James Hoban (1755[1] – December 8, 1831[2]) was an Irish-American
architect, best known for designing the
White House.
Early life and education
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]
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]
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.
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. – (1792–1800). Following the 1814 burning of the White House, Hoban rebuilt the Southern Portico for President
James Monroe (1824), and the Northern Portico for President
Andrew Jackson (1829).[21]
Prospect Hill, also known as the Ephraim Baynard mansion, Prospect Hill Plantation, 2695 Laurel Hill Road,
Edisto Island,
South Carolina,
c. 1790[22][23]
Belcamp House at Belcamp College, Malahide Road,
Dublin. The college was established around it in 1893 as a juniorate for the Oblate Fathers, and was built onto the original house that still stands intact today.
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]
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.
^Edisto Island 1663 to 1860: Wild Eden to Cotton Aristocracy, Charles Spencer; p. 159
^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.
JSTOR988511.
^American architecture 1607–1976,
Marcus Whiffen, Frederick Koeper, p. 125
Wells, John E.; Dalton, Robert E. (1992). The South Carolina architects, 1885–1935: a biographical dictionary. Richmond, Virginia: New South Architectural Press.
ISBN1-882595-00-9.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Hoban.