# William Appleton Potter

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{{short description|American architect}}

[[File:Alexander Hall exterior Princeton.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[Alexander Hall](/source/Alexander_Hall_(Princeton_University)), [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) (1891-94)]]

'''William Appleton Potter''' (December 10, 1842 – February 19, 1909) was an American [architect](/source/architect) who designed numerous buildings for [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University), as well as municipal offices and churches. He served as a [Supervising Architect of the Treasury](/source/Office_of_the_Supervising_Architect) from 1874 to 1877.

== Biography ==

Born in 1842 in [Schenectady, New York](/source/Schenectady%2C_New_York), Potter grew up in [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), where he attended [Episcopal Academy](/source/Episcopal_Academy). He then returned to his birthplace to matriculate at [Union College](/source/Union_College) as a member of the Class of 1864.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Selden|first=William K.|title=Alexander Hall, home of Richardson Auditorium : a chronicle of Alexander Hall's significance in the development of the Princeton University Campus|publisher=The Trustees of Princeton University|year=2004|location=Princeton, NY|pages=21|oclc=57147520}}</ref> Potter was the son of Bishop [Alonzo Potter](/source/Alonzo_Potter) and had eight brothers, including:

* [Clarkson Nott Potter](/source/Clarkson_Nott_Potter) (1825–1882), Democratic member of the [House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) after the [Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War)
* [Howard Potter](/source/Howard_Potter) (1826–1897) Banker, Senior Partner in [Brown Shipley](/source/Brown_Shipley)
* [Robert Brown Potter](/source/Robert_Brown_Potter) (1829–1887), United States General in the Civil War
* [Henry Codman Potter](/source/Henry_Codman_Potter) (1835–1908), succeeded [Horatio Potter](/source/Horatio_Potter) as Bishop of New York in 1887
* Eliphalet Nott Potter (1836–1901), professor and president of Union College and [Hobart College](/source/Hobart_and_William_Smith_Colleges)
* Potter's half-brother [Edward Tuckerman Potter](/source/Edward_Tuckerman_Potter) (1831–1904), architect who designed the [Nott Memorial](/source/Nott_Memorial) at [Union College](/source/Union_College)

He became an assistant professor at [Columbia College](/source/Columbia_College_of_Columbia_University), where he taught [chemistry](/source/chemistry) for a year, after which he spent another year touring [France](/source/France). His collegiate background distinguished him from most architects of the first half of the 19th century, who received their training through apprenticeship in the building trades and sometimes in the offices of practicing architects. The apprenticeship tradition was still strong, however, and Potter received his professional training first in the [New York](/source/New_York_City) office of [George B. Post](/source/George_B._Post), and then in his half-brother's office at Schenectady.<ref>(August 1989) Princeton History, Number 8  http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Otherdocs/history.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200433/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Otherdocs/history.html |date=2016-03-03 }}</ref>

Potter died February 19, 1909.  Among his apprentices was the architect [James Brown Lord](/source/James_Brown_Lord).

== Career ==

[[File:Chancellor Green exterior Princeton.JPG|thumb|Chancellor Green Library, [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) (1871-73).]]

thumb|St Martin's Church, Harlem, New York City (1888).

Chancellor Green Library (1871–1873) for [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) was Potter's first major commission. In it, he took the High [Victorian Gothic](/source/Victorian_Gothic) vocabulary and octagonal form used by his half-brother for the [Nott Memorial](/source/Nott_Memorial) at [Union College](/source/Union_College), and elaborated it into a complex interplay of [octagon](/source/octagon)s of various sizes and shapes. For Princeton, retaining Potter represented a shift from dependence on [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) architects to a New York practitioner. He would receive from the college an honorary [Master of Arts](/source/Master_of_Arts) degree in 1872, and go on to design several other buildings on campus.

From 1874 to 1877, Potter served as supervising architect of the [United States Treasury](/source/United_States_Treasury). Under his supervision, designs were produced for customhouses, courthouses, and post offices in [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky), [Indiana](/source/Indiana), [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts), [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)), and [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee).

Concurrent with his years at the U.S. Treasury, Potter formed a partnership with [Robert Henderson Robertson](/source/Robert_Henderson_Robertson).  From 1875 to 1881, along with major public projects, the firm produced summer vacation cottages in [Newport, Rhode Island](/source/Newport%2C_Rhode_Island), and the [Jersey Shore](/source/Jersey_Shore), as well as the [Adam-Derby House](/source/Adam-Derby_House) at [Oyster Bay, New York](/source/Oyster_Bay_(hamlet)%2C_New_York).<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>

== Commissions ==

* [South Congregational Church](/source/South_Congregational_Church_(Springfield%2C_Massachusetts)), [Springfield, Massachusetts](/source/Springfield%2C_Massachusetts) (1871–1875)
* Chancellor Green Library, [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) (1871–1873)
* [John C. Green School of Science](/source/John_C._Green_School_of_Science), Princeton (1873–1875) (razed)
* [Berkshire Athenaeum](/source/Berkshire_Athenaeum), [Pittsfield, Massachusetts](/source/Pittsfield%2C_Massachusetts) (1874–1876)
* [Belleville Avenue Congregational Church](/source/Belleville_Avenue_Congregational_Church), [Newark, New Jersey](/source/Newark%2C_New_Jersey) (1874)
* Witherspoon Hall, Princeton (1875–1877)
* Stuart Hall at [Princeton Theological Seminary](/source/Princeton_Theological_Seminary) (1875–1877)
* The University Hotel, Princeton (1875–1877, with partner [Robert Henderson Robertson](/source/Robert_Henderson_Robertson)) (razed)
* [Charles H. Baldwin House](/source/Charles_H._Baldwin_House), Newport, Rhode Island (1877–78, with partner [Robert Henderson Robertson](/source/Robert_Henderson_Robertson))
* St. James Protestant Episcopal Chapel; known as the [Church of the Presidents](/source/Church_of_the_Presidents_(New_Jersey)), [Elberon, New Jersey](/source/Elberon%2C_New_Jersey) (1879, with partner [Robert Henderson Robertson](/source/Robert_Henderson_Robertson))
* [https://trinityshelburne.org/ Trinity Episcopal Church], [Shelburne, Vermont](/source/Shelburne%2C_Vermont) (1886-1898)<ref>{{Cite web|title = SAH ARCHIPEDIA|url = https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VT-01-CH58|website = sah-archipedia.org|access-date = 2015-08-03}}</ref>
* Christ Church, [Poughkeepsie, New York](/source/Poughkeepsie_(city)%2C_New_York) (1887–1889)
* St. Martin's Church, 230 Lenox Avenue (1888)<ref>AIA Guide to New York City, MacMillan, 1967, page 452</ref> ([NYCL](/source/List_of_New_York_City_Designated_Landmarks))
*[St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church](/source/St._Mary's-in-Tuxedo), [Tuxedo Park, New York](/source/Tuxedo_Park%2C_New_York) (1888)
* [St. Agnes Chapel](/source/St._Agnes_Chapel_(New_York_City)), New York City (1890–1892; razed 1944)
* [Alexander Hall](/source/Alexander_Hall_(Princeton_University)), Princeton (1891–1894)
* [http://www.spsanyc.org/ Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew], 236 West 86th Street (1895)
* First Reformed Dutch church, [Somerville, New Jersey](/source/Somerville%2C_New_Jersey) (1896–1897)
* East Pyne Building, Princeton (1896–1897)
* [Church of the Divine Paternity (Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York)](/source/Fourth_Universalist_Society_of_New_York), 160 Central Park West (1898)
* [Advent Lutheran Church (New York City)](/source/Advent_Lutheran_Church_(New_York_City)) (1900)
* Townhouse, 33 East 67th Street, New York, New York (1903)
*St. John's Episcopal Church, [Stamford, Connecticut](/source/Stamford%2C_Connecticut) (1891)
*Massena House, [Barrytown, New York](/source/Barrytown%2C_New_York) (1886)

== Greenwich Point ==

Potter was the uncle of Mrs. J. Kennedy Tod (Maria Howard Potter) daughter of Howard Potter, and in 1887 Potter designed Innis Arden House and several other buildings for Mr. and Mrs. Tod's [Greenwich, Connecticut](/source/Greenwich%2C_Connecticut) estate, known as Innis Arden. Today the {{convert|147|acre|km2|adj=on}} estate is a public park in Greenwich, known as Greenwich Point. Several original buildings designed by Potter remain on the property, including the Old Barn (circa 1887), which is the oldest extant building at Greenwich Point and was fully restored by the Greenwich Point Conservancy 2016.  In addition, the Innis Arden Cottage, which was designed by an associate of Potter, Katherine C. Budd, an early and prominent woman and architect, remains on the property as well.  The 1903 Innis Arden Cottage was completely restored by the Greenwich Point Conservancy between 2005 - 2011. Both the Old Barn and the Innis Arden Cottage are open to the public.

==Gallery==

<gallery>
File:Berkshire Athenaeum (original building, facade) - Pittsfield, Massachusetts.JPG|[Berkshire Athenaeum](/source/Berkshire_Athenaeum), [Pittsfield, Massachusetts](/source/Pittsfield%2C_Massachusetts) (1874–76).
File:Witherspoon Hall.JPG|Witherspoon Hall, [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) (1875–77).
File:CharlesHBaldwinHouse.jpg|Charles H. Baldwin House, [Newport, Rhode Island](/source/Newport%2C_Rhode_Island) (1877–78), Potter & Robertson.
File:Churchofthepresidents.jpg|[Church of the Presidents](/source/Church_of_the_Presidents_(New_Jersey)), [Elberon, New Jersey](/source/Elberon%2C_New_Jersey) (1879), Potter & Robertson.
File:St. Mary's front view cropped.jpg|[St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church](/source/St._Mary's-in-Tuxedo), [Tuxedo Park, New York](/source/Tuxedo_Park%2C_New_York) (1888).
File:Alexander Hall auditorium Princeton.jpg|Alexander Hall, auditorium, [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) (1891–94).
File:East Pyne Hall, Princeton University, NJ - tower view.jpg|East Pyne Hall, [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) (1896–97).
File:Fourth Universalist Church jeh.JPG|[Church of the Divine Paternity (Fourth Universalist Society)](/source/Fourth_Universalist_Society_of_New_York), [New York, New York](/source/New_York%2C_New_York) (1898).  
</gallery>

== Notes ==
<references />

== References ==
* [Sarah Bradford Landau](/source/Sarah_Landau), ''Edward T. and William A. Potter: American Victorian Architects''; Garland Publishing; New York and London 1979
{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
  before= [Alfred B. Mullett](/source/Alfred_B._Mullett) |
  title= [Office of the Supervising Architect](/source/Office_of_the_Supervising_Architect) |
  years= 1874&ndash;1877 |
  after= [James G. Hill](/source/James_G._Hill)
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, William Appleton}}
Category:19th-century American architects
Category:People from Schenectady, New York
Category:1842 births
Category:1909 deaths
Category:Union College (New York) alumni
*
Category:Architects from New York (state)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Appleton Potter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Appleton_Potter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Appleton_Potter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.