James Hoban

For his son, the American lawyer, see James Hoban Jr.
James Hoban
Waxen bas-relief on glass of Hoban, c. 1800
Born1755 (1755)
Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland
DiedDecember 8, 1831(1831-12-08) (aged 75–76)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma materRoyal Dublin Society School of Drawing in Architecture (later the National College of Art and Design)
OccupationArchitect
SpouseSusanna Sewall
ChildrenJames Hoban Jr.
BuildingsThe White House
Belcamp House
Charleston County Courthouse
Rossenarra House

James Hoban (1755[1] – December 8, 1831[2]) was an Irish-American architect, best known for designing the White House.

Early life and education

Dublin Society offices and studios at 112 Grafton Street, where Hoban learned draughtsmanship
Hoban was the architect for the Charleston County Courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, built between 1790 and 1792, which drew the attention of George Washington
Hoban's amended elevation of the White House form late 1793 or early 1794)

Hoban was a Roman Catholic raised on the Desart Court estate belonging to the Earl of Desart in County Kilkenny, Ireland. He worked there as a wheelwright and carpenter until in 1779, when he was given an advanced student place in the Dublin Society's Drawing School on Lower Grafton Street in Dublin and studied under Thomas Ivory.[3] He excelled in his studies and received the prestigious Duke of Leinster's medal from the Dublin Society in November 1780 for his drawing, Brackets, Stairs, and Roofs. Hoban was an apprentice to Ivory from 1779 until he left to go to America, likely in 1785.[4]

Hoban arrived in South Carolina by April 1787, where he designed numerous buildings including the Charleston County Courthouse, which was built between 1790 and 1792 on the ruins of the former South Carolina Statehouse, which was built in 1753 and burned down in 1788.[5]

Career

Hoban was the architect of The Octagon House in Washington, D.C.

Following the American Revolutionary War, Hoban emigrated to the United States, and established himself as an architect in Philadelphia in 1785.[6] President George Washington admired Hoban's work on his Southern Tour. Washington met with Hoban in Charleston in May 1791, and summoned the architect to Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, in June 1792.[7]

In July 1792, Hoban was named winner of the design competition for the White House.[8] His initial design resembled the Charlestown Courthouse with a three-story facade and nine bays across. Under Washington's influence, Hoban amended it to a two-story facade, 11 bays across, and, at Washington's insistence, the whole presidential mansion was faced with stone. It is unclear whether any of Hoban's surviving drawings are actually from the competition.[9]

Hoban owned at least three slaves who were employed as carpenters in the construction of the White House. Their names are recorded as "Ben, Daniel, and Peter" and appear on a Hoban payroll.[10]

Hoban was also one of the supervising architects who worked on the U.S. Capitol, which was designed by William Thornton, and oversaw the architecture of The Octagon House. Hoban lived the rest of his life in Washington, D.C., where he worked on public buildings and government projects, including roads and bridges.[11]

Hoban was a Freemason.[12][13]

Hoban also is believed to have designed Rossenarra House near Kilmoganny in Ireland in 1824.[14]

Hoban's wife, Susanna Sewall, was the sister of the prominent Georgetown City Tavern proprietor, Clement Sewall,[15][16] who enlisted as a sergeant at age 19 in the Maryland Line during the Revolutionary War, was promoted six months later to ensign and then severely wounded at the Battle of Germantown.[17]

After Washington, D.C. was granted limited home rule in 1802, Hoban served on the 12-member city council for most of the remainder of his life, except during the years he was rebuilding the White House.[18] Hoban was also involved in the development of Catholic institutions in the city, including Georgetown University, where his son was a member of the Jesuit community, St. Patrick's Parish, and the Georgetown Visitation Monastery founded by Teresa Lalor of Ballyragget.

Death

Grave of Hoban at Mount Olivet Cemetery

Hoban died in Washington, D.C., on December 8, 1831. He was originally buried at Holmead's Burying Ground,[19] but was disinterred and reburied at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C. His son James Hoban Jr., said to closely resemble his father, served as U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia from 1845 to 1846.[18]

Work

Little has been published to catalogue Hoban's architectural work.

Attributed buildings

Demolished buildings

  • Blodget's Union Public Hotel (a.k.a. Blodget's Lottery Hotel), site of the first General Post Office of the United States, northeast corner of 8th and E Streets, Washington, D.C. – 1783 (Demolished in 1856)[30]
  • Wye Hall (John Paca mansion), Wye Island directly opposite Wye Plantation, Maryland – c. 1787 (Demolished 1789)[31]
  • South Carolina State House, Columbia, S.C. – 1790 (burned 1865)[32][33]
  • The Charleston Theatre, New and Broad Streets, Charleston, S.C. – 1792 (Demolished)[34]
  • Northeast Executive Building, Fifteenth Street, near The White House (Demolished)
  • Market House (a.k.a. "Marsh Market"), Pennsylvania Avenue and Seventh Street, Washington, D.C. – 1801 (Demolished)
  • St. Patrick's Church, Corner of 14th and H Streets, NW, Washington, D.C. (Demolished. Now the site of the old Grand Lodge building)
  • St Mary's Chapel (a.k.a. Barry's Chapel), Roman Catholic parish church, 10th and F Streets, Washington, D.C. – 1806 (Demolished; its cornerstone was saved, and is now inserted in the outer wall of the Holy Name Chapel, the Church of St. Dominic.)

Commemorations

Numerous events were held around 2008 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his birth.

In 2008, a memorial arbor to honor James Hoban was completed near his birthplace, and a major exhibition on his life took place at the White House Visitor Center.[35]

Dublin Made Him..., a one-day colloquium in honour of Hoban, took place on October 3, 2008, at the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin, Ireland.[36] It was presented by the RDS in association with the White House Historical Association, the U.S. Embassy in Ireland, and the James Hoban Societies of the U.S. and Ireland.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655–1915 (National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 05028 / 02 ed.). Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2016.
  2. ^ "Death". The National Intelligencer. December 9, 1831.
  3. ^ Birse, Ronald M. "Hoban, James". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/45956. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ "HOBAN, JAMES - Dictionary of Irish Architects". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. ^ "History of the Charleston County Courthouse". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  6. ^ Frary, page 27
  7. ^ William Seale, "James Hoban: Builder of the White House" in White House History no. 22 (Spring 2008), pp. 8–12.
  8. ^ Bryan, page 194–195.
  9. ^ Commissioners of the District of Columbia, Record Group 42, National Archives, cited in Seale, pp. 10–16.
  10. ^ "James Hoban Slave Payroll". Archived from the original on 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  11. ^ Frary, page 28.
  12. ^ "FREEMASONRY IN THE WHITE HOUSE". www.themasonictrowel.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  13. ^ "Famous Freemason | James Hoban". masonicshop.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  14. ^ "Current Biography Yearbook 1989". 1990. p. 120. Archived from the original on 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  15. ^ "City Tavern Club V2's Tenant Handbook:History of the Club". 72.32.212.225. 17 January 1981. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  16. ^ "Archives of Holy Trinity Church: Marriages and Baptisms (1775–1805)" (PDF). Georgetown University Library. Holy Trinity Church. p. 46. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  17. ^ Steuart, Rieman (1969). A History of the Maryland Line in the Revolutionary War, 1775–1783. Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland. p. 128.
  18. ^ a b James Hoban, Architect of the White House: Civic Contributions and Family Archived 2017-08-11 at the Wayback Machine, White House Historical Association
  19. ^ Ridgely 1908, p. 259.
  20. ^ Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. SC-131, "Charleston County Courthouse"
  21. ^ McLaurin, Stewart (2021). James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House. The White House Historical Association. ISBN 9781931917964.
  22. ^ "National Register Form". Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  23. ^ Edisto Island 1663 to 1860: Wild Eden to Cotton Aristocracy, Charles Spencer; p. 159
  24. ^ Baigell, Matthew (May 1969). "James Hoban and the First Bank of the United States". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 28 (2): 135–136. doi:10.2307/988511. JSTOR 988511.
  25. ^ American architecture 1607–1976, Marcus Whiffen, Frederick Koeper, p. 125
  26. ^ Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. DC-162, "McCleery House"
  27. ^ Edisto: A Guide to Life on the Island, Cantey Wright; pp. 35–37 (with photographs)
  28. ^ TR and Will; A Friendship that Split the Republican Party, by William Manners; p. 335
  29. ^ "Oak Hill". Nps.gov. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  30. ^ Keim's Illustrated Hand-book: Washington and Its Environs, De Benneville Randolph Keim, p. 153
  31. ^ Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State, Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Maryland. p. 418
  32. ^ The Encyclopedia Americana: The International Reference Work, Volume 7; p. 336
  33. ^ Columbia: History of a Southern Capital, Lynn Salsi, Margaret Sims; p, 27
  34. ^ The Buildings of Charleston: A Guide to the City's Architecture, Jonathan H. Poston, p. 321
  35. ^ "The James Hoban Colloquium and Official Opening of the James Hoban Memorial Arbor, October 3–5, 2008". The James Hoban Commemoration. Archived from the original on 2010-04-21.
  36. ^ "Royal Dublin Society". Archived from the original on 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2008-08-19.

Bibliography

Further reading

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