Ammi B. Young

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Ammi B. Young
Supervising Architect

Ammi Burnham Young (June 19, 1798 – March 14, 1874)

architectural forms lent a sense of grandeur and permanence to the new country's institutions and communities. Young pioneered the use of iron
in construction.

Early life and works

Born in

Boston office of Alexander Parris, whose characteristic work in granite
influenced Young's subsequent governmental commissions.

In 1830, Young opened his own office in

Gothic Revival style. His first monumental work was the Second Vermont State House, a cruciform Greek Revival structure built between 1833 and 1838, which combined a Doric portico modeled on the Temple of Theseus in Athens, with a low saucer dome inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. The building's granite blocks were hauled to Montpelier on the frozen Winooski River from quarries at Barre. But a fire in 1857 destroyed much of the building, except for the portico and some of the walls. With considerable respect for Young's original design, the Vermont State House was rebuilt, although now with wings extended by a bay, and a cupola crowning the roof – the plan of Thomas Silloway, trained in Young's office from 1847 until 1851. The result was considered by architect Stanford White
the finest example of the Greek Revival style in the country.

Entering the 1837 competition to design the Boston Custom House, Young submitted another cruciform scheme combining a Greek Doric portico with a Roman dome. Planned on a large scale at what was then the waterfront, the building reflected the strength and confidence of the young, growing nation. It won, defeating several other entries, including one by Asher Benjamin. Young was appointed supervisor of construction, which took from 1837 until 1847. In 1838, he established a Boston drafting room. The building's 32 columns were each carved from a single piece from Quincy granite. They measured 5 foot 4 inches in diameter, stood 32 feet high, and weighed 42 tons. Purists decried the Roman dome on a Greek form. Far less sympathetic to the building's Greek form, however, would be the soaring Custom House Tower which replaced the dome from 1913 to 1915. Boston's first skyscraper, it was designed by Peabody & Stearns to add both office space and presence to a building obscured by later others.

Supervising Architect of the Treasury

Young entered the 1850 competition to design enlargements to the

galvanized metal. Column capitols, fascia and pediments on the exterior, when not stone, were cast iron painted to look like stone—which drew criticism of parsimony by the federal architect. Cast iron components were manufactured to Young's specifications in New York
state, then shipped to building sites.

At the same time, ongoing modifications to the Treasury Building concerned Young, expected to create working drawings based on plans by Walter. For the South Wing, he invented a column capital which symbolized the department, substituting

Cincinnati, Isaiah Rogers, succeeded him as Supervising Architect, although the Civil War curtailed the department's activities. Several of Young's buildings would play a part in the rebellion, particularly his custom house in Richmond, Virginia, which served as the Confederate Treasury. When Richmond in April 1865 was evacuated by the Army of Northern Virginia, with orders to burn warehouses and factories, the Richmond Custom House survived the conflagration—a testament to its fire-proofing. Indeed, from its courtroom Jefferson Davis was indicted for treason
in May 1866.

Young was awarded honorary degrees (M.A.) from the University of Vermont (1839) and Dartmouth College (1841).[citation needed] He died in Washington, D.C., and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[1]

Buildings

Buildings while Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department:

Gallery

  • Second Vermont State House as it appeared before the 1857 fire
    Second Vermont State House as it appeared before the 1857 fire
  • Boston Custom House showing transverse section plan
    Boston Custom House showing transverse section plan
  • Corinthian-based carved capital by Young for the U.S. Treasury
    Corinthian-based carved capital by Young for the U.S. Treasury
  • Custom House, Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1905
    Custom House, Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1905
  • Custom House and Post Office, Mobile, Alabama, in 1901
    Custom House and Post Office, Mobile, Alabama, in 1901
  • Custom House and Post Office, Waldoboro, Maine, c. 1908
    Custom House and Post Office, Waldoboro, Maine, c. 1908
  • Custom House, Charleston, South Carolina
    Custom House, Charleston, South Carolina
  • Custom House and Post Office, Galena, Illinois, c. 1912
    Custom House and Post Office, Galena, Illinois, c. 1912
  • Custom House and Post Office, Norfolk, Virginia, in 1900
    Custom House and Post Office, Norfolk, Virginia, in 1900
  • Post Office, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
    Post Office, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
  • Old Customshouse, Wilmington, Delaware
    Old Customshouse, Wilmington, Delaware
  • U. S. Custom House, Barnstable, Massachusetts
    U. S. Custom House, Barnstable, Massachusetts
  • U. S. Custom House, Bath, Maine 1991
    U. S. Custom House, Bath, Maine 1991
  • U. S. Custom House, Bristol, Rhode Island 1901
    U. S. Custom House, Bristol, Rhode Island 1901
  • U. S. Custom House, Ellsworth, Maine 1901
    U. S. Custom House, Ellsworth, Maine 1901
  • U. S. Custom House, Gloucester, Massachusetts
    U. S. Custom House, Gloucester, Massachusetts
  • U, S. Custom House, New Haven, Connecticut, 1901
    U, S. Custom House, New Haven, Connecticut, 1901
  • U. S. Custom House, Broad at Academy Streets, Newark, New Jersey
    U. S. Custom House, Broad at Academy Streets, Newark, New Jersey
  • U. S. Customhouse and Post Office, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
    U. S. Customhouse and Post Office, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Notes

  1. ^ According to his cemetery information his birth date is June 19, 1799, and his death date is March 13, 1874.

References

  1. Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. ^ "History of the Federal Judiciary - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ammi Burnham Young.
  • Daniel Bluestone, "Civic and Aesthetic Reserve: Ammi Burnham Young's 1850s Federal Customhouse Designs," Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 25, No. 2/3, Summer - Autumn 1990, pp. 131–156
  • Lawrence Woodhouse, "Ammi Burnham Young," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. XXV, No. 4, December 1966
Preceded by
Robert Mills,
as Federal Architect
Federal Architectural Advisor

1842–1852 		Succeeded by
Ammi B. Young,
as Supervising Architect
Preceded by
Ammi B. Young,
as Federal Architectural Advisor
Office of the Supervising Architect

1852–1862 		Succeeded by
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