Goodhue Livingston
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Goodhue Livingston | |
|---|---|
 Livingston in 1906 | |
| Born | February 23, 1867 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | June 3, 1951 (aged 84) Southampton, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | Louisa Robb |
| Partner(s) | Stockton B. Colt; Breck Trowbridge |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Medal of Honor, Architectural League of New York |
| Practice | Trowbridge & Livingston Trowbridge, Colt & Livingston |
| Buildings | Hayden Planetarium Palace Hotel St. Regis New York Oregon State Capital |
Goodhue Livingston (February 23, 1867 – June 3, 1951) was an American architect who co-founded the firm of Trowbridge & Livingston.[1][2] He designed the St. Regis New York, the Hayden Planetarium, and numerous buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1][3]
Livingston was born in New York City.[1] He was the son of Susan Maria Clarkson de Peyster (1823 – 1910) and Robert Edward Livingston (1820 – 1889), who inherited wealth and did not work.[2][1][4] His paternal grandfather was Edward Philip Livingston, the 11th Lieutenant Governor of New York.[5] His paternal great-grandfather, Philip R. Livingston, was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and member of the first Continental Congress.[4]
Livingston attended Columbia University, receiving an A.B. in 1888, a Ph.B. in architecture 1892, and an MA in 1914.[1] While there, he joined the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall).[6] He also participated in Columbia's Dramatic Club.[7][8]
Career
In 1894, Livingston co-founded Trowbridge, Livingston & Colt in New York City along with Stockton B. Colt and Samuel Breck Parkman Trowbridge.[9][10] Colt and Livingston were fraternity brothers, and all three attended Columbia University together.[6][10] When Colt left the firm in 1897, its name changed to Trowbridge & Livingston.[9]
Trowbridge & Livingston became known for its commercial, institutional, and public buildings, many in Beaux Arts or Neoclassical architectural styles.[10][11] Often commissioned by well-heeled clients, the firm's work was especially prevalent on the Upper East Side and Wall Street precincts of New York City.[11]
One of Livingston's early commissions was the Ardsley Club (1896), designed for its founding members including J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, William Rockefeller Jr., and Cornelius Vanderbilt II.[12]
In New York City, Livingston designed the Renaissance Revival style B. Altman and Company Building (1905), the Neo-Classical style Bankers Trust Company Building (1912), the Chemical National Bank Building (1907), Rikers Island Penitentiary, and the Baroque style St. Regis New York hotel (1904).[13][1][14][15][16] The firm acquired the contract for the St. Regis from John Jacob Astor IV through a design contest.[11] The hotel was "hailed in the press not just for its architectural and technological brilliance, but for what one columnist characterized as its role in shaping the face and style of New York.”[11]
He also designed the interior of The Knickerbocker Hotel in 1906 and an addition for the New York Stock Exchange in 1923.[1][13] In 1935, Livingston designed the Hayden Planetarium for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.[10]
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he designed the United States Post Office & Courthouse (aka the Joseph F. Weis, Jr. U.S. Courthouse) in 1931 and the Gulf Building or Gulf Tower in 1932; the latter with the architect Edward Mellon[1][3] He was the architect for the Mitsui Bank and Trust Company of Tokyo and the Palace Hotel in San Francisco (1909).[1][9] He also designed the Oregon State Capital (1938) in Salem with architect Francis Keally.[3][9]
He retired in 1946.[1]
