Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American
architect of the
Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of
Duke University.
Trumbauer's massive palaces flattered the egos of his
robber baron clients, but were dismissed by his professional peers. His work made him a wealthy man, but his buildings rarely received positive critical recognition. Today, however, he is hailed as one of America's premier architects, with his buildings drawing critical acclaim even to this day.
Early life and education
Trumbauer was born in
Philadelphia, the son of Josiah Blyler Trumbauer, a salesman, and Mary Malvina (Fable) Trumbauer.[1] He completed a six-year apprenticeship with
G. W. and W. D. Hewitt, and opened his own architectural office at age 21. He did some work for developers Wendell and Smith, designing homes for middle-class planned communities, including the
Overbrook Farms and
Wayne Estate developments.
Career
Trumbauer's first major commission was
Grey Towers Castle, constructed in 1893, and designed for sugar magnate William Welsh Harrison; its exterior was based on
Alnwick Castle in
Northumberland, England, but its interiors were French, ranging in style from the Renaissance to
Louis XV eras.
Harrison introduced him to the streetcar tycoon and real-estate developer
Peter A. B. Widener, whose 110-room Georgian-revival palace,
Lynnewood Hall (1897–1900), launched Trumbauer's successful career.[1]
On April 25, 1903, Trumbauer married Sara Thomson Williams and became stepfather to her daughter, Agnes Helena Smith, from her previous marriage to iron dealer C. Comly Smith. Architectural Record published a survey of his work in 1904, less than a decade after his first major commission.
In 1906, Trumbauer hired
Julian Abele, the first African-American graduate of the
University of Pennsylvania Architecture Department, promoting him to chief designer in 1909. Many of Trumbauer's later buildings are largely attributed to Abele. He contributed to the design of more than 400 buildings, including the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University (1912–15), Philadelphia's Central Library (1917–27), and the
Philadelphia Museum of Art (1914–28). He was also the primary designer of the west campus of Duke University (1924–54). With the exception of the
chapel at Duke University (1934), Abele never claimed credit for any of the firm's buildings designed during Trumbauer's lifetime.
The commission for the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1916–28) was shared between Trumbauer's firm and
Zantzinger, Borie and Medary. Trumbauer's architect Howell Lewis Shay is credited with the building's plan and massing, although the perspective drawings appear to be in Abele's hand.[2] When it opened in 1928, the building was criticized as being vastly overscaled and nicknamed "the great Greek garage". But, perched on Fairmount Hill and terminating the axis of the
Benjamin Franklin Parkway, it is now considered to be the most magnificently situated museum in the United States.
In 1933, Trumbauer was commissioned to build an ornate
Ancien-Regime French style mansion for Herbert Nathan Straus, the youngest son of Macy's founder
Isidor Straus. Built in limestone with intricate carvings on the façade, the
Herbert N. Straus House is now the largest private residence in Manhattan. The mansion exemplifies the classic but opulent style requested of industry barons of that time.
Death
Despite tremendous success and his apparent ability to impress wealthy clients, Trumbauer suffered from overwhelming shyness and a sense of inferiority about his lack of formal education. He had a number of commissions until the
Great Depression, but began to drink heavily, and died of
cirrhosis of the liver in 1938.[1] He is buried in
West Laurel Hill Cemetery in
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Ronaele Manor (Fitz Eugene Dixon mansion), Elkins Park, Pennsylvania (1923–26, demolished 1974).[7][8][9] Mrs. Dixon was Eleanor Widener; the mansion's name is hers spelled backward.
La Salle College Christian Brothers owned the mansion from 1950 to 1974, renaming it Anselm Hall.[10]