Wilson Brothers & Company was a prominent Victorian-era architecture and engineering firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company was regarded for its structural expertise.
The brothers designed or contributed engineering work to hundreds of bridges, railroad stations and industrial buildings, including the principal buildings at the 1876 Centennial Exposition.Wilson Bros. & Co.'s 1885 Catalogue lists 432 railroad bridges, 42 highway bridges, 141 railroad stations, and almost 200 industrial buildings. Wilson Brothers & Company, Catalogue, pp. 9–29. They also designed churches, hospitals, schools, hotels and private residences.
Among their surviving major works are the Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge over the Schuylkill River (1866–67), the main building of Drexel University (1888–91), and the train shed of Reading Terminal (1891–93), all located in Philadelphia.
History
The firm's founders were Joseph Miller Wilson (1838–1902), architect and civil engineer, John Allston Wilson (1837–96), a civil engineer, and Frederick Godfrey Thorn (c. 1837–1911), architect and civil engineer. Youngest brother Henry W. Wilson (1844–1910), civil engineer, joined the firm in 1886 and was promoted to partner in 1899. All three Wilson brothers attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Joseph also studied metallurgy at the University of Pennsylvania.
Joseph worked in the construction department of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) from 1860 to 1876, designing bridges and railroad structures, including several commuter stations on the Main Line. For a PRR subsidiary, he designed the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad passenger terminal in Washington, D.C. (1873–77, demolished 1908), the station in which U.S. President James A. Garfield was assassinated in 1881. The National Gallery of Art now occupies its site at 6th Street & Constitution Avenue on the National Mall. John did engineering work for several railroads, including the PRR and the Reading Railroad. Wilson Brothers & Company was founded on January 1, 1876.
For the Centennial Exposition in 1876, Henry Petit and Joseph M. Wilson co-designed the Main Exhibition Building, the largest building in the world at in length and enclosing 21-1/2 acres. The pair also designed Machinery Hall and oversaw construction of the other principal buildings.George E. Thomas, "Design for the Main Exhibition Building, Philadelphia Centennial Exposition," in James F. O'Gorman, et al., Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural Graphics, 1732–1986 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986), pp. 140–42. Joseph co-authored a 3-volume history of the Philadelphia World's Fair.Earl Shinn, Walter Smith & Joseph M. Wilson, Masterpieces of the Centennial International Exhibition Illustrated (Philadelphia: Gebbie & Barrie, 1876–78).
Joseph's commission for Philadelphia's Presbyterian Hospital (1874), may be related to later work on Presbyterian churches, nursing homes, and an orphanage. The firm's extensive work for financer Anthony J. Drexel, the city's wealthiest citizen and a Roman Catholic, may have led to subsequent commissions for convents and Catholic hospitals. In Philadelphia, the firm designed the headquarters for the Baldwin Locomotive Works (pre-1885, demolished). In Beach Haven, New Jersey, it designed the Baldwin Hotel (1883, burned 1960), Holy Innocents Episcopal Church (1881–82), and a number of summer homes for company executives.
In 1881, the PRR hired the firm to design its main passenger terminal at Broad and Filbert streets in Center City Philadelphia, directly west of Philadelphia City Hall. This was one of the first steel-framed buildings in the United States to use masonry not as a structure, but as a curtain wall (as skyscrapers do).Thomas, Drawing Toward Building, pp. 140–42. The station was widely admired; 15% of the architects in an 1885 poll voted it one of "The Best Ten Buildings in the United States."American Architect and Building News, June 13, 1885, pp. 283–85. Philadelphia City Hall was the only other Philadelphia building listed in the top 20. Eleven years later, the Wilson Brothers' Gothic Revival station was incorporated into Frank Furness's far larger Broad Street Station. The Wilsons designed its new train shed, at the time (1892), the largest single-span train shed in the world.
In 1885, the Wilsons designed a high-ceilinged, 2-story banking house for Drexel & Company, on the southeast corner of 5th & Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. Four years later, Drexel wished to expand, but Independence National Bank next door refused to sell. In response, Joseph Wilson designed the Drexel Building, a 10-story, H-shaped addition that surrounded Independence National Bank on the east, west and south sides, permanently depriving the neighbor of sunlight. The iron-skeletoned addition was built atop Drexel's banking house, and was one of the first examples of X-bracing. One of the buildings demolished for this was Library Hall, the Library Company of Philadelphia's headquarters, that had been design by William Thornton (1789–91). In an ironic turn of events, the Drexel Building itself was demolished in 1959, and a replica of Library Hall was built on its original site by the American Philosophical Society.
Following the deaths of the two older brothers, the firm continued as Wilson, Harris & Richards, and later as Harris & Richards.
List of projects
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge over Schuylkill River in Philadelphia (attributed to John A. Wilson, engineer) (1866–67)PRR Connecting Railway Bridge from Bryn Mawr College (altered 1915)PRR Connecting Railway Bridge at Historic American Buildings Survey Bryn Mawr Station in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (1869, demolished 1963)Bryn Mawr Station at Historic American Buildings Survey Wynnewood Station, Wynnewood, PA (1870)Wynnewood Station at Historic American Buildings Survey Haverford Station in Haverford, Pennsylvania (c. 1870)Haverford Station at Lower Merion Historical Society (some sources claim it was built in 1880) Bryn Mawr Hotel, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (1871, burned 1889, replaced by 1890 Frank Furness hotel)1st Bryn Mawr Hotel from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Ardmore Station in Ardmore, Pennsylvania (pre-1874, demolished)Ardmore Train Station from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Broad Street Station in Philadelphia (1881, expanded by Frank Furness 1892–93, demolished 1953)Broad Street Station at Historic American Buildings Survey Wayne Railroad Station, Jct. of N. Wayne Ave. and Station Rd. Wayne, Pennsylvania (1884), NRHP-listed. Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge over Delaware River, Trenton, NJ (pre-1885, demolished)Delaware River Bridge from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge over Susquehanna River, west of Harrisburg, PA (pre-1885, demolished)Susquehanna River Bridge from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Train shed for expanded Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, PA (1892, burned 1923).
Philadelphia Buildings Reading Railroad Overpass (John A. Wilson, engineer) (1871)Reading Railroad Overpass at Historic American Buildings Survey Spring Garden Pumping Station, East River Drive, Fairmount Park (Joseph M. Wilson, architect) (pre-1874, demolished)Spring Garden Pumping Station at Historic American Buildings Survey. Presbyterian Hospital (Joseph M. Wilson, architect) (1874, demolished)Presbyterian Hospital from Bryn Mawr College Joseph D. Potts house alterations (Joseph M. Wilson, architect) (1876), formally WXPN-FM, and now the University of Pennsylvania PressPotts House at Historic American Buildings Survey A.J. Holman and Company, 1222–26 Arch St. (1881), NRHP-listed. St. Andrew Episcopal Church, now St. Andrew & St. Monica Episcopal Church, Powelton Village (1883–85, rebuilt after 1897 fire)St. Andrew's from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Presbyterian Home for Aged Couples and Men (pre-1885, demolished 2006)Presbyterian Home from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Drexel & Company Banking House, SE corner 5th & Chestnut Sts. (1885, expanded 1889, demolished 1959). Drexel Institute of Technology, now Main Building, Drexel University (1888–91)Drexel Institute at Historic American Buildings Survey Home for Indigent Women, now Ralston House (1889)Ralston House from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, 7500 Germantown Ave. (1890), NRHP-listed. George W. Childs Drexel mansion (1891), now Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, University of PennsylvaniaDrexel Mansion from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Reading Terminal Trainshed (1891–93), NRHP-listed.Reading Terminal Trainshed at Historic American Buildings Survey Physicians & Dentists Office Building, 1830–32 Chestnut Street (1896), NRHP-listed. Philadelphia Commercial Museum (1897–99, demolished)Commercial Museum from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings United Gas Improvement Company Office Building (1898)United Gas Improvement from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Land Title Building, 608–10 Chestnut Street (1899)Land Title Building from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Wayne Junction Station (Reading Railroad), 4481 Wayne Avenue (1899–1900), NRHP-listed.
1876 Centennial Exposition Memorial Hall (Herman Schwarzmann, architect; Joseph M. Wilson, engineer) (1875–76)Memorial Hall at Historic American Buildings Survey Main Exhibition Building (Henry Petit, architect; Joseph M. Wilson, engineer) (1875–76, disassembled and sold 1881)Main Exhibition Building from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Machinery Hall (Henry Petit, architect; Joseph M. Wilson, engineer) (1875–76, disassembled and sold 1881)Machinery Hall from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
Other Pennsylvania buildings Central Railroad of New Jersey Station, Jim Thorpe, PA (1888), NRHP-listed. State Hospital for the Insane, Norristown, PA (1878–80)Norristown State Hospital from Flickr Reading Railroad Station, Lebanon, Pennsylvania (1900), NRHP-listed. Central Railroad of New Jersey Freight Station, 602 W. Lackawanna Ave Scranton, PA (1891), NRHP-listed. Morton station renovation in 1880 (orig.1867). The design is believed to have been inspired by the Glen Mills Station, on the West Chester Railroad. Quakertown Passenger and Freight Station, Front and East Broad Sts. Quakertown, PA (1889), NRHP-listed. "Chetwynd" (John H. Converse house), Lancaster Pike, Rosemont, PA (1882–83, expanded 1887 & 1890, demolished). Converse was a partner in Baldwin Locomotive Works.
Buildings outside Pennsylvania New Jersey Baldwin Hotel, Beach Haven, NJ (1883, burned 1960)Baldwin Hotel from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Portia Cottage, 123 Coral Street, Beach Haven NJ Dr. Edward H. Williams House, 506 S. Atlantic Ave. Beach Haven, NJ (1886), NRHP-listed. Now Williams Cottage Inn.williamscottageinn.com Converse Cottage, 504 Atlantic Ave. Beach Haven, NJ (1890), NRHP-listed. Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Beach Haven, NJ (1881–82),LBI Museum at Historic American Buildings Survey now Long Beach Island Museum.lbimuseum.org Part of Beach Haven Historic District. Tuckahoe Station, Railroad Ave. Tuckahoe, NJ (1894), NRHP-listed.
New York Milton Railroad Station, 41 Dock Rd. Milton, NY (1883), NRHP-listed. Astronomical Observatory, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY (pre-1885)West Point Observatory from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings St. Hubert's Inn, St. Huberts, NY (1890), now Ausable Club, Adirondack Mountain Reserve. NRHP-listed
Virginia Union Station Train Shed, Richmond, VA (1900)Union Station Train Shed at Historic American Buildings Survey Leander McCormick Observatory, 600 McCormick Rd. Charlottesville, VA (1884, with Warner & Swasey;Spooner), NRHP-listed. Main Street Station, Richmond, Virginia (1901) (as Wilson, Harris and Richards)
Vermont