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Collection: A. D. White Architectural Photographs

Accession Number: 15/5/3090.00238

Title: Trinity Church, Boston

Creator: Richardson, Henry Hobson

Bio/Origin: American, 1838-1886

Role: Architect

Notes: Two towers designed by Hugh Shepley after Richardson's death were added to Trinity Church in the 1890s. Since those towers do not appear in this image, we can date the photograph before those additions. "In Trinity Church, 1872-77, the general vertical massing and polychromy revealed traces of High Victorian Gothic, but the strong geometric order and the French Romanesque ornament motifs were new. The tower would have been taller and more inventive, but structural problems due to the spongy soil of Boston's Back Bay necessitated a shorter tower. It was decided to pattern the lantern of the tower after that of the Cathedral of Salamanca, Spain, so that to many observers it seemed that Richardson had added a new style to the repertoire already in use, and that he had made reference to specific historic monuments especially desirable. Such a revivalist assessment, however, completely missed the continuity and unity based on a carefully studied plan that were Richardson's most important contributions." (Source: Leland M. Roth. A Concise History of American Architecture. p164-5)

Dates: ca. 1877-ca. 1895?Photograph date

Dates: 1872-1877?Building Date

Classfication: Photographs

Medium: albumen print

Current Site: North and Central America: United States; Massachusetts, Boston

Style: Romanesque Revival

Subjects: Architecture, Churches, Religious buildings, Arched portals, Coupled columns, Rustication, Crockets, Plant-derived motifs, Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts

Provenance: Gift of Andrew Dickson White

Repository: Cornell University Library?A.D. White Photographs?Rare & Manuscript Collections?Cornell University