Thomas Podmore

'''Thomas Podmore''' (1859–1948) was a British-born American architect. In addition to his lengthy architectural career as an architect, Podmore is noteworthy for his experiments with the fabrication of concrete products.

==Early life==

Thomas Podmore was born at Cherrington, Shropshire, England in 1859, the son of a farmer, and was baptized at the nearby village of Tibberton on March 23, 1859.<ref>familysearch.org, English Births & Christenings.</ref> In 1881, he was living on St. Ann Street in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, employed as an "architect's assistant."<ref>1881 UK Census, Stoke-upon-Trent.</ref>

==Career in America==

Podmore emigrated to the United States about 1883, worked for a few years in New York, then moved to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. There, in 1886, he joined forces with Albert Hamilton Kipp to form the architecture firm Kipp & Podmore.<ref>''Wilkes-Barre Record'', December 25, 1886, page 1.</ref> The firm dissolved by mutual consent at the end of 1891.<ref>''Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader'', December 26, 1891, page 4.</ref>

In 1903, Podmore received a patent for a "machine for molding concrete blocks,"<ref>"Patents," ''The National Builder'', November 1904, page 35.</ref> and in 1907 founded the Podmore Concrete Co., for the manufacture of concrete blocks by a method of Podmore's own devising.<ref>"Notes of the Industry," ''Rock Products'', Vol. VI, No. 10, April 22, 1907, page 48.</ref>

Podmore retired in 1928 after the completion of his last building, Sprague Memorial Hall, in Kingston, Pennsylvania.<ref>''The Wilkes-Barre Record'', February 3, 1948, page 13.</ref> He died in 1948.<ref>''Wilkes-Barre Record'', August 16, 1948</ref>

==Principal architectural works== * Nelson Memorial Hall, Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, built in 1887 — as Kipp & Podmore.<ref>''The Sunday Leader'', September 11, 1887, page 8.</ref> * Methodist Episcopal Church, Dallas, Pennsylvania, completed in 1889 — as Kipp & Podmore.<ref>''Wilkes-Barre Record'', June 1, 1939, page 4.</ref> * Armory, Gaylord Avenue, Plymouth, Pennsylvania, built in 1891 — as Kipp & Podmore.<ref>''Sunday News'', June 8, 1890, page 3.</ref> * State Street School, Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, built in 1891 — as Kipp & Podmore.<ref>''The Plymouth Tribune'', October 16, 1891, page 8.</ref> * St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Plymouth, Pennsylvania, built in 1893.<ref>''Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader'', October 18, 1893, Page 8.</ref> * Wyoming Valley Country Club, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, built 1896.<ref>''The Wilkes-Barre Record'', October 19, 1896, page 5.</ref> * W. G. Eno Residence, Ross Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, built 1899.<ref>''Dollar Weekly News'', December 16, 1899, page 3.</ref> * J. B. Woodward Residence, Northampton Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, built 1899.<ref>''Dollar Weekly News'', December 16, 1899, page 3.</ref> * Town Hall, Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, built 1899.<ref>''The Wilkes-Barre Record'', December 18, 1899, page 13.</ref> * Wyoming Valley Country Club Enlargement, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, built 1903.<ref>''The Wilkes-Barre Record'', April 25, 1903, page 7.</ref> * Grace English Lutheran Church, 500 S. Franklin St, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, dedicated May 1911.<ref>''The Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'' (1917).</ref> * R. R. M. Carpenter Residence, Wilmington Delaware, built in 1911.<ref>''Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader'', January 27, 1911, page 19.</ref> * Wilkes-Barre Contagious Hospital, East Division Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, completed 1918.<ref>''The Evening News'' (Wilkes-Barre), December 10, 1918, page 1.</ref> * Walter S. Carpenter Jr. Residence, Wilmington, Delaware, completed in 1918.<ref>''The Evening Journal'' (Wilmington, Delaware), June 29, 1918, page</ref> * Nesbitt Memorial Athletic Field, Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, dedicated October 1922.<ref>''The Wilkes-Barre Record'', October 4, 1922, page 5.</ref> * Sprague Hall, Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, completed in 1928.<ref>''The Wilkes-Barre Record'', March 21, 1928, page 17.</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery widths="150px" heights="150px"> File:Nelson Memorial.jpg|Nelson Memorial Hall, Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, completed 1887. File:Wyoming Seminary tower LuzCo PA.JPG|Nelson Memorial, Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, photographed in 2013. File:M. E. Church Dallas PA.jpg|Methodist Episcopal Church, Dallas, Pennsylvania, completed 1889. File:Plymouth_PA_Armory_1898.jpg|Armory, Gaylord Avenue, Plymouth, Pennsylvania, completed 1891. File:St. Peter's Church Plymouth PA.jpg|St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Plymouth, Pennsylvania, completed 1893. File:Wilkes-Barre Country Club 1896.jpg|Wyoming Valley Country Club, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, built 1896. File:Edwardsville PA Town Hall.JPG|Town Hall, Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, completed 1899. File:Wilkes-Barre Country Club 1903.jpg|Wyoming Valley Country Club Enlargement, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, completed 1903. File:Sprague Memorial Kingston PA.jpg|Sprague Memorial, Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, completed 1928. </gallery>

==References== <references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Podmore, Thomas}} Category:Architects from Pennsylvania Category:19th-century American architects Category:20th-century American architects Category:American neoclassical architects