Wikipedia

George M. Harding

For the war artist of World War I and architect, see George Matthews Harding. For the architect of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, see George C. Harding.

George Milford Harding (1827–1910) was an American architect who practiced in nineteenth-century Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

George Milford Harding
Born1827
Chatham, Massachusetts
Died1910
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
PracticeSilloway & Harding; George M. Harding
Thompson Block, Portland, 1867.

Life and career

edit
 
Advertisement for Harding, 1873.

Harding was born in 1827 in Chatham, Massachusetts. At the age of 17 he began his studies at the Lowell Institute in Boston, probably working in the office of a local architect as well.[1]

In 1851, Harding established a partnership with Thomas W. Silloway. Silloway & Harding was dissolved by April, 1853, and both established private offices. Harding soon set his sights on northern New England, and was practicing in Concord, New Hampshire by 1854.[2] By 1856 he was in Manchester.[3] In 1858, he moved to Portland, Maine.[1] It would also appear that for a time in the late 1860s he was employed as State Architect, and worked on a proposal for an expansion of the State House.[4] He remained there until 1873, when he returned to Boston, though he continued to receive commissions to design buildings in Maine.

In the 1880s he relocated his office to Hyde Park, which was annexed to Boston in 1912.

Legacy

edit

Harding was one of several architects to rebuild important sections of downtown Portland after the fire of 1866. However, most of his work was made up of private residences and a large number of school buildings.

He was the teacher of several other architects, including Henry M. Francis of Fitchburg, Massachusetts[5] and Charles H. Kimball, also of Portland.[6]

A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[7]

thumb

Architectural works

edit
Year Building Address City State Notes Image Reference
1854 Benjamin Grover House 35 Pleasant St Concord New Hampshire [2]
1857 First Universalist Church 30 High St Danvers Massachusetts Remodeled in 1925 into the Masonic Temple, Little & Browne, architects.[8] [9]
1858 James L. Merrill House 310 Spring St Portland Maine [10]
1862 Joseph Drowne Houses 36-38 State St Portland Maine [11]
1863 Morrill's Corner School 808 Stevens Ave Portland Maine Originally in Westbrook, then Deering. [12]
1863 Portland High School 284 Cumberland Ave Portland Maine The original building has been obscured by later additions. [13]
1863 Searsport Union Hall 1 Union St Searsport Maine [14]
1865 William Allen Jr. House 9 Deering St Portland Maine [15]
1865 First Universalist Church High St Portland Maine Demolished. [16]
1865 Frye Grammar School 140 Ash St Lewiston Maine [1]
1865 Parsonage,
Free Will Baptist Church		 51 Ocean House Rd Cape Elizabeth Maine [17]
1866 Bailey & Noyes Block 56 Exchange St Portland Maine Altered by the addition of several floors. [18]
1866 Searsport Union School 23 Mount Ephraim Rd Searsport Maine [1]
1867 Boyd Block 178 Middle St Portland Maine Altered by the addition of a floor.   [18]
1867 First Parish Congregational Church 116 Main St Yarmouth Maine   [19]
1867 India Street Fire Station 97 India Street Portland Maine [20]
1867 Rackleff Building 129 Middle St Portland Maine   [16]
1867 Thompson Block 121 Middle St Portland Maine   [21]
1867 Woodman Building 75 Pearl St Portland Maine   [22]
1868 Greely Institute 303 Main St Cumberland Maine [1]
1868 Houlton Academy Military St Houlton Maine Later known as Potter Hall, a dormitory. Demolished. [23]
1868 George M. Harding House 6 Deering St Portland Maine The architect's own residence. [15]
1869 Israel Washburn House 385 Spring St Portland Maine [10]
1871 Chapel Maine Insane Hospital Augusta Maine Demolished. [24]
1871 Saco High School 34 Spring St Saco Maine   [25]
1872 First Universalist Church Pequawket Tr Hiram Maine [19]
1872 Norlands Meeting House 290 Norlands Rd Livermore Maine A remodeling. [26]
1873 Haverhill High School 33 Winter St Haverhill Massachusetts Demolished. [27]
1877 Masonic Temple 139 High St Belfast Maine   [28]
1878 Belfast National Bank Building 108 Main St Belfast Maine   [28]
1879 Gilkey House Belfast 58 Miller St Belfast Maine Gothic Victorian House [29] [28]
1881 Jacob E. Spring House,
Porphyry Hall		 72 Summer St Danvers Massachusetts Now the administration building of St. John's Preparatory School. [30]
1886 George M. Harding House 58 Oak St Hyde Park Massachusetts The architect's own residence. [31]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e Union School NRHP Nomination. 1993.
  2. ^ a b Nathaniel Bouton, The History of Concord. 1856.
  3. ^ Transactions of the New Hampshire State Agricultural Society for the Year 1856. 1857.
  4. ^ Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Maine. Augusta, ME: Sprague, Owen & Nash, 1869.
  5. ^ Fitchburg Historical Society. Legendary Locals of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2014.
  6. ^ Pancoast, John E. "About". http://themarbleblock.org/. n.d. Web.
  7. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  8. ^ Engineering News-Record 1925: 96. New York.
  9. ^ Historical Collections of the Danvers Historical Society 1914: 29.
  10. ^ a b Western Promenade Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1984.
  11. ^ Environmental Impact Statement: SR-77 Fore River Bridge Replacement, Portland to South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine. 1987.
  12. ^ Tenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools of the State of Maine. Augusta, ME: Stevens & Sayward, Dec. 1863.
  13. ^ Portland High School NRHP Nomination. 1984.
  14. ^ Union Hall NRHP Nomination. 1986.
  15. ^ a b Deering Street Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1982.
  16. ^ a b Rackleff Building NRHP Nomination. 1973.
  17. ^ "Historic Structures Survey, Town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine". 4 Nov. 1999.
  18. ^ a b Portland Waterfront NRHP Nomination. 1974.
  19. ^ a b First Parish Congregational Church NRHP Nomination. 1995.
  20. ^ "India Street Historic District". http://www.portlandmaine.gov/. n.d.
  21. ^ Thompson Block NRHP Nomination. 1973.
  22. ^ Woodman Building NRHP Nomination. 1972.
  23. ^ Hall, Edward L. History of Higher Education in Maine. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1903.
  24. ^ Reports of the Trustees and Resident Officers of the Maine Insane Hospital, December 1, 1871. 1871.
  25. ^ Old Saco High School NRHP Nomination. 1984.
  26. ^ "DAR awards grant for Norlands meeting house steeple Project". http://www.dailybulldog.com/. 19 Aug. 2016.
  27. ^ Bartlett, Albert L. The Haverhill Academy and the Haverhill High School, 1827-1890: An Historical Sketch. Haverhill, MA: Chase Bros., 1890.
  28. ^ a b c Belfast Commercial Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1980.
  29. ^ "Gilkey House, 58 Miller St". Carriage House. Web.
  30. ^ "Spring, Jacob E. House". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
  31. ^ "Harding, George M. House". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=George_M._Harding&oldid=1174099368"