Gurdon P. Randall

Gurdon P. Randall (1821–1884)[1] was an architect in Chicago, Illinois. Early in his career, he studied in Boston, Massachusetts, in the office of Asher Benjamin. He moved to Chicago when he was 30, and practiced there for 34 years, focusing on large institutional architecture.[2] He designed a number of notable buildings, including several that survive and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]

Gurdon Paine Randall
BornFebruary 18, 1821
Braintree, Vermont
DiedSeptember 20, 1884
Northfield, Vermont
NationalityUnited States
OccupationArchitect
Union Park Congregational Church, Chicago, 1869.

Biography

Gurdon P. Randall was born in Braintree, Vermont on February 18, 1821. He attended public school and assisted his father in lumbering and carpentry. Randall married Louisa Caroline Drew on January 31, 1842. When he was twenty-two, Randall moved to Boston, Massachusetts to study architecture[4] with Asher Benjamin and G. W. Gray. In 1845 he returned to Vermont, establishing an architect's office at Northfield,[5] later relocating to the larger town of Rutland. Randall specialized in railroad buildings, designing many of the structures on the Vermont Central and Rutland & Burlington lines. In Rutland Randall worked with his brother J. J. R. Randall, who succeeded to the practice when he relocated,[6] in 1850, to Syracuse, New York. He practiced there for another six years.[4]

In 1856, he moved west to Chicago, Illinois. There, he focused on designing public buildings such as county courthouses and churches. Major commissions in the Chicago area included University Hall at Northwestern University, Union Park Congregational Church, Eighth Presbyterian Church, and Plymouth Church. He also designed plans for the Theological Seminary of the Northwest and the original University of Saint Mary's of the Lake. Many of his Chicago works were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. Outside of the Chicago area, Randall also designed some of the first buildings at The State Normal University in Bloomington, Illinois; the Minnesota State Normal School in Winona, Minnesota; and the Whitewater Normal School in Whitewater, Wisconsin.[4] He died on September 20, 1884.

Architectural works
YearProjectAddressCityStateNotesImageReference
1867Plymouth Congregational ChurchS Wabash Ave and E 9th StChicagoIllinoisLater the St. Mary R. C. Church. Demolished in 1971.[7][8]
1868Madison County Courthouse201 W Court StWintersetIowaDestroyed by fire in 1875, and rebuilt largely on the same lines from 1876-78 under the direction of Alfred H. Piquenard. The rebuilt courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.[9]
1868Montgomery County Courthouse105 Courthouse SqHillsboroIllinoisListed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.[10]
1868Morgan County Courthouse300 W State StJacksonvilleIllinoisListed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[11]
1868University Hall,
Northwestern University		633 Clark StEvanstonIllinois[12]
1869Congregational Church of Iowa City30 N Clinton StIowa CityIowaListed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[13]
1869Union Park Congregational Church (former)60 N Ashland BlvdChicagoIllinoisPresently the First Baptist Congregational Church. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.[14]
1870Marshall County Courthouse117 W Jefferson StPlymouthIndianaListed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[15]
1871Administration Building,
Mercer University		1501 Mercer University DrMaconGeorgiaRenamed in 2006 for R. Kirby Godsey. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and contributes to the Macon Historic District, listed in 1974.[16][17]
1871Willard Hall (former),
Northwestern University		711 Elgin RdEvanstonIllinoisOriginally built by the Evanston College for Ladies, which merged with Northwestern University in 1873. Most recently known as the Music Administration Building.[12]
1872Bibb County Courthouse601 Mulberry StMaconGeorgiaDemolished in 1924.[18]
1872Spaulding Building301-303 S State StChicagoIllinoisDemolished.[8]
1874Benton County Courthouse706 E 5th StFowlerIndianaListed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[19]
1875Menominee County Courthouse839 10th AveMenomineeMichiganListed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[20]

References
  1. Fife, Camille (June 8, 2007). "National Register of Historic Places: Nomination Form, Benton County Courthouse" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  2. "Architect History". First Baptist Congregational Church. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  4. Biographical Sketches of the Leading Men of Chicago. Chicago, IL: Wilson & St. Clair. 1868. pp. 326–330.
  5. "To the Public," Vermont Patriot and State Gazette (Montpelier, VT), January 11 1845, 3.
  6. "Randall," Vermont Watchman (Montpelier, VT), September 2 1891, 1.
  7. John R. Schmidt, "Lost Chicago landmark: the old Old St. Mary’s"
  8. Frank A. Randall, History of the Development of Building Construction in Chicago (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1999)
  9. Madison County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form (1981)
  10. Montgomery County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form (1994)
  11. Morgan County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form (1986)
  12. Jay Pridmore, Northwestern University: Celebrating 150 Years (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2000)
  13. Congregational Church of Iowa City NRHP Registration Form (1973)
  14. Union Park Congregational Church and Carpenter Chapel NRHP Registration Form 2006)
  15. Marshall County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form (1983)
  16. Macon Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1974)
  17. Mercer University Administration Building NRHP Registration Form (1971)
  18. Wilber W. Caldwell, The Courthouse and the Depot: The Architecture of Hope in an Age of Despair (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2001)
  19. Benton County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form (2008)
  20. Menominee County Courthouse NRHP Registration Form (1975)
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