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(1913)   Local ID #: BG_1913-03-26_15_209 (Moses)  <I>Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide</I>, 
				v. 28, 
				n. 13, 
				p. 209 
						(3/26/1913)
(1913)
Local ID #: BG_1913-03-26_15_209 (Moses)
Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide, v. 28, n. 13, p. 209 (3/26/1913)

Born: 5/3/1862, Died: 6/11/1934

Perhaps the most successful of the group of architects who chose to reside in New Jersey while maintaining active architectural offices in Philadelphia, Arnold H. Moses was born in Lymington, England, the son of the Rev. Richard G. and Mary Matilda (Bird) Moses. By 1878 he was already in Philadelphia and apprenticing in one of the most prestigious nineteenth-century offices, that of T. P. Chandler. He remained with Chandler through 1881, at the same time completing his education in architecture by attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Camden Philo-technic Institute. In 1881 Moses moved to the office of the Wilson Bros., where he became acquainted with another New Jersey resident, Arthur Truscott, who subsequently proposed him for membership in the T-Square Club in 1883.

By 1885 Moses and another alumnus of the Wilson Bros. firm, Guy King, had established the architectural office of Moses & King, and by 1886 the Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builders Guide had recorded a number of projects for the fledgling firm. The partners were joined for a period in 1890 by engineer George F. Ferris, and the name was revised to Moses, King & Ferris. However, this was a short-lived arrangement and by the end of 1890 Moses & King, minus Ferris, had returned to their former status. So successful was the partnership outside of Philadelphia and adjacent New Jersey towns, that in 1892 they opened a branch office in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

By 1896 this partnership had been dissolved, and Moses continued in independent practice. From around 1906 to 1921, younger architect Edward T. Boggs was in the Moses firm, but this relationship was not formalized. In 1921 Moses removed his office to Camden, NJ, where he continued to practice until his death. During the latter years of his career, Moses associated with younger architects Walter Mayo, J. C. Jeffries, and Joseph Praissman.

As a member of the AIA, Moses also belonged to both the Philadelphia and New Jersey chapters. He was, however, more active in the New Jersey Chapter, where he served as president from 1927 to 1929, and with both the New Jersey Society of Architects and the West Jersey Society of Architects, in that case serving as its first president from 1925 to 1928. He was also a member of the New Jersey State Board of Architects from 1902 onward. According to his application for membership in the Philadelphia Chapter, AIA, Moses also worked as an instructor for building construction at Temple University.

Written by Sandra L. Tatman.

Clubs and Membership Organizations

  • American Institute of Architects (AIA)
  • Philadelphia Chapter, AIA
  • T-Square Club
  • New Jersey Chapter (AIA)
  • New Jersey Society of Architects
  • West Jersey Society of Architects

School Affiliations

  • Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
  • Drexel Institute
  • Temple University
  • Camden Philo-technic Institute

 

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