 |
ARCHITECT
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
printer-friendly version
|
|
Born: 12/16/1860, Died: 12/18/1892 Adrian W. Smith suffered from nearly perpetual ill health and died in his youth, but his impression on Philadelphia area architecture was nonetheless a lasting one. Born in Cincinnati, OH, the son of General Thomas Kilby Smith and Elizabeth Budd McCullough Smith, Adrian W. Smith arrived in the Torresdale section of Philadelphia in 1865. Years followed in which he was bedridden, but the young Smith managed to complete one year at Philadelphia's Protestant Episcopal Academy, and by 1880 he was working in the office of Hazelhurst & Huckel and was introduced to the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA by Edward Hazelhurst on 13 January 1880 as a student in the firm. Smith then spent some three years with Hazelhurst & Huckel before relocating to Baltimore and the office of Frank Nierensee. By 1885, however, Smith had returned to Philadelphia and was working for church architect Charles M. Burns. This experience would set Smith off on a distinguished, if short, career as a church designer.By the end of 1887 Smith and William C. Prichett had established a partnership, first with each using his full name on the masthead, but after Thomas B. Prichett joined the firm in March 1890, the name was revised to Smith & Prichett. Soon after Thomas Prichett joined the firm, however, Adrian W. Smith withdrew (June 1890) and began his own independent practice with an office at 907 Walnut Street. He would continue to practice alone until his death only two years later. Although Smith's practice during his association with William C. Prichett was marked by a number of residential commissions, his affinity for ecclesiastical work led him to obtain several Catholic church and church-related commissions. Following his death,George I. Lovatt, Sr., completed his work on the Monastery of the Visitation in Wilmington, DE. Smith served on the publication committee of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA's short-lived Journal of Architecture and published two articles in that journal.
Written by Sandra L. Tatman. Clubs and Membership Organizations
Philadelphia Architects and Buildings |
About |
Participating Institutions |
Feedback |
Search |
Login
|