Alexander Rice Esty

Alexander Rice Esty (also known as Alexander Rice Estey) (18 October 1826 – 2 July 1881)[1][2] was an American architect known for designing many Gothic Revival churches in New England, however his work also encompassed university buildings, public buildings, office buildings, and private residences across the Northeastern United States.

Alexander Rice Esty
Born(1826-10-18)October 18, 1826
Framingham, Massachusetts, US
DiedJuly 2, 1881(1881-07-02) (aged 54)
Framingham, Massachusetts, US
Burial placeEdgell Grove Cemetery, Framingham, Massachusetts
EducationFramingham Academy
OccupationArchitect
Spouse(s)
  • Julia Maria Wight (married 1854–1862)
  • Charlotte Louise Blake (married 1865–1866)
  • Emma Corning Newell (married 1867)
Children6
RelativesConstantine Canaris Esty (brother)
Prospect Congregational Church (now Christ the King), built in 1851, is one of Esty's earliest church buildings and features the earlier symmetrical style with a center tower.
Boston & Albany Railroad station, Boston, MA (took up the block bounded by Kneeland, Lincoln and Utica Streets), completed in 1881, is one of Esty's last buildings
Proposed Library of Congress "Congressional Library", Washington D.C., 1873 rendering by A.R.Esty

Esty was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, the youngest child of Dexter Esty (1791–1860),[3] a local builder, and Mary Eames (Rice) Esty (1787–1849).[4] Esty remained a resident of Framingham for his entire life and was the brother of Massachusetts Congressman Constantine C. Esty. Esty married (1) in 1854, Julia Maria Wight (1835–1862) daughter of Julia Maria Terry and Lothrop Wight (a wealthy Boston merchant), (2) in 1865, Charlotte Louise Blake (1840–1866), and (3) in 1867, Emma Corning Newell (1845–1886) daughter of Olive Plimpton and George Newell (a sea captain). Esty was a descendant of Edmund Rice an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony,[5] and a direct descendant of Mary Towne Esty who was executed during the Salem Witch Trials.

Esty attended Framingham Academy as a boy. He then trained in architecture with Boston architect Richard Bond. In 1847, he worked for architect G.J.F. Bryant before opening his own Boston office the following year.[6] Many of Esty's churches were variations of a popular nineteenth-century style similar to Richard Upjohn's. In addition to his church designs, Esty designed numerous university, public, and office buildings. He also proposed a design for the Library of Congress building in Washington, D.C.[7] From 1876 until his death, he was employed by the United States Treasury as Superintendent of Construction to the first United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building in Boston's Post Office Square.[8]

Awards

Esty received an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1866 from the University of Rochester.[9]

Works Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Other works

References
  1. Baldwin, Thomas W. "Vital Records of Framingham, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850". Boston, MA: Wright & Potter Print., 1911. p.72
  2. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004), AmericanAncestors.org, Vol: 329 ; Page: 88.
  3. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004), AmericanAncestors.org, Vol: 139 ; Page: 92. d. April 20, 1860, in Framingham, AE 68, b. in Watertown.
  4. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004), AmericanAncestors.org, Vol: 40 ; Page: 174. Mary E., w. of Dexter, d Sept. 3, 1849 in Framingham, a. 62 y. 6 m. 7 d.
  5. Edmund Rice (1638) Association, 2010. Descendants of Edmund Rice: The First Nine Generations. (CD-ROM). Available from Edmund Rice (1638) Association
  6. City Directories for Boston 1848, p. 123.
  7. James F. O'Gorman, On the boards: drawings by nineteenth-century Boston architects (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989) pg.89 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVSL6eyIxZkC
  8. "Death of Alexander R. Esty". The American Architect and Building News. Vol. X, No. 289 (9 Jul 1881); online archives, Google Books, Accessed 4 Jul 2011, Obituary for Alexander R. Esty.
  9. Univ. of Rochester, Office of the Provost, Honorary Degree Recipients 1860-1869 http://www.rochester.edu/provost/honorary/honorary_1860.html Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
  10. St. Luke's Church
  11. Richardson, H., & Estey, A.. Boston and Albany Railroad Station (Boston, Mass.).
  12. Damrell, Charles S. (1895). A Half Century of Boston's Building. Boston: L.P. Hager. p. 50. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
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