufe House": This 1953 house was built at 930 Summit Drive in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, for Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Laufe. Paul Bartholomew was listed as the architect and Herbert Walfish, later a partner of Bartholomew, was listed as "designer." cite journal|title=House with a Future|journal=The Charette|date=1953-November|first=Anne Jean|last=Ungar|coauthors=|volume=33|issue=11|pages=13-15|id= |url=http://www.library.cmu.edu/Research/ArchArch/Charette/|format=jpg|accessdate=2008-09-17 ] This is a very rare example of modern architecture of Paul Bartholomew, who almost always preferred facades with a historical flavor. This two-bedroom house is one story with basement, and has large windows across the back. The exterior consists of redwood and brick, and many interior walls consist of brick and polished wood. Paul Bartholomew was approximately 70 years old when this house was completed, and it may be the last commission that can be attributed directly to him as an individual architect, as opposed to works attributed to the firm of which he was a partner.

ee also

* Academy Hill Historic District
* Downtown Greensburg Historic District
* Greensburg, Pennsylvania
* Norvelt, Pennsylvania

References