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Martin & Hall

Defunct American architectural firm From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Martin & Hall

Martin & Hall was an American architectural firm based in Providence, Rhode Island. It was established in 1893 as the partnership of architects Frank H. Martin and George Frederic Hall. After Martin's death in 1917 Hall practiced alone until his own death in 1928.

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Martin & Hall
Practice information
FoundersFrank H. Martin;
George Frederic Hall
Founded1893
LocationProvidence, Rhode Island
Significant works and honors
BuildingsBelton Court; Classical High School; Museum of Natural History; Rhode Island Normal School; Shepard Stores; Squantum Association
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The Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in Providence, designed by Martin & Hall in the Châteauesque style and completed in 1895 with an addition in 1916.
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The Clark Dalrymple Boathouse in Roger Williams Park, designed by Martin & Hall in the Tudor Revival style and completed in 1896.
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The former Rhode Island Normal School in Providence, designed by Martin & Hall in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and completed in 1898.
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The Shepard Company Building in Providence, designed by Martin & Hall in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and completed in 1903.
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Belton Court in Barrington, designed by Martin & Hall in the Arts and Crafts style and completed in 1906. A major addition designed by Hall alone in the Tudor Revival style was completed in 1928.
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The administration building of the former Providence City Hospital, now Howley Hall of Providence College, designed by Martin & Hall in the Colonial Revival style and completed in 1910.
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The former trolley shelter in Kennedy Plaza, designed by Martin & Hall in an Art Nouveau-inspired style and completed in 1914.
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The Blanding Free Public Library and Goff Memorial Hall in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, designed by Martin & Hall in the Arts and Crafts style and completed in 1915.
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Yellow Patch in Narragansett Pier, designed by Martin & Hall in the Storybook style and completed in 1916.
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The former Leander R. Peck School in Barrington, designed by Martin & Hall in the Tudor Revival style and completed in 1917.
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The Providence Art Club, renovated by Hall alone in the Colonial Revival style and completed in 1920.
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The William H. Hall Free Library in Cranston, designed by Hall alone in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and completed in 1927.

History

The firm was founded February 1, 1893, when the two men, who were senior employees of the leading local firm, Stone, Carpenter & Willson, opened their own practice. They took several clients with them, resulting in a rift with their former employers. Likely as a result of this, both were denied membership in the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) until after the deaths of Alfred Stone and Edmund R. Willson. Martin & Hall developed a successful general practice and did not specialize in any one type of building. Their work was concentrated in Rhode Island with a small number of projects in other New England states and one in Texas.[1]

The firm's first office was located on Custom House Street. In 1894 they moved into the just-completed Industrial Trust Building, now demolished.[2] In 1901 they again moved to the new Union Trust Company Building, where they would remain. Both of these buildings were designed by their former employers, Stone, Carpenter & Willson.

Martin died unexpectedly in 1917. Hall continued the firm as a sole proprietorship until his own death in 1928.[1]

Partner biographies

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Frank H. Martin

Frank Howard Martin AIA (March 9, 1863 – February 2, 1917) was born in Seekonk, Massachusetts, to Sylvester G. Martin and Susan B. Martin, née Padelford. He was educated in the Providence public schools and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then worked in New York City for architects including Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell. In 1888 he returned to Providence and joined the office of Stone, Carpenter & Willson.[1][3]

Martin was married in 1887 to Annie W. Burgess of Lynn, Massachusetts.[4] They had one child, Maude Potter Martin. In 1915 she married William Low Studley, son of J. Edward Studley of the William H. Low Estate Company, a repeat client of the firm.[5] Martin was a member of the AIA, the Architectural League of New York and the Providence Art Club. He also served as senior warden of the vestry of S. Stephen's Church. He died at home in Providence after a brief illness at the age of 53.[3][6]

George Frederic Hall

George Frederic Hall AIA (June 11, 1866 – September 6, 1928) was born in Providence to Alvin E. Hall and Martha Louise Hall, née Andrews. He was educuated in the Providence public schools before joining Stone, Carpenter & Willson.[1] While employed by the firm he independently designed a building on the Seekonk River for the Narragansett Boat Club (1891), of which he was a member.[7]

Hall was married in 1897 to Mary Woodbury Polleys of Providence. They had no children. Hall was a member of the AIA, the Narragansett Boat Club, the Wannamoisett Country Club and the Providence Art Club, of which he was president for six consecutive terms. In 1928 he was appointed secretary of the commission responsible for erecting a statue of Oliver Hazard Perry at the Rhode Island State House; it was dedicated about two weeks after his death. While superintending construction of the Industrial Trust Building he became ill, and died several weeks later at the age of 62.[1][8]

Legacy

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Martin & Hall followed the architectural approach established by their former employer, Stone, Carpenter & Willson. Most of their buildings were designed in contemporary revival styles, typically the Colonial Revival, Gothic Revival and Neoclassical styles. A small group of early projects, such as their first major completed work, the Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History (1895), are Châteauesque.[1] They differed from Stone, Carpenter & Willson chiefly in their exaggerated approach to detail and proportion.[9] A later group of buildings, including the Edwin A. Smith Building (1912) and their two public toilets, feature elaborate wrought-iron detail which is evocative of the Art Nouveau architecture of the 1900 Paris Exposition. The Smith building is also Rhode Island's exemplary example of the Commercial Style as it was then being developed in Chicago.[10]

Three notable Rhode Island architects, Wallis Eastburn Howe, Norman M. Isham and Ambrose J. Murphy, worked for Martin & Hall. John Forbes Hogan also worked for Hall during the latter part of his career.

At least five buildings designed by Martin & Hall have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and others by the firm and by Hall alone contribute to listed historic districts.

Architectural works

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All dates are date of completion. Buildings built after 1917 are attributed to Hall alone.

References

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