Cairnwood Featured in New Book about Carrere and Hastings, Architects

Cairnwood repositoryWhat do the New York Public Library, the original House and Senate office buildings on Capitol Hill, the Frick mansion, and Cairnwood, the former home of John and Gertrude Pitcairn in Bryn Athyn, have in common?

They all were designed by the renowned New York architectural firm of Carrère & Hastings, and all are featured in a new book: Carrère & Hastings, Architects. The first comprehensive study and visual record of the firm’s remarkable achievements, this two-volume work is already being hailed as “the architectural book of the year” (Francis Marrone).

One of the book’s authors, Mark Alan Hewitt, will speak on the scope of Carrère & Hastings’ work, focusing on Cairnwood, the first large country house designed by the firm, in a presentation at Cairnwood on Feb. 11 at 4 p.m., 1005 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn, PA,. The event is free and open to the public. 

Hewitt, a registered architect, teacher, and architectural historian, will be available to sign books and answer questions, and all three floors of Cairnwood will be open for self-guided tours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by Cairnwood and the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America

In the 1890s, country living was developing as an ideal among the wealthiest Americans, and leading designers worked to develop an architectural form for that ideal. The firm of Carrère & Hastings, which helped define the architecture of the period, was responsible for some 600 projects in its 45-year history. Many of the firm’s homes were built for leaders of the oil and railroad industries, like John Pitcairn, who commissioned Cairnwood in 1892. The home was completed in 1895. 

Cairnwood, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was home to Pitcairn, his wife Gertrude, and their children. In addition to his business dealings, Pitcairn (1841-1916) was one of the founders of Bryn Athyn, a New Church community. The Pitcairns’ New Church beliefs are evident in the design of Cairnwood, most notably through the tower along the south terrace:

“Unique among Carrère & Hastings’ designs, and unusual for any country house, the tower’s purpose was to provide a worship space for the family at the top of the main staircase. The Pitcairns had requested a small chapel; Hastings made this symbolic room the centerpiece of the entire design…The building is now open as a historic house and is well interpreted by the New Church in Bryn Athyn” (Mark Alan Hewitt: Carrère & Hastings, Architects, 2006, 25).

Built primarily as a home, Cairnwood also served as an active center for church meetings and community social life.

CarrereHastings.jpgPublished in December, 2006, Hewitt’s book features more than 730 illustrations, including floor plans and seven gatefolds. It is one of several he has authored on architecture and historic preservation.

Hewitt, an adjunct faculty member at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., has taught at many leading architecture schools, including Rice, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was the recipient of a Graham Foundation Fellowship in 1985, an NEH/Winterthur advanced fellowship in 1996, and he won first prize in the 1995 Great American Home Awards sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Space for Hewitt’s lecture is limited. For additional information, contact Lisa Parker Adams, Cairnwood’s educational coordinator, at 267-502-2997 or send an e-mail to lisa.adams@cairnwood.org.

Cairnwood, now owned by the Academy of the New Church and operated by a board of governors as a nonprofit organization, has undergone extensive restoration. It now provides a memorable setting for weddings, private parties, corporate activities, and other special events. For more information about Cairnwood, visit http://www.cairnwood.org/, and consult these resources on NewChurchHistory.org:

Articles:

Family Worship at Cairnwood and Glencairn

Repository for the Word and the Writings of Swedenborg Returns to Cairnwood Chapel

The New Church History Image Project:

Cairnwood

Cairnwood Album 1900

Photo of Cairnwood chapel: David Hershy.

February 6, 2007 | Posted by: Ed Gyllenhaal in New Church History Fun Fact