Benjamin Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (born May 1, 1764 near Fulneck , West Yorkshire ; England ; † September 3, 1820 in New Orleans , Louisiana ) was an American architect . He is known for the construction of the United States Capitol .
biography
Benjamin Latrobe was born in England in the Herrnhut Brethren settlement Fulneck . At the age of seven he was sent to the Moravian School , the school of the Moravian Brethren in Niesky in Saxony . After a continental grand tour , he returned to England in 1784 and received an apprenticeship with John Smeaton , engineer of the Eddystone lighthouse , and later with the famous architect Charles Robert Cockerell .
He set up a private architectural practice in the early 1790s, and Hammerwood Park (link below) near East Grinstead , Sussex , was his first stand-alone work in 1792. In 1793 the Ashdown House was built nearby . Both houses are still standing. In 1795 he emigrated to America , where his son became famous as the first professional architect to work in the States.
As an engineer , he was responsible for the water supply to Philadelphia and, along with his son Henry Sellon Boneval Latrobe , New Orleans , where he died of yellow fever .
Latrobe was so influential that public architecture in the United States was almost always done in the Greek Revival style. He lamented for fun that after he built the Pennsylvania Waterworks and Bank , the entire city copied him and his influence on public architecture continued.
In 1814, Latrobe teamed up with Robert Fulton on a steamship project in Pittsburgh .
Works (selection)
- The Capitol , Washington, DC
- America's first Catholic cathedral, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore , consecrated in 1821
- The Pope House in Lexington, Kentucky
- Adena in Chillicothe
- St. John's Church and Decatur House in Washington
- The portico of the White House
literature
- Jean H. Baker: Building America. The Life of Benjamin Henry Latrobe , New York: Oxford University Press 2020, ISBN 9780190696450 .
Web links
- Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Hammerwood Park
- Detailed chronology
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Latrobe, Benjamin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Latrobe, Benjamin Henry (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American architect of the United States Capitol |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1764 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | at Fulneck , West Yorkshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 3, 1820 |
| Place of death | New Orleans , Louisiana |