Wikipedia

Mott B. Schmidt

Mott Brooshovft Schmidt(September 2, 1889 – July 22, 1977) was an Americanarchitectbest known for his buildings in theAmerican Georgian Classicalstyle.[1]

Mott B. Schmidt
Born
Mott Brooshovft Schmidt

(1889-09-02)September 2, 1889
Middletown, New York
DiedJuly 22, 1977(1977-07-22)(aged 87)
New London, Connecticut
Alma materPratt Institute
OccupationArchitect
Spouses
Elena Bachman
​
​
(m.1922;died 1955)​
Katherine Temple Lapsley
​
​
(m.1958)​
BuildingsMount Kisco Municipal Complex
655 Park Avenue

Early life

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Schmidt was born inMiddletown, New York,on September 2, 1889, and was named in honor of Dr.Valentine Mott,a friend of the Schmidt family. He was a son of Edward Mott Schmidt (1838–1909) and, his third wife, Frances M. (néeJennette) Schmidt (1864–1940), and grew up in a brownstone at 671 Park Place, nearProspect ParkandGrand Army Plaza.[2]

Schmidt was a fourth-generation American of German and Irish ancestry. His great-grandfather was Dr. John William Schmidt; his grandfather, Dr. John W. Schmidt Jr., was the first visiting surgeon atSt. Vincent's Hospitaland helped start theNew York Academy of Medicinein 1847.[2]

He attended public schools in Brooklyn. After graduating with a degree in architecture from thePratt Institutein 1906,[3]he took a two-yearGrand Touron which he drew many of Europe's best-known monuments.[2]

Career

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After returning from Europe, Schmidt worked as an apprentice in the New York architecture office of Carrére and Hastings for four years. There he learned not only to build using modern materials, but also to design in the classical styles favored by Beaux Arts trained architects. Founding his own practice in 1912, he took small residential jobs, remodeling townhouses in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and some commercial projects.[4]

DuringWorld War I,Schmidt served stateside in theU.S. Armyas a First Lieutenant, supervising military installations at theEdgewood Arsenalin Maryland and atHastings-on-Hudson, New York,during 1917 and 1918.[4][5]During this period, he also completed a townhouse for Herbert J. Johnson and in 1917, the alteration of a townhouse at39 East 63rd StreetforGrenville T. Emmet(laterU.S. Minister to Austriaandthe Netherlands), Schmidt's first important commission. Two years after the Emmet project's completion,Architectural Recordwrote about it, bringing him professional recognition and attracting new patrons.[4]

Sutton Place

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Rendering of One Sutton Place, 1921.

In the early 1920s, Schmidt was hired by wealthy socialitesAnne Harriman Vanderbilt,second wife ofWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt;andAnne Morgan,daughter of bankerJ. Pierpont Morgan;[6]andElisabeth Marbury,to design their townhouses in the then-newSutton Placeneighborhood in Manhattan,[7]which up to that point had been known as a "squalid place."[8]For Vanderbilt, who had purchased the former home of Effingham B. Sutton, at 1 Sutton Place,[9]Mott renovated the existing structure beyond recognition,[10]transforming the home into a 13-room townhouse with terraced gardens that overlooked theEast River.[11]The $75,000 renovation was complemented by interiors designed byElsie de Wolfe.[12]

While the society pages ofThe New York Timesinitially scoffed at the choice of location, and referred to the area as an "Amazon Enclave,"[8]the commissions launched Schmidt's career,[13]and by 1929, the neighborhood had firmly transformed into a luxury enclave.[14]

Pook's Hill

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In 1926, Schmidt built a gracious brick country home for his family inBedford, New York.It was called Pook's Hill, after a children's book byRudyard Kipling.The house won first prize in a 1931 competition for "A Common Brick House," published inThe Architectural Forum,and was exhibited featured in theArchitectural League of New York's 1932 yearbook. Schmidt sold the home in the 1950s.[15]

Other works

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Apartment buildings designed by Schmidt include655 Park Avenuein 1924, 1088 Park Avenue in 1924, and the Vincent Astor Townhouse in 1926.Vincent Astorwas the only son ofJohn Jacob Astor IV(who died aboard theTitanic) andAva Lowle Willing.He also designed the Italian Renaissance houses along the north side of Hardee Road inCoral Gables French City Village.[16]

His civic works include theMount Kisco Municipal Complex.[17]He also designed the 1966 Susan B. Wagner wing ofGracie MansioninNew York City,[18]an $800,000 two-story addition that included a ballroom modeled after the one in a 1790 house built for the Lyman family ofWaltham, Massachusetts.[3]

Personal life

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In June 1922, Schmidt was married toElena Bachman(1890–1955),[19]who was raised inColombiaand was the daughter of a Swiss businessman. Elena was an interior decorator inElsie de Wolfe's office who later designed the decor and furnishings for theRainbow RoominRockefeller Centerin 1934.[20]Together, they were the parents of one daughter: Elena Anne Schmidt (1924–1954),[21]who married William R. Chandler, a son ofAlfred Dupont Chandler,in 1947.[22]

In 1958, after the death of his first wife, he was married to Katherine Temple Lapsley inBedford Village, New York.[23]Katherine, a daughter of John Willard Lapsley and graduate of theEthel Walker School,was previously married to, and divorced from, Melville E. Stone II.[24]

In 1922, Schmidt was sketched byAlbert Sternerand his first wife was painted byBernard Boutet de Monvel.[25]

Schmidt died at theLawrence and Memorial HospitalinNew London, Connecticuton July 22, 1977.[3]

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  • One Sutton Place North, New York City (completed 1921)
  • Emily Trevor Townhouse, New York City (completed 1926).
  • The Entrance Portico of the Trevor Townhouse.
  • 655 Park Avenue,New York City (completed 1924).
  • Vincent Astor Townhouse, New York City (completed 1927).
  • Elizabeth Arden Building, Washington DC (completed 1929).
  • Douglas Dillon Townhouse, New York City (completed 1930).
  • Municipal Building and Post Office,Mt. Kisco, New York (completed 1932).

References

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  1. ^"About Mott Schmidt".The Architecture of Mott B. Schmidt.mottschmidt.RetrievedSeptember 8,2012.
  2. ^abc"Mott Schmidt Biography - Youth and Schooling".mottschmidt.Retrieved23 July2019.
  3. ^abc"Mott B. Schmidt, Designed Wing for Grade Mansion And Homes of the Wealthy".The New York Times.24 July 1977.Retrieved22 July2019.
  4. ^abc"Mott Schmidt Biography - First Years in Practice".mottschmidt.Retrieved23 July2019.
  5. ^Mark Alan Hewitt,The Architecture of Mott B. Schmidt(New York, Rizzoli: 1991).
  6. ^"MISS MORGAN JOINS EAST SIDE COLONY; She Is Having House in Exclusive Sutton Place Improved for Her Occupancy. OTHER NOTABLES THERE Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt Started Movement in Direction of East River a Year Ago".The New York Times.15 October 1921.Retrieved21 July2017.
  7. ^"Rendering of One Sutton Place, New York City".si.edu.Smithsonian Institution.Retrieved23 July2019.
  8. ^abWallace, David (2012).Capital of the World: A Portrait of New York City in the Roaring Twenties.Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 207–208.ISBN9780762768196.Retrieved21 July2017.
  9. ^"MRS. W.K. VANDERBILT TO LIVE IN AVENUE A; Quitting 5th Av., Buys Home in Sutton Place, at Foot of East 57th Street. JOINS THE NEW COLONY East Side Section to Become a Centre for New York Society Leaders".The New York Times.9 January 1921.Retrieved21 July2017.
  10. ^"SUTTON PLACE BUILDING.; Work Started on Mrs. Vanderbilt's New East Side Home".The New York Times.27 March 1921.Retrieved21 July2017.
  11. ^Gaines, Steven (2005).The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan.Little, Brown. p.103.ISBN9780759513884.Retrieved21 July2017.
  12. ^"VANDERBILT PLANS FILED; Cost of Her Sutton Place Residence Estimated at $75,000".The New York Times.10 March 1921.Retrieved21 July2017.
  13. ^Hewitt, Mark Alan."About Mott Schmidt: Beginnings and Sutton Place".The Architecture of Mott B. Schmidt.MottSchmidt.RetrievedSeptember 8,2012.
  14. ^"DE LUXE APARTMENTS REPLACE EAST SIDE TENEMENTS; Big Realty Increases. Prominent Operators. $7,000,000 Watergate Project. Bridge Plaza Improvements. 1928 Construction List".The New York Times.6 January 1929.Retrieved21 July2017.
  15. ^"Pook's Hill: Mr & Mrs Mott B. Schmidt Country House".mottschmidt.Retrieved23 July2019.
  16. ^"City of Coral Gables: Villages".Archived fromthe originalon July 28, 2017.RetrievedJuly 28,2017.
  17. ^"Municipal Building and Post Office, Mount Kisco".The Architecture of Mott B. Schmidt.
  18. ^"Susan B, Wagner Wing, Gracie Mansion".The Architecture of Mott B. Schmidt.
  19. ^Times, Special to The New York (30 June 1955)."Mrs. Mott B. Schmidt"(PDF).The New York Times.Retrieved22 July2019.
  20. ^"Mott Schmidt Biography - Sutton Place".mottschmidt.Retrieved23 July2019.
  21. ^"Mrs. William Chandler"(PDF).The New York Times.15 May 1954.Retrieved23 July2019.
  22. ^"ELENA A. SCHMIDT BECOMES A BRIDE; Married to William R. Chandler in St. James Episcopal Church --Couple Has 14 Attendants"(PDF).The New York Times.10 September 1947.Retrieved22 July2019.
  23. ^Times, Special to The New York (8 August 1958)."Mott B. Schmidt Weds Mrs. Katharine Stone"(PDF).The New York Times.Retrieved22 July2019.
  24. ^"MISS LAPSLEY WED TO M.E. STONE 2D; Ceremony in Bedford by Dr. Endicott Peabody, Head".The New York Times.28 April 1929.Retrieved22 July2019.
  25. ^"Elena Bachman Schmidt".npg.si.edu.National Portrait Gallery.Retrieved22 July2019.
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