St. John the Divine, New York, New York. Unfinished.
Ralph Adams Cram began his architectural career at the end of the 1800s and grew in popular demand for his Gothic designs in both the collegiate and ecclesiastical realms. After studying architecture with the Boston firm, Rotch & Tilden, and trips to Europe, he began a partnership with fellow architect, Charles Wentworth, soon after joined by Bertram Goodhue to form the firm Cram, Wentworth & Goodhue. When Wentworth died in 1897, the firm was renamed Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson to include draftsman Frank W. Ferguson in the partnership. Due to the diverse architectural styles of Cram and Goodhue, the firm was able to offer clients differing proposals. Further, the strengths of these two architects were nicely complemented by their differences, which caused the firm to win commissions, among which was the Military Academy at West Point in 1902. Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson opened an office in Boston under Cram and Ferguson, another in New York under Goodhue. Between these two locations, the firm split the commissions for their eastern seaboard. However, in 1911, Cram took on the design of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in New York City, and still unfinished, tensions within the firm related to perceived territory augmented. In 1913, Goodhue separated from the firm; however, Cram and Ferguson went on to enjoy a successful partnership known for their ecclesiastical and collegiate commissions. The firm exists to this day.
St. Thomas Church, New York, New York. Last collaborative project between Goodhue and Cram.
Over the course of Cram’s career, he was often engaged on academic boards, expressing his theories on architecture, design, and culture through his professional opinions and writings. Consulted by Princeton University as their supervising architect from 1907 to 1929, head of the architecture department at MIT, and commissioned to develop master plans for university campuses, Cram developed authority on collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States. Known for his architectural success and eloquent manner, Cram became a public figure frequently noted in the American press and even commissioned internationally for the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. Additionally, Cram served as chairman of the American Institute of Architects Committee for Education in 1907. Cram’s views on architecture were widely respected throughout the academic community and appreciated by the rise of collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States.
Princeton University Graduate College and Cleveland Tower
University of Virginia North, Court Dormitory
Master Plan for Rice University
Cram’s religious background may shed light on his profound ecclesiastical architecture. Drawn to orthodoxy and ritual, Cram converted to Catholicism following his visits to Rome as a young man. He later joined the Episcopal Church in the United States. His devotion to liturgical and ritual practice endured throughout his life, evident in his high understanding of church architectural design and decoration. Interestingly, he viewed Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglicism as branches of the same religion with hopes for unification. During his travels, he befriended renowned thinkers of the 20th century, including Belloc and Chesterton, who undoubtedly helped to shape his cultural and religious views. It is likely that Cram’s involvement in the religious sphere, both personally and professionally, aided in attaining ecclesiastical commissions, very similar to his active engagements in the academic world.
Parish of All Saints, Ashmont, Massachusetts
Ralph Adams Cram was more than an architect. He was a special kind of genius privileged to meld his mind and craft with his interests and beliefs. Cram’s prolific writings on architecture and aesthetics coupled with numerous successful commissions, reveal the inner workings of his mind, gifted with practical design technicality, creative innovation, and literary eloquence. Perhaps most obvious are the ecclesiastical and university commissions, so plentiful in number, attributed to the design of Cram. The complex genius of the man responsible for these great architectural creations is not to be underestimated. Cram drew his inspirations from deep within his own personal interests and devotion, thus making each design unique unto itself by identifying the origin of the construction’s complex purpose and devising a concept of enduring beauty for the architecture.
