James Hoban

Dublin Society offices and studios at 112 Grafton Street, where Hoban learned draughtsmanship

Hoban was the architect for the Charleston County Courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, built between 1790 and 1792, which drew the attention of George Washington

Hoban's amended elevation of the White House form late 1793 or early 1794)

Hoban was a Roman Catholic raised on the Desart Court estate belonging to the Earl of Desart in County Kilkenny, Ireland. He worked there as a wheelwright and carpenter until in 1779, when he was given an advanced student place in the Dublin Society's Drawing School on Lower Grafton Street in Dublin and studied under Thomas Ivory.[3] He excelled in his studies and received the prestigious Duke of Leinster's medal from the Dublin Society in November 1780 for his drawing, Brackets, Stairs, and Roofs. Hoban was an apprentice to Ivory from 1779 until he left to go to America, likely in 1785.[4]

Hoban arrived in South Carolina by April 1787, where he designed numerous buildings including the Charleston County Courthouse, which was built between 1790 and 1792 on the ruins of the former South Carolina Statehouse, which was built in 1753 and burned down in 1788.[5]

Hoban was the architect of The Octagon House in Washington, D.C.

Following the American Revolutionary War, Hoban emigrated to the United States, and established himself as an architect in Philadelphia in 1785.[6] President George Washington admired Hoban's work on his Southern Tour. Washington met with Hoban in Charleston in May 1791, and summoned the architect to Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, in June 1792.[7]

In July 1792, Hoban was named winner of the design competition for the White House.[8] His initial design resembled the Charlestown Courthouse with a three-story facade and nine bays across. Under Washington's influence, Hoban amended it to a two-story facade, 11 bays across, and, at Washington's insistence, the whole presidential mansion was faced with stone. It is unclear whether any of Hoban's surviving drawings are actually from the competition.[9]

Hoban owned at least three slaves who were employed as carpenters in the construction of the White House. Their names are recorded as "Ben, Daniel, and Peter" and appear on a Hoban payroll.[10]

Hoban was also one of the supervising architects who worked on the U.S. Capitol, which was designed by William Thornton, and oversaw the architecture of The Octagon House. Hoban lived the rest of his life in Washington, D.C., where he worked on public buildings and government projects, including roads and bridges.[11]

Hoban was a Freemason.[12][13]

Hoban also is believed to have designed Rossenarra House near Kilmoganny in Ireland in 1824.[14]

Hoban's wife, Susanna Sewall, was the sister of the prominent Georgetown City Tavern proprietor, Clement Sewall,[15][16] who enlisted as a sergeant at age 19 in the Maryland Line during the Revolutionary War, was promoted six months later to ensign and then severely wounded at the Battle of Germantown.[17]

After Washington, D.C. was granted limited home rule in 1802, Hoban served on the 12-member city council for most of the remainder of his life, except during the years he was rebuilding the White House.[18] Hoban was also involved in the development of Catholic institutions in the city, including Georgetown University, where his son was a member of the Jesuit community, St. Patrick's Parish, and the Georgetown Visitation Monastery founded by Teresa Lalor of Ballyragget.

Grave of Hoban at Mount Olivet Cemetery

Hoban died in Washington, D.C., on December 8, 1831. He was originally buried at Holmead's Burying Ground,[19] but was disinterred and reburied at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C. His son James Hoban Jr., said to closely resemble his father, served as U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia from 1845 to 1846.[18]

Little has been published to catalogue Hoban's architectural work.

• Charleston County Courthouse, 82-86 Broad Street, Charleston, SC (1790–92).[20] Both this building and the White House were modeled on Leinster House, the current Irish Parliament Building designed by Richard Cassels, which was built for James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster.
• The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. – (1792–1800). Following the 1814 burning of the White House, Hoban rebuilt the Southern Portico for President James Monroe (1824), and the Northern Portico for President Andrew Jackson (1829).[21]
• The Octagon House, 1799 New York Ave, Washington DC (1802)

Numerous events were held around 2008 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his birth.

In 2008, a memorial arbor to honor James Hoban was completed near his birthplace, and a major exhibition on his life took place at the White House Visitor Center.[35]

Dublin Made Him..., a one-day colloquium in honour of Hoban, took place on October 3, 2008, at the (RDS) in Dublin, Ireland.[36] It was presented by the RDS in association with the White House Historical Association, the U.S. Embassy in Ireland, and the James Hoban Societies of the U.S. and Ireland.

The Irish-American musical group Solas have a song "John Riordan's Heels/The Bath Jig/Hoban's White House" on their album For Love and Laughter. Group member Mick McAuley, like Hoban, is from Kilkenny, and named the song in Hoban's honor.

• John Henry Devereux South Carolina architect
• List of people on stamps of Ireland
• White House
• Pedro Casanave

• Ridgely, Helen West (1908). Historic Graves of Maryland and the District of Columbia, With the Iappearing on the Tombstones in Most of the Counties of the State and in Washington and Georgetown. New York: Grafton Press.

• Bergin, Denis (2008). "The James Hoban Commemoration 2008". Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
• Bryan, Wilhelmus Bogart (1914). "A History of the National Capital". The Macmillan company: 194. Retrieved 2008-01-17. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Frary, Ihna Thayer (1969). They Built the Capitol. Ayer Publishing. ISBN 0-8369-5089-5.
• Ravenel, Beatrice St. Julien (1904-1990); Julien, Carl (photographs); Carolina Art Association (1992). Architects of Charleston. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. p. 295. ISBN 0-87249-828-X. LCCN 91034126. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
• Wells, John E.; Dalton, Robert E. (1992). The South Carolina architects, 1885–1935: a biographical dictionary. Richmond, Virginia: New South Architectural Press. ISBN 1-882595-00-9.