Known prominently as the Architect of the Capitol, Charles Bulfinch and his simply balanced classical designs dominate the American architectural landscape from grand capitals to monastic chapels. A Boston native, he studied at the Boston Latin School and went on to Harvard University to further classical studies and architecture. During a tour of Europe from 1785-1788, Bulfinch carried on in the classical tradition, finding inspiration in the works of Andrea Palladio as well as neoclassical giants such as Christopher Wren and Robert Adam. Back home in the United States, Thomas Jefferson’s influence on American architecture would encourage a friendship between the two men.
Architect of the Capitol, Charles Bulfinch
Bulfinch’s early work was largely focused on government buildings, churches, and private homes. He was actively involved in Boston building affairs, serving on the city’s board of selectmen from 1791-1795 and 1799-1817. In this role, Bulfinch collaborated on the efficiency of the city’s streets, drains, lighting, parks, construction, etc. Under his leadership, the city took up an ordered elegance in the classical style. During his tenure, Bulfinch directed improvement to Boston Common. While the city profited aesthetically and efficiently from Bulfinch’s direction, he was insolvent on many occasions and even jailed for debt for one month in 1811 at the Massachusetts State Prison, a building he designed in 1803. By a stroke of fate, Bulfinch was able to spend nearly a week with President James Monroe while he was visiting the City of Boston in 1817. Shortly thereafter, Bulfinch was appointed as the Architect of the Capitol.
United States Capitol Dome
Perhaps lesser known are Bulfinch’s designs for American Universities. In this essay, we will explore three college commissions by Charles Bulfinch.
Stoughton Hall was designed by Charles Bulfinch and constructed in 1805 in the federal style, similar to Hollis Hall, out of classic, red Harvard brick. The building was built to replace the old Stoughton Hall, completed in 1700 and named for Lieutenant-Governor William Stoughton, which was torn down years prior when deemed unsafe after a fire. Most of the construction funding was provided by a state lottery that the university had been awarded in the General Court prior to the Civil War. The college was awarded the lottery by reviving the funding in 1786 and was finally granted a sum of $18,400 in 1804. Bulfinch drew up the plans and oversaw the construction of the building. Bulfinch reportedly visited the site three times each week between 1804 and 1805 during construction. Building costs were originally estimated at $19,057; however, actual costs totaled $29,049. The construction remains largely the same as its original design.
Stoughton Hall, Harvard University
In 1813, Bulfinch designed another building, University Hall, for his alma mater. The building was completed while his son, Thomas Bulfinch, was a student at the university and was designed in exchange for his tuition. The building was designed to include a chapel, dining halls, classrooms, and the university president’s office. It was intentionally constructed in granite, the first stone building on campus, in order to distinguish the new construction from the historic brick buildings. The rather simple federal style of University Hall lends itself to a functional building bare of any extraordinary ornament save the ionic pilasters and rooftop balustrade. The construction’s symmetry and order offer the graceful strength of unpretentious grandeur. The construction was completed in 1815.
University Hall, Harvard University
Pearson Hall at Phillips Academy, originally named Bartlett Chapel for the donor, William Bartlet, was designed and completed by Bulfinch in 1818. The building functioned as a library and chapel for the Andover Theological Seminary. Bulfinch’s original plans called for marble; however, Bartlet’s economies substituted sandstone. The exterior remains true to the original construction, but the interior was remodeled in 1875. When the seminary moved in 1908, Phillips Academy purchased the buildings and relocated in 1922 the chapel/library to their campus where it was renamed Pearson Hall. At this time, the exterior construction was restored to Bulfinch’s original design.
Pearson Hall (originally Bartlett Chapel), Andover, Massachusetts
Charles Bulfinch’s career oscillated between extremes, including prestigious commissions and bankruptcy. His architectural creations in the classical style defined the cityscapes, campuses, and homes of America as the country rose out of the Civil War and grew as an industrial powerhouse. As seen in the examples above, Bulfinch’s designs for college campuses carried collegiate construction into a new area, drawing from the old, expanding to accommodate the present and future. Whether designing collegiate or government buildings, Bulfinch stylistically captured America’s strength through proportion and balance, thus gaining this architect a legacy that endures to this day.
Each year, the Institute for Architecture and Art’s New England Chapter hosts the Bulfinch Awards Ceremony, where recognition is given in a variety of categories to professionals across the country involved in promoting and restoring the classical tradition on New England-based projects. We have been honored to have several of our projects receive these awards over the years.
- 2024 Bulfinch Award for Craftsmanship/Artisanship, ICAA New England Region, First Church of Christ, Woodbridge, CT
- 2023 Bulfinch Award for Historic Preservation, ICAA New England Region, St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Boston, MA
- 2022 Bulfinch Award for Historic Preservation, ICAA New England Region – Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Yale University’s Schwarzman Center, New Haven, CT
- 2022 Bulfinch Award for Ecclesiastic, ICAA New England Region -Harrison Design, Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel at Thomas Aquinas College, Northfield, MA
- 2021 Bulfinch Award for Craftsmanship/Artisanship, ICAA New England Region, St. Mary’s Church, New Haven, CT
- 2021 Bulfinch Award for Historic Preservation, ICAA New England Region – David Scott Parker Architects, Mark Twain House & Museum’s Mahogany Suite, Hartford, CT
- 2020 Bulfinch Award for Craftsmanship/Artisanship, ICAA New England Region, Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford, CT
- 2017 Bulfinch Award for Craftsmanship/Artisanship, ICAA New England Region, Saint Patrick’s Church, Lowell, MA
- 2013 Bulfinch Award for Craftsmanship/Artisanship, ICAA New England Region, Cathedral of St. Patrick’s, Norwich, CT
- 2011 Bulfinch Award -Grand Prize Civic, ICAA New England Region – DeCarlo & Doll, Inc., Restoration of Waterbury City Hall, Waterbury, CT
