59 Facts About Benjamin Latrobe

Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States.

Benjamin Latrobe was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, drawing on influences from his travels in Italy, as well as British and French Neoclassical architects such as Claude Nicolas Ledoux.

Benjamin Latrobe designed the largest structure in America at the time, the "Merchants' Exchange" in Baltimore.

Benjamin Latrobe emigrated in 1796, initially settling in Virginia where he worked on the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond.

Benjamin Latrobe then moved to Philadelphia where he established his practice.

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Benjamin Latrobe was responsible for the design of the White House porticos.

Benjamin Latrobe spent the later years of his life in New Orleans, Louisiana working on a waterworks project, and died there in 1820 from yellow fever.

Benjamin Latrobe was the uncle of Charles La Trobe, who was the first Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria in Australia.

Benjamin Latrobe's parents were the Reverend Benjamin Latrobe, a leader of the Moravian Church who was of Huguenot ancestry, and Anna Margaretta Antes whose father was German and whose maternal line was Dutch.

Benjamin Latrobe stressed the importance of education, scholarship, and the value of social exchange; while Latrobe's mother instilled in her son a curiosity and interest in America.

Benjamin Latrobe was a brother of Moravian leader and musical composer Christian Ignatius Latrobe.

In 1776, at the age of 12, Benjamin Latrobe was sent away to the Moravian School at Niesky in Silesia near the border of Saxony and Poland.

Benjamin Latrobe was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815.

Benjamin Latrobe returned to England in 1784, and was apprenticed to John Smeaton, an engineer known for designing Eddystone Lighthouse.

In 1790, Benjamin Latrobe was appointed Surveyor of the Public Offices in London, and established his own private practice in 1791.

Benjamin Latrobe was commissioned in 1792 to design Hammerwood Lodge, near East Grinstead in Sussex, his first independent work, and he designed nearby Ashdown House in 1793.

Benjamin Latrobe was involved in construction of the Basingstoke Canal in Surrey, together with engineers John Smeaton and William Jessop.

In spring 1793, Benjamin Latrobe was hired to plan improvements to the River Blackwater from Maldon to Beeleigh, so that the port of Maldon could compete with the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation, which bypassed the town.

Benjamin Latrobe had problems getting payment for his work on the project, and faced bankruptcy.

Benjamin Latrobe pioneered the use of solitary confinement in the Richmond penitentiary.

Benjamin Latrobe created designs for Fort Nelson in Virginia in 1798.

Benjamin Latrobe made drawings for a number of houses that were not built, including the "Mill Hill" plantation house near Richmond.

On his way to Philadelphia, Latrobe passed through the national capital city of Washington, D C, then under construction, where he met with the first architect of the capitol, William Thornton, and viewed the United States Capitol for the first time.

Benjamin Latrobe stopped by Washington again on his way back to Richmond.

Benjamin Latrobe moved to Philadelphia, so that he could supervise the construction, although he continued to do occasional projects for clients in Virginia.

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Benjamin Latrobe submitted several papers to the society, on his geology and natural history observations, and became a member of the society in 1799.

Benjamin Latrobe was hired to design the Center Square Water Works in Philadelphia.

Benjamin Latrobe was a friend of Thomas Jefferson, influencing Jefferson's design for the University of Virginia.

Benjamin Latrobe knew James Monroe, as well as New Orleans architect and pirate, Barthelemy Lafon, was Aaron Burr's preferred architect, and he trained architect William Strickland.

Benjamin Latrobe faced bureaucratic hurdles in moving forward with the canal, with the directors of the company rejecting his request for stone locks.

Benjamin Latrobe designed the main gate of the Washington Navy Yard.

Benjamin Latrobe provided consulting on the construction of the Washington Bridge across the Potomac River in a way that would not impede navigation and commerce to Georgetown.

Benjamin Latrobe was responsible for several other projects located around Lafayette Square, including St John's Episcopal Church, Decatur House, and the White House porticos.

Private homes designed by Latrobe include commissions by John P Van Ness and Peter Casanove.

Benjamin Latrobe was given more freedom in rebuilding the capitol, to apply his own design elements for the interior.

Benjamin Latrobe left Washington with pessimism, with the city's design contradicting many of his ideals.

Benjamin Latrobe disliked the Baroque-style plan for the city, and other aspects of L'Enfant's plan, and resented having to conform to Thornton's plans for the Capitol Building.

One of the greatest problems with the overall city plan, in the view of Benjamin Latrobe, was its vast interior distances, and Benjamin Latrobe considered the Washington Canal as a key factor that, if successful, could help alleviate this issue.

Benjamin Latrobe had concerns about the city's economic potential, and argued for constructing a road connecting Washington with Frederick to the northwest to enhance economic commerce through Washington.

Benjamin Latrobe saw great potential for growth in New Orleans, situated at the mouth of the Mississippi River, with the advent of the steamboat and great interest in steamboat technology.

In 1810 Benjamin Latrobe sent his son, Henry Sellon "Boneval" Benjamin Latrobe, to the city to present a plan for a waterworks system to the New Orleans city council.

Benjamin Latrobe's system used steam pumps to move water from the Schuylkill River to a reservoir, located upstream; so that gravity could be used to transmit the water from there to residents in the city.

New Orleans agreed to commission the waterworks project in 1811, although Benjamin Latrobe was not ready to take on the project immediately and faced financial problems in securing enough investors for the project.

In 1814, Benjamin Latrobe partnered with Robert Fulton in a steamship venture based at Pittsburgh.

Benjamin Latrobe faced further delays trying to get an engine built for the waterworks, which he finally accomplished in 1819.

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Around 1783, Benjamin Latrobe made the decision to become an architect, a decision influenced by the baron.

In 1784, Benjamin Latrobe set off on a Grand Tour around Europe, visiting Paris where the Pantheon, a church dedicated to St Genevieve, was nearing completion.

Benjamin Latrobe visited Rome, where he was impressed by the Roman Pantheon and other ancient structures with Greek influence.

Influential architects in Britain, at the time when Benjamin Latrobe returned in 1784, adhered to a number of different styles.

Benjamin Latrobe was not interested in either the Palladian nor Adam style, but Neoclassicalism was being introduced to Great Britain at the time by George Dance the Younger.

Benjamin Latrobe suggested city blocks be laid out as thin rectangles, with the long side of the blocks oriented east-west so that as many houses as possible could face south.

Public health was another key consideration of Benjamin Latrobe, who believed that the eastern shores of rivers were unhealthy, due to prevailing direction of the wind, and recommended cities be built on the western shores of rivers.

Benjamin Latrobe brought from England influences of British Neoclassicism, and was able to combine it with styles introduced by Thomas Jefferson, to devise an American Greek Revival style.

The American form of Greek Revival architecture that Benjamin Latrobe developed became associated with political ideals of democracy—a meaning that was less apparent in Britain.

When Benjamin Latrobe began private practice in England, his first projects were alterations to existing houses, designing Hammerwood Park, and designing Ashdown House, East Sussex.

Benjamin Latrobe's designs were simpler than was typical at the time, and had influences of Robert Adam.

Benjamin Latrobe continued to design houses after he emigrated to the United States, mostly using Greek Revival designs.

Four houses still stand that Latrobe designed: the Decatur House in Washington, D C ; Adena in Chillicothe, Ohio; the Pope Villa in Lexington, Kentucky; and the Sedgeley Porter's house in Philadelphia.

Benjamin Latrobe introduced Gothic Revival architecture to the United States with the design of Sedgeley.