Charles Edward Parker (1826–1890) was an American architect from Boston, Massachusetts.
Life and career After growing up in Keene, New Hampshire, Parker moved to Boston in the 1840s, where he worked for architect Gridley J. F. Bryant.Reed, Roger G. Building Victorian Boston: The Architecture of Gridley J. F. Bryant. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007. Around 1846, at the young age of 20, he established his own office. After several years of private practice, he joined the office of prominent architect Richard Bond as junior partner. The firm, Bond & Parker, existed from 1850 until 1853. He practiced alone for the rest of his career. He retired from active practice soon before his death in late 1890."50-52 Broad Street Landmark Designation Report". https://www.cityofboston.gov/. 1985.
Parker was the father of the noted composer Horatio Parker, born in Auburndale in 1863. Parker's Hora Novissima, written in 1893 after his father's death, was dedicated to him.Feder, Stuart. Charles Ives, "My Father's Song": A Psychoanalytic Biography. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992. Of the influence of the father on the son, it was said that from him, "[Horatio] inherited an artistic nature and creative faculty",Worcester County Musical Association: Forty-Fifth Annual Festival, in Mechanics' Hall, Worcester, Mass. Worcester, 1902. though his primary artistic inspiration came from his mother.Elson, Louis C. The History of American Music. New York: MacMillan, 1904.
Legacy Parker designed the Easthampton Town Hall and the Chicopee City Hall, as well as at least nine churches. Several of these, plus the City Hall in Chicopee, have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their architectural significance.
Architectural works Year Building Address City State Notes Image Reference 1847 Brookline Reservoir Gatehouse 7 Warren St Brookline Massachusetts "BKL.33". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1848 Keene Town (City) Hall 11 Washington St Keene Has been highly altered. Griffin, S. G. A History of the Town of Keene: From 1732, when the Township was Granted by Massachusetts, to 1874, when it Became a City. 1904. 1848 Gideon F. T. Reed House 35 Elm St Canton Massachusetts 1850 Bank of Commerce Building 83 State St Boston Massachusetts With Richard Bond. Demolished. Homans, Isaac Smith. Sketches of Boston, Past and Present: and of Some Few Places in its Vicinity. 1851. 1851 Concord Town House 22 Monument Sq Concord Massachusetts With Richard Bond. Sterner, Daniel. "Concord Town House (1851)". http://mass.historicbuildingsct.com/ . 8 June 2008. 1851 Isaac Davis Monument Town Green Acton Massachusetts "ACT.902". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1851 Tremont Bank Building 41-43 State St Boston Massachusetts With Richard Bond. Demolished. Bankers Magazine and Statistical Register Feb. 1852: 667. 1853 J. B. Bradlee Building 50-52 Broad St Boston Massachusetts Later known as the Architects' Building. 1857 64 Hancock St Auburndale Massachusetts "NWT.2137". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1857 Williston Hall Amherst College Amherst Massachusetts Radically rebuilt in 1951 to plans by McKim, Mead & White. "AMH.723". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1859 Barrett Hall Amherst College Amherst Massachusetts "AMH.727". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1859 South Congregational Church 27 Pleasant St Concord New Hampshire A Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Concord, NH. Greater Concord Chamber of Congress, 2015. 1860 Eliot Church 474 Centre St Newton Massachusetts Burned in 1887."History of The Eliot Church of Newton, UCC". http://www.eliotchurch.org/. n.d. Directory of the Town of Newton. Newton, MA: Samuel Chism, 1871. 1863 First Congregational Church 134 Main St North Adams Massachusetts "NAM.208". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1863 St. James Episcopal Church 44 West St Keene New Hampshire 1864 Shawmut Congregational Church 143 W Brookline St Boston Massachusetts Largely demolished, but parts of the building survive as part of the Taino Tower Condominiums. Stanwood, Edward. Boston Illustrated: A Familiar Guide to Boston and Its Neighborhood. 1893. 1867 Soldier's Monument Old North Cemetery Weymouth Massachusetts "WEY.909". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1868 Bethany Congregational Church 115 Main St Montpelier Vermont Due to structural deficiences, the sanctuary was replaced in 1959 to designs by Freeman French Freeman of Burlington. Montpelier Historic District NRHP Nomination Amendment. 2009. 1869 Easthampton Town Hall 43 Main St Easthampton Massachusetts Lyman, Payson W. Historical Address Delivered at the Centennial Celebration, in Easthampton, Mass., July 4, 1876. 1877. 1868 Third Congregational Church 103 Springfield St Chicopee Massachusetts Now Christ's Community Church. O'Gorman, James F. On the Boards: Drawings by Nineteenth-Century Boston Architects. 1989. 1871 Chicopee City Hall 17 Springfield St Chicopee Massachusetts "CHI.340". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1873 Evangelical Baptist Church 23 Chapel St Nonantum Massachusetts "NWT.1186". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. 1875 Central Fire Station 44 Warren St Concord New Hampshire Presently a facility of the local YMCA. Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the City of Concord, for the Fiscal Year Ending February 1, 1876. 1876. 1877 John Kimball House 10 N State St Concord New Hampshire Highly altered. New Hampshire Homes. 1895. 1881 Episcopal Church of the Messiah Auburndale Massachusetts Has been significantly rebuilt. American Architect and Building News 26 March 1881: x. Boston.
References