Wilson Brothers & Company

Wilson Brothers & Company was a prominent Victorian-era architecture and engineering firm established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company was regarded for its structural expertise.

Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Passenger Terminal (also known as 6th Street Station) in Washington, D.C. (1873–77, demolished 1908); U.S. President James A. Garfield was assassinated in the station in 1881.

The brothers designed or contributed engineering work to hundreds of bridges, railroad stations and industrial buildings, including the principal buildings at the 1876 Centennial Exposition.[1] They also designed churches, hospitals, schools, hotels and private residences.

Among their surviving major works are the Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge over the Schuylkill River (1866–67), the main building of Drexel University (1888–91), and the train shed of Reading Terminal (1891–93), all located in Philadelphia.

History
Joseph M. Wilson, 1901

The firm's founders were Joseph Miller Wilson (1838–1902), architect and civil engineer, John Allston Wilson (1837–96), a civil engineer, and Frederick Godfrey Thorn (c. 1837–1911), architect and civil engineer. Youngest brother Henry W. Wilson (1844–1910), civil engineer, joined the firm in 1886 and was promoted to partner in 1899. All three Wilson brothers attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Joseph also studied metallurgy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Joseph worked in the construction department of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) from 1860 to 1876, designing bridges and railroad structures, including several commuter stations on the Main Line. For a PRR subsidiary, he designed the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Passenger Terminal in Washington, DC (1873–77, demolished 1908), the station in which U.S. President James A. Garfield was assassinated in 1881. The National Gallery of Art now occupies its site at 6th Street & Constitution Avenue on the National Mall. John did engineering work for several railroads, including the PRR and the Reading Railroad. Wilson Brothers & Company was founded on January 1, 1876.

For the 1876 Centennial Exposition, Henry Petit and Joseph M. Wilson co-designed the Main Exhibition Building—the largest building in the world, 1,876 feet (572 m) in length and enclosing 21-1/2 acres. The pair also designed Machinery Hall and oversaw construction of the other principal buildings.[2] Joseph co-authored a 3-volume history of the Philadelphia World's Fair.[3]

Joseph's commission for Philadelphia's Presbyterian Hospital (1874), may be related to later work on Presbyterian churches, nursing homes and an orphanage. The firm's extensive work for financer Anthony J. Drexel, the city's wealthiest citizen and a Roman Catholic, may have led to subsequent commissions for convents and Catholic hospitals. In Philadelphia, the firm designed the headquarters for the Baldwin Locomotive Works (pre-1885, demolished); and, in Beach Haven, NJ, the Baldwin Hotel (1883, burned 1960), Holy Innocents Episcopal Church (1881–82), and a number of summer homes for company executives.

In 1881, the PRR hired the firm to design its main passenger terminal at Broad & Filbert Streets in Center City Philadelphia, directly west of City Hall. This was one of the first steel-framed buildings in America to use masonry not as a structure, but as a curtain wall (as skyscrapers do).[4] The station was widely admired; 15% of the architects in an 1885 poll voted it one of "The Best Ten Buildings in the United States."[5] Eleven years later, the Wilson Brothers' Gothic Revival station was incorporated into Frank Furness's far larger Broad Street Station. The Wilsons designed its new train shed, at the time (1892), the largest single-span train shed in the world.

In 1885, the Wilsons designed a high-ceilinged, 2-story banking house for Drexel & Company, on the southeast corner of 5th & Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. Four years later, Drexel wished to expand, but Independence National Bank next door refused to sell. In response, Joseph Wilson designed the Drexel Building, a 10-story, H-shaped addition that surrounded Independence National Bank on the east, west and south sides, permanently depriving the neighbor of sunlight. The iron-skeletoned addition was built atop Drexel's banking house, and was one of the first examples of X-bracing. One of the buildings demolished for this was Library Hall, the Library Company of Philadelphia's headquarters, that had been design by William Thornton (1789–91). In an ironic turn of events, the Drexel Building itself was demolished in 1959, and a replica of Library Hall was built on its original site by the American Philosophical Society.

Following the deaths of the two older brothers, the firm continued as Wilson, Harris & Richards, and later as Harris & Richards.[6]

List of projects
Max Schmitt in a Single Scull by Thomas Eakins (1871). The Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge over the Schuylkill River (1866–67) is in the background.
Main Exhibition Building, Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia, PA (1875–76, disassembled and sold 1881). In terms of total area enclosed, 21-1/2 acres, this was the largest building in the world.
Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, PA (1881, expanded 1893, demolished 1953) in 1903. The Wilson Brothers' 1881 station is the section at center.
Reading Terminal Trainshed, Philadelphia, PA (1891–93). The Headhouse (office building) was designed by Francis H. Kimball.

Pennsylvania Railroad

Philadelphia Buildings

1876 Centennial Exposition
  • Memorial Hall (Herman Schwarzmann, architect; Joseph M. Wilson, engineer) (1875–76)[32]
  • Main Exhibition Building (Henry Petit, architect; Joseph M. Wilson, engineer) (1875–76, disassembled and sold 1881)[33]
  • Machinery Hall (Henry Petit, architect; Joseph M. Wilson, engineer) (1875–76, disassembled and sold 1881)[34]

Other Pennsylvania buildings

New Jersey

New York

Virginia

Vermont
Norman Williams Public Library, Woodstock, Vermont

Illinois

Other locations
  • Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge over Schuylkill River (1866–67), John A. Wilson, engineer. This 2-track bridge was widened to 5 tracks in 1915.
    Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge over Schuylkill River (1866–67), John A. Wilson, engineer. This 2-track bridge was widened to 5 tracks in 1915.
  • Bryn Mawr Station, Pennsylvania Railroad, Bryn Mawr, PA (1869, demolished 1963).
    Bryn Mawr Station, Pennsylvania Railroad, Bryn Mawr, PA (1869, demolished 1963).
  • Wynnewood Station, Pennsylvania Railroad, Wynnewood, PA (1870).
    Wynnewood Station, Pennsylvania Railroad, Wynnewood, PA (1870).
  • Haverford Station, Pennsylvania Railroad, Haverford, PA (c. 1870).
    Haverford Station, Pennsylvania Railroad, Haverford, PA (c. 1870).
  • Spring Garden Pumping Station, East River Drive, Philadelphia, PA (pre-1874, demolished pre-1915). John A. Wilson's Pennsylvania Railroad Connecting Bridge (1866–67) can be seen in the background.
    Spring Garden Pumping Station, East River Drive, Philadelphia, PA (pre-1874, demolished pre-1915). John A. Wilson's Pennsylvania Railroad Connecting Bridge (1866–67) can be seen in the background.
  • Interior of Machinery Hall, Centennial Exposition (1875–76, demolished 1881).
    Interior of Machinery Hall, Centennial Exposition (1875–76, demolished 1881).
  • Interior of Joseph D. Potts house, 3905 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA (1850, altered by Joseph M. Wilson 1876), now WXPN-FM, University of Pennsylvania.
    Interior of Joseph D. Potts house, 3905 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA (1850, altered by Joseph M. Wilson 1876), now WXPN-FM, University of Pennsylvania.
  • Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Beach Haven, NJ (1881–82), now Long Beach Island Historical Society and Museum.
    Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Beach Haven, NJ (1881–82), now Long Beach Island Historical Society and Museum.
  • "Chetwynd" (John H. Converse house), Rosemont, PA (1882–83, expanded 1887 & 1890, demolished 1960s).
    "Chetwynd" (John H. Converse house), Rosemont, PA (1882–83, expanded 1887 & 1890, demolished 1960s).
  • Norman Williams Public Library, Woodstock, Vermont (1883–84).
    Norman Williams Public Library, Woodstock, Vermont (1883–84).
  • Drexel & Company Banking House, SE corner 5th & Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1885, expanded 1889, demolished 1959).
    Drexel & Company Banking House, SE corner 5th & Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA (1885, expanded 1889, demolished 1959).
  • Main Building, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA (1888–91).
    Main Building, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA (1888–91).
  • Interior, Main Building, Drexel University.
    Interior, Main Building, Drexel University.
  • St. Hubert's Inn, St. Huberts, NY (1890), (now Ausable Club, Adirondack Mountain Reserve).
    St. Hubert's Inn, St. Huberts, NY (1890), (now Ausable Club, Adirondack Mountain Reserve).
  • George W. Childs Drexel mansion (now Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (1891).
    George W. Childs Drexel mansion (now Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (1891).
  • Broad Street Station trainshed, Philadelphia, PA (1892–94, burned 1923). This had the largest single span, 306 ft. (91 m.), of any trainshed in the world.
    Broad Street Station trainshed, Philadelphia, PA (1892–94, burned 1923). This had the largest single span, 306 ft. (91 m.), of any trainshed in the world.
  • Williams Science Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (1894–96).
    Williams Science Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (1894–96).
  • Physicians & Dentists Office Building, Philadelphia, PA (1896).
    Physicians & Dentists Office Building, Philadelphia, PA (1896).
  • Reading Railroad Station, Lebanon, Pennsylvania (1900)
    Reading Railroad Station, Lebanon, Pennsylvania (1900)

References
  1. Wilson Bros. & Co.'s 1885 Catalogue lists 432 railroad bridges, 42 highway bridges, 141 railroad stations, and almost 200 industrial buildings. Wilson Brothers & Company, Catalogue, pp. 9–29.
  2. George E. Thomas, "Design for the Main Exhibition Building, Philadelphia Centennial Exposition," in James F. O'Gorman, et al., Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural Graphics, 1732–1986 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986), pp. 140–42.
  3. Earl Shinn, Walter Smith & Joseph M. Wilson, Masterpieces of the Centennial International Exhibition Illustrated (Philadelphia: Gebbie & Barrie, 1876–78).
  4. Thomas, Drawing Toward Building, pp. 140–42.
  5. American Architect and Building News, June 13, 1885, pp. 283–85. Philadelphia City Hall was the only other Philadelphia building listed in the top 20.
  6. "Wilson Brothers & Company (fl. 1876-1902) -- Philadelphia Architects and Buildings". www.philadelphiabuildings.org. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  7. PRR Connecting Railway Bridge from Bryn Mawr College
  8. PRR Connecting Railway Bridge at Historic American Buildings Survey
  9. Bryn Mawr Station at Historic American Buildings Survey
  10. Wynnewood Station at Historic American Buildings Survey
  11. Haverford Station at Lower Merion Historical Society
  12. "Existing Stations in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania". Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  13. 1st Bryn Mawr Hotel from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  14. Ardmore Train Station from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  15. Broad Street Station at Historic American Buildings Survey
  16. Delaware River Bridge from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  17. Susquehanna River Bridge from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  18. Reading Railroad Overpass at Historic American Buildings Survey
  19. Spring Garden Pumping Station at Historic American Buildings Survey.
  20. Presbyterian Hospital from Bryn Mawr College
  21. Potts House at Historic American Buildings Survey
  22. St. Andrew's from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  23. Presbyterian Home from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  24. Drexel Institute at Historic American Buildings Survey
  25. Ralston House from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  26. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl (2016-06-01). Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects, Second Edition. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-80689-1.
  27. Drexel Mansion from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  28. Reading Terminal Trainshed at Historic American Buildings Survey
  29. Commercial Museum from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  30. United Gas Improvement from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  31. Land Title Building from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  32. Memorial Hall at Historic American Buildings Survey
  33. Main Exhibition Building from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  34. Machinery Hall from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  35. Norristown State Hospital from Flickr
  36. Baldwin Hotel from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  37. williamscottageinn.com
  38. LBI Museum at Historic American Buildings Survey
  39. lbimuseum.org
  40. West Point Observatory from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  41. Union Station Train Shed
  42. Potter, Janet Greenstein (1996). Great American Railroad Stations. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 287. ISBN 978-0471143895.
  43. normanwilliams.org
  44. Norman Williams Library from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
  45. Williams Science Hall
  46. B&P Station from National Gallery of Art
  47. "A BOOM IN BUILDING". Detroit Free Press. Detroit Free Press. Detroit Free Press. March 4, 1894.
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