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{{Short description|American architectural firm}} G. W. & W. D. Hewitt was a prominent architectural firm in the eastern United States at the turn of the twentieth century. It was founded in Philadelphia in 1878, by brothers George Wattson Hewitt (1841–1916) and William Dempster Hewitt (1847–1924), both members of the American Institute of Architects. The firm specialized in churches, hotels and palatial residences, especially crenelated mansions, such as Maybrook (1881), Druim Moir (1885–86) and Boldt Castle (1900–04). The last, which was built for George C. Boldt, owner of Philadelphia's Bellevue-Stratford Hotel at 200 South Broad Street in Center City Philadelphia (1902–04), is G.W. & W.D. Hewitt's best known building.David R. Contosta, Suburb in the City: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, 1850-1990 (Ohio State University Press, 1992)

Career

File:St Petes Philly.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Germantown in the Germantown section of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaHewitt worked in the office of John Notman, and became an expert on English ecclesiastical architecture. In 1867, he formed a partnership with John Fraser and Frank Furness, which lasted until 1871. The younger men formed their own firm, Furness & Hewitt, whose most notable building was the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1871–76). Louis Sullivan worked briefly as a draftsman for Furness & Hewitt (June – November 1873), and left descriptions of the Hewitt brothers (speaking of himself in third person as "Louis"):George Hewitt [was] a slender, moustached person, pale and reserved, who seldom relaxed from pose. It was he who did the Victorian Gothic in its pantalettes, when a church building or something of the sort was on the board. With precision, as though he held his elements by pincers, he worked out the decorous sublimities of inanity, as per the English current magazines and other English sources. He was a clean draftsman, and believed implicitly that all that was good was English. Louis regarded him with admiration as a draftsman, and with mild contempt as a man who kept his nose in books.But Hewitt had a younger brother named John [sic], and John was foreman of the shop. He was a husky, smooth-faced fellow under thirty. Every feature in his clean cut, rather elongated face, bespoke intelligence and kindness, in fact a big heart. He had taken a fancy to Louis from the start. He was the 'practical man' and Louis ran to him for advice whenever he found himself in a tight place. John was patience itself and made everything clear with dainty sketches and explanatory notes. These drawings were beautiful and Louis frankly told him so. He begged John to teach him 'touch' and how to make such sketches, and especially how to 'indicate' so crisply. This John did. In fact, it was not long before he made of Louis a draftsman of the Upper crust, and Louis's heart went out to lovable John in sheer gratitude.Louis Sullivan, Autobiography of an Idea (1924; reprint, New York: Dover, 1956), pp. 190-96.Writing a half century after the fact, Sullivan misremembered William Hewitt's name (there was no John Hewitt). Furness & Hewitt continued until 1875, and George opened his own firm, making his brother William a partner in 1878.In the early 1880s, Henry H. Houston, a director of the Pennsylvania Railroad, began developing {{convert|3000|acre|km2}} in the western Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. The Hewitt brothers did the planning for the upper-class suburb and designed the principal buildings, including a resort hotel, the Wissahickon Inn (1883–84) (now Springside Chestnut Hill Academy); the first clubhouse for the Philadelphia Cricket Club (1883–84, burned 1909); Houston's own mansion, Druim Moir (1886); and St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church (1888). More than 100 Chestnut Hill houses were designed by the Hewitts.James B. Garrison, Houses of Philadelphia: Chestnut Hill and the Wissahickon Valley (New York: Acanthus Press, 2008) p. 295.Horace Trumbauer did his apprenticeship with the firm. Phineas Paist worked for the firm, and became a partner in it. Following George's 1907 retirement, the firm continued as Hewitt, Stevens & Paist.File:Chestnut Hill HD.JPG|right|thumb|upright=1.1|Houston-Sauveur House, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA (1885). Prior to its 1887 sale to Sauveur, this probably served as a sample house for Henry H. HoustonHenry H. Houston

Selected buildings

Churches

• St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Germantown, 6000 Wayne Avenue, Philadelphia (1873)
• Providence Presbyterian Church at Bustleton, 2087 Old York Rd., Burlington, New Jersey (1878)Providence Presbyterian Church
• Church of Saint John the Evangelist, 1720 Old Black Horse Pk., Runnemede, New Jersey (1880–81)WEB,weblink St John's Church, 2008-11-30,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20081231133113weblink">weblink 2008-12-31, dead,
• Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Ln., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia (1888)St. Martin in the FieldsSt. Martin in the Fields {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022230811weblink |date=2006-10-22 }} from Bryn Mawr College
• St. Andrew's Church, 50 York St., Lambertville, New Jersey (1891)St. Andrew's Church

Residences

• "Maybrook" (Henry C. Gibson mansion), Wynnewood, Pennsylvania (1881)Maybrook photo from Lower Merion Historical SocietyMaybrook ballroom photo from Lower Merion Historical SocietyMaybrook history from Rich Men and Their Castles, Lower Merion Historical Society
• Drexel Development Historic District, West Philadelphia (1883). Speculative rowhouses built for Anthony Joseph Drexel, on the block bounded by Pine, 39th, Baltimore, and 40th Streets.WEB,weblink National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania, CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System, Searchable database, 2012-07-19, 2007-07-21,weblink dead, Note: This includes WEB,weblink National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Drexel Development Historic District, 2012-07-18, Carl E. Doebley, PDF, February 1981,
• Edwin T. Coxe mansion, 280 W. Walnut Ln., Germantown, Philadelphia (1885)Coxe mansion {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409085945weblink |date=2009-04-09 }} at Bryn Mawr College
• Houston-Sauveur house (Louis C. Sauveur house), 8205 Seminole Ave., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia (1885)Houston-Sauveur House at Historic American Buildings Survey
• "Druim Moir" (Henry H. Houston mansion), Willow Grove Ave. & Cherokee St., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, (1885–86)Druim Moir {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022231056weblink |date=2006-10-22 }} from Bryn Mawr CollegeDruim Moir {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022231039weblink |date=2006-10-22 }} from Bryn Mawr College
• "Brinkwood" (Samuel F. Houston mansion), Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia (1885–86)Brinkwood from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
• William Thompson Harris mansion, Highland & Bryn Mawr Aves., Cynwyd, Pennsylvania (1886)Harris mansion {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409085825weblink |date=2009-04-09 }} at Bryn Mawr College
• Spruce Hill speculative row, 4206-18 Spruce St., Philadelphia (1886)Spruce Hill {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217141421weblink |date=2005-12-17 }} from University City Historical Society
• William C. Sharpless house, 5446 Wayne Ave., Germantown, Philadelphia (1886)Sharpless House from National Register of Historic Places
• Henry Lister Townsend house, 6015 Wayne Ave., Germantown, Philadelphia (1887).Townsend house {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605050108weblink |date=2010-06-05 }} from Bryn Mawr College.
• "Briar Crest" (William Henry Maule mansion), Villanova, Pennsylvania (pre-1897)Briar Crest from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
• Boldt Castle, Heart Island, Alexandria Bay, New York (1900–04)WEB,weblink Boldt Castle — A "Gilded Age" estate built for a tragic love, 2006-10-01, 2006-05-25,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060525194254weblink">weblink dead,
• Music room addition to Horace Brock house, 1920 Spruce St., Philadelphia (1902–03), (now Helen Corning Warden Theater, Academy of Vocal Arts)AVA Theater Frank Furness made earlier alterations to this house.

Hotels, businesses and institutional buildings

• Wissahickon Inn (now Springside Chestnut Hill Academy), 500 W. Willow Grove Ave., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia (1883–84)Wissahickon Inn {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022230609weblink |date=2006-10-22 }} from Bryn Mawr CollegeWissahickon Inn at Historic American Buildings Survey
• Philadelphia Cricket Club, 415 W. Willow Grove Ave., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia (1883–84, burned 1909)Philadelphia Cricket Club from ExplorePAhistory.com
• Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad Station (C & L Depot), Lebanon, Pennsylvania (1885)Cornwall & Lebanon Station {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209025557weblink |date=2008-12-09 }} from Don Dorflinger
• Hahnemann Hospital, 15th & Race Sts., Philadelphia, PA (pre-1888, demolished)Hahnemann Hospital from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
• Kensington Branch, Philadelphia YWCA, Philadelphia (1891)Kensington YWCA from National Register of Historic Places
• Olympic Hotel, Blackwell Point, Tacoma, Washington (1891–93), (now Stadium High School)Stadium High School {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102054624weblink |date=January 2, 2015 }}
• Receiving Ward, Episcopal Hospital, Front St. & Lehigh Ave., Philadelphia (1892–94, demolished)Episcopal Hospital from Historic American Buildings Survey.
• Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce St., Philadelphia (1892–94)
• Philadelphia Bourse, 13 S. 5th St. (facing Independence Mall), Philadelphia (1893–95)WEB,weblink Philadelphia Bourse, 2006-10-01, 2006-09-22,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060922093525weblink">weblink dead,
• Gibson Building, 1307-11 Market St., Philadelphia (1897, demolished)Gibson Building from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
• "The Castle" (Tau chapter of Psi Upsilon fraternity), University of Pennsylvania, 250 S. 36th St., Philadelphia (1897–99)The Castle
• Hahnemann Medical College, Broad & Race Sts., Philadelphia (pre-1899, demolished)Hahnemann Medical College from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
• Pitcairn Building, 1027-31 Arch St., Philadelphia (1901)Pitcairn Building from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
• Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Broad & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia (1902–04)Bellevue-Stratford Hotel{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}Bellevue-Stratford Hotel at Historic American Buildings Survey

{{clear}}

Gallery

File:St John Evangel NJ.jpg|Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Runnemede, New Jersey (1881).File:Wissahickon Inn, Philadelphia, HABS PA-1720-2.jpg|Wissahickon Inn, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1883–84). Now Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.File:Philadelphia Cricket Club.jpg|Philadelphia Cricket Club (first building), Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1883–84, burned 1909).File:SauveurHouse.jpg|Houston-Sauveur House (1885), Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Hewitts designed more than 100 houses in Chestnut Hill.File:CnL RR Station LebCo PA.jpg|Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad Station, Lebanon, Pennsylvania (1885).File:DruimMoir 1901 MosesKing.jpg|"Druim Moir" (Henry H. Houston Mansion), Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, (1885–86).File:6015 Wayne Philly.JPG|Henry Lister Townsend house, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1887).Image:Tacoma - Stadium High School 03A.jpg|Olympic Hotel, Blackwell Point, Tacoma, Washington (1891–93). Now Stadium High School.Image:ReceivingWard.jpg|Receiving Ward, Episcopal Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1892–94, demolished).Image:Wistar Institute-east.JPG|Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1892–94).File:UPenn Castle blizzard.jpg|"The Castle" (Psi Upsilon fraternity), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1897–99).File:ThousandIslandsCastle.jpg|Boldt Castle, Heart Island, Alexandria Bay, New York (1900–04).File:Boldt yacht house 2.jpg|George C. Boldt Yacht House, Heart Island, Alexandria Bay, New York (1903).File:Pitcairn Building Philly.JPG|Pitcairn Building, 1027-31 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1901).Image:BellevueLobby.jpg|Lobby of Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1902–04).

See also

References

Notes{{reflist|20em}}

External links

{{commons category}}

• Hewitt Brothers biography at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings

{{Frank Furness}}