Thomas Marriott James

Thomas M. James
Born(1875-05-18)May 18, 1875
Cambridge, Massachusetts
DiedJuly 8, 1942(1942-07-08) (aged 67)
Cohasset, Massachusetts
NationalityUnited States
OccupationArchitect
Aigremont in Winchester, designed by Hill & James in the Neoclassical style and completed in 1907.
The Rockland Trust Company building, designed by James in the Colonial Revival style and completed in 1917.
Deering High School in Portland, Maine, designed by Poor & Thomas with James in the Jacobethan style completed in 1923.
The Savings Bank of Newport building, designed by James in the Colonial Revival style and completed in 1930.
The East Cambridge Savings Bank, designed by James in the Spanish Renaissance style and completed in 1931.
The United States Post Office in Holyoke, designed by James and George P. B. Alderman in the Art Deco style and completed in 1935.

Thomas Marriott James AIA (May 18, 1875 – July 8, 1942) was an American architect, active in the Boston area, best known for his bank buildings in styles ranging from Neoclassical to Spanish Renaissance to Art Deco.

Life and career

Thomas Marriott James was born May 18, 1875, in Cambridge to Joseph K. James, a soap manufacturer, and Elizabeth Troy James. He was not formally educated past grammar school, finishing at the Morse School in Somerville in 1890. He was trained in architecture in the office of Samuel J. Brown before joining that of Eugene L. Clark as a drafter. Both Brown and Clark had low-profile practices specializing in the design of single family homes. Brown's contemporary work includes the Adams Claflin House (1890).[1][2] As a teenager employed by Clark, James was responsible for homes in Somerville for Mina J. Wendell (1893), principal of the Morse School,[3] and for his parents (1894).

In 1897 he and his employer formed the partnership of Clark & James. In 1898 he opened his own office. In 1905 he formed a new partnership, Hill & James, with Clinton M. Hill. Circa 1908 they were joined by a third partner and the firm was briefly known as Hill, James & Whitaker. In 1909 Hill moved to New York City to join the firm of John Jardine, and James continued alone. For the first fifteen-odd years of his professional career, James had a general practice focusing on the design of homes and schools.[2] After performing alterations for several banks, his first entirely new bank building was for the East Boston Savings Bank (1914), and by the time of World War I his practice was almost entirely focused on bank projects.[4]

In 1920 he incorporated the Thomas M. James Company with offices in Boston, Springfield and Cleveland.[5] Within a year a fourth office was opened in New York City. The Springfield and Cleveland offices soon closed but the New York City office was maintained until the start of the Great Depression. James retired from practice about the beginning of World War II,[6] and the firm was continued by partners William H. Jones and Frank H. Colony Jr. until the latter's death in 1973.[7]

Personal life

James was married in 1897 in Everett to Ruth Lyra Dodge.[1] They lived in Boston and Sherborn before settling in Cohasset. He was a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Boston Society of Architects, the Algonquin Club and the Boston Athletic Association and was a parishioner of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Cohasset. He died July 8, 1942, in Cohasset at the age of 67.[6]

Architectural works

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Thomas Marriott James," Back Bay Houses, no date. Accessed November 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Roger G. Reed, "Hill & James - Beaux Arts Splendor in a Suburban Setting"
  3. ^ "Somerville," Boston Post, January 23, 1893.
  4. ^ a b Engineering News (April 24, 1913): 48.
  5. ^ "Business" in American Contractor 41, no. 33 (August 14, 1920): 32.
  6. ^ a b "Thomas M. James, architect, of Cohasset, dies," Boston Globe, July 8, 1942.
  7. ^ "Frank Colony, architect, 88," Boston Globe, December 6, 1973.
  8. ^ American Contractor (January 22, 1921): 43.
  9. ^ American Architect (August 6, 1924)
  10. ^ American Contractor (April 29, 1922): 55
  11. ^ a b Main Street Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1991)
  12. ^ William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson, Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, ed. David Chase (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986): 243.
  13. ^ "New building is begun for Stafford bank," Hartford Courant, August 29, 1927.
  14. ^ "Work progressing fast," Newport Mercury, October 11, 1929.