Henry Engelbert

Henry Engelbert was an architect best known for buildings in the French Second Empire style, which emphasized elaborate mansard roofs with dormers. New York's Grand Hotel on Broadway is the most noteworthy extant example of Engelbert's work in the French Second Empire Style. Also, many of his commissions were Lutheran or Roman Catholic churches.

Although Engelbert was born in Germany, he established his practice in New York City. One historian has stated that he established his office in 1852, in partnership with John Edson, and their office was at 85 Nassau Street in New York City. [Curran, Kathleen, "The German Rundbogenstil and Reflections on the American Round-Arched Style, "Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians", Vol. 47, No. 4 (December 1988), pp. 351-373. See footnote #41 within that article.] However, at least one of Engelbert's commissions predates the 1852 opening of his office.

Notable Buildings: New York City

"In chronological order:"

* "Church of the Transfiguration" (formerly Zion English Lutheran Church), 1801, 25 Mott Street. This church has a Georgian Gothic style. [New York in Photos: Church of the Transfiguration [http://newyorkinphotos.com/static/churches/CHU0040.html] Accessed January 25, 2008] This should not be confused with the Episcopal church of the same name on East 29th Street.
* "Fifth Avenue Baptist Church", 1856, since demolished. The architects of this church are given as "Edson and Engelbert" [Meeks, Carroll L. V., Romanesque Before Richardson in the United States, "Art Bulletin", Vol. 35, No. 1 (March, 1953), pp. 17-33. See page 31 of article.] , referring to John Edson, Engelbert's office partner.
*"College of Mount Saint Vincent Administration Building" (originally Convent and Academy of Mount Saint Vincent), 1859, Riverdale Avenue and West 263rd Street.
*"Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church" (now Mision Guadalupana), 1867-1868, 101-103 Pitt Street.
*"Grand Hotel" (now Clark Apartments), 1868, 1232-1238 Broadway at West 31st Street. It was built in the French Second Empire style for carpet magnate Elias S. Higgins, who later commissioned Engelbert to design the Grand Central Hotel.
*"St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, New York", 1868 restoration by Engelbert of the original 1815 structure designed by Joseph Mangin. This church, located at 260-264 Mulberry Street, has been famous for its role in the New York Draft Riots of 1863 and in the book and film, "The Gangs of New York", which dealt with those events. This St. Patrick's should not be confused with the current St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York on Fifth Avenue.
*"Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church" (Church of the Holy Cross), 1870, 329-333 West 42nd Street. This Byzantine style church near Times Square was associated with Father Francis P. Duffy, the famed army chaplain of World War I.
*"Grand Central Hotel" (later Broadway Central Hotel), 1870, 673 Broadway. This was the second commission for a hotel that Engelbert received from carpet magnate Elias S. Higgins, and in many ways it is a larger, more flamboyant version of Engelbert's 1868 Grand Hotel further north on Broadway. In 1973 this hotel abruptly collapsed, killing four residents. It appears that the removal of load-bearing walls in the basement, as part of a remodeling project, led to the structure's collapse.
*"Bouwerie Lane Theatre" (previously Bond Street Savings Bank Building, and originally Atlantic Savings Bank Building), 1874, 330 Bowery. This building, with its cast iron facade, combines Corinthian columns with Second French Empire elements.

Notable Buildings: Other Locations

"In chronological order:"

*"Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and Parsonage", 1874-1975, 72 Spring Street at Hone Street, Kingston, New York. [Hudson River Maritime Museum: Roundout Historic District [http://www.hrmm.org/rondout/rondout.htm] Accessed January 25, 2008]
*"Sampson-Freeman Building", 1875, 1 Broadway at West Strand, Kingston, New York. This three-story building originally consisted of a store on the ground floor, with an opera house on the upper floors. A mansard roof and tower were lost in an 1885 fire. However, cast iron pillars at the ground level have survived to the present day. [cite book | last = Rhoads | first = William Bertholet | authorlink = | coauthors = James Bleecker | title = Kingston, New York: The Architectural Guide | publisher = Black Dome Press | date = 2003 | location = Hensonville, New York | pages = 132 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-1883789350 ]
*"St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church", 1885, 4231 St. Aubin Street, Detroit. This structure was built for Detroit's Polish Catholics in a style that has been described as Polish Gothic Revival. [Detroit: The History and Future of the Motor City: St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church, [http://www.detroit1701.org/StAlbertus_Hist.htm] Accessed January 25, 2008]
*"St. Mary of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church", 1892, 1035 West 32nd Street, Chicago. This Romanesque church was built for the Polish Catholic community of Chicago's South Side. [cite book | last = Sinkevitch | first = Alice | authorlink = | coauthors = Laurie McGovern Petersen, Perry R. Duis | title = AIA Guide to Chicago (2nd edition) | publisher = Harcourt | date = 2004 | location = | pages = 403 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 9780156029087 ]

References