Prominent Architect and Confederate Officer (1814-1885)
Green Mount Cemetery Chapel
John Rudolph Niernsee (May 27, 1814 – June 7, 1885) was an American architect. He served as the head architect for the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B. & O.). [
when? ] Rudolph also largely contributed to the design and construction of the
South Carolina State House located in
Columbia, South Carolina . Along with his partner,
James Crawford Neilson , Rudolph established the standard for professional design and construction of public works projects within Baltimore and across different states in the United States.
[1]
[2]
Early life
He was born as Johann Rudolph Niernsee in
Vienna , capital city of the old
Austrian Empire and immigrated to the
United States in 1837, at age 22.
Career
He apprenticed to
Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II , (1806–1878), engineer and manager at the B. & O. and other railroads, (and son of another well-known architect, his father
Benjamin Henry Latrobe , 1764–1820).
[3] In 1847, with
James Crawford Neilson , (1816–1900), he formed the Niernsee & Neilson architectural firm that largely served the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , (B. & O.).
[3]
He is credited with having mentored
Ephraim Francis Baldwin , (1837–1916), another well-known
Maryland and
Baltimore architect (and formed the similarly locally-famous firm
Baldwin & Pennington with
Josias Pennington , [1854–1929]), who also designed buildings and stations for the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B. & O.).
During the
American Civil War (1861-1865), Niernsee served in the
Confederate States Army as a
Major .
[1]
Selected works
Works by Niernsee or by the firm (with attribution) are:
Johns Hopkins Hospital completed 1889
1855–56:
St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church (by Niernsee & Neilson), Baltimore. Listed on the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1982.
[4]
[5]
1855:
Saint Paul's Church , 102 North Union Street,
Petersburg, Virginia (Niernsee & Neilson), NRHP-listed.
c. 1855,
Villa Anneslie (mansion), 529 Dunkirk Road,
Towson, Maryland (Niernsee, John Rudolph), NRHP-listed.
1856-1865,
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Camden Street Station , 301 West Camden Street,
Baltimore, Maryland (Niernsee & Neilson)
[6]
1868:
Aigburth Vale (mansion) in Towson (by Niernsee & Neilson), listed on the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1999.
[7]
1870:
Churchville Presbyterian Church (Italianate clock tower by Niernsee & Neilson),
Churchville, Maryland , listed on the NRHP in 1986.
[4]
ca. 1870:
Clifton Mansion (renovation of earlier mansion of Col.
Henry Thompson ) for new owner
Johns Hopkins (1795-1873), at
Clifton Park (by Niernsee & Neilson), listed on the NRHP in 2007.
[4]
The
Greek Revival
South Carolina State House , in
Columbia , is another
National Historic Landmark building which Niernsee designed, c. 1851, although full implementation was delayed. From 1888 to 1891, a time when much of the interior work was completed, it was in fact Niernsee's son,
Frank McHenry Niernsee , who served as architect. NRHP-listed.
[4] <-- Grace Church, Baltimore Sun Paper March 12, 1852 pg1—unclear fragment -->
The
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops in
Martinsburg, West Virginia , which he designed with engineer
Albert Fink , were declared a
National Historic Landmark in 2003.
[3]
Not in date order:
Church of the Most Holy Trinity , 720 Telfair Street,
Augusta, Georgia (Niernsee, John Rudolph), NRHP-listed
St. Mary's Catholic Church (1858) located in the
Edgefield Historic District , located along both sides of
U.S. Route 25 through the town of
Edgefield, South Carolina (Niernsee,John R.), NRHP-listed.
Emmanuel Church ,
U.S. Route 301 ,
Port Conway, Virginia . (Niernsee & Neilson), NRHP-listed/
Martin's Brandon Church , Virginia Highways 10 and 1201,
Burrowsville . (Niernsee & Neilson), NRHP-listed.
Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church and Asbury House , 2–10 East Mount Vernon Place/East Monument Street (at North Charles Street/Washington Place-North), Baltimore, (Niernsee & Neilson), NRHP-listed.
Personal life
Niernsee was buried at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina.
References
^
a
b
"John Niernsee: Architect, Engineer and Surveyor" . underbelly . Retrieved February 26, 2020 .
^
"Niernsee, John Rudolph and Francis McHenry Niernsee" . South Carolina Encyclopedia . Retrieved February 26, 2020 .
^
a
b
c Michael Caplinger and John Bond (October 2003).
"National Historic Landmark Nomination: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops" (pdf) . National Park Service. and
Accompanying 18 photos, exterior and interior, from 2001 and undated. (5.00 MB)
^
a
b
c
d
"National Register Information System" .
National Register of Historic Places .
National Park Service . April 15, 2008.
^ Note: NRIS indicates that this was designed by Niernsee & Baldwin
^ Potter, Janet Greenstein (1996). Great American Railroad Stations . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 131.
ISBN
978-0471143895 .
^
"Maryland Historical Trust" . National Register of Historic Places: Aigburth Vale . Maryland Historical Trust. March 21, 2009.
External links
International National Artists Other