William Thornton - The U.S. Capitol and Beyond
Capitol Design Competition: William Thornton was an amateur architect honored as the "first architect" because President George Washington accepted his design for the U.S. Capitol in 1793. He received $500 and a building lot in the city of Washington for his proposal. The east front of the Louvre inspired Thornton, and a former royal palace later turned art museum. Secretary of State Jefferson promoted Thornton's design: "simple, noble, beautiful, excellently distributed." For his winning design. There were various attempts to bring the costs down. Ultimately, George Washington stepped in to preserve the original concept.
William Thornton (1759-1828) would make a unique mark on architecture in Washington, DC, and Virginia. The power of time and place would favor his remarkable life. He was born in 1759 on a family plantation in Tortola, British West Indies. Educated in Britain, Thornton received a medical degree from the University of Aberdeen. One of his interests was architecture, which he received extensive exposure to during his studies. Thornton, back in Tortola, took up the 1792 challenge to submit a design for the capitol in the new emerging Federal City.
Even though his 1793 design was one month late, President George Washington and secretary of state Thomas Jefferson were impressed by his plan. Washington used his considerable influence to have Thornton's design chosen. While the design concept was imposing, the need for a working set of drawings was problematic in estimating costs and building the new U.S. capitol. The situation created a tangled problem of bringing others into the mix to provide finished plans and bring the costs under control. Once again, Washington would use his power as President to get the designs back to the creation of the quiet grandeur of Thornton's federal (1785 to 1820) design with its Roman neoclassicism that had made such a strong impression.
The Runner-Up: Stephen Hallet was a professionally trained architect who placed second in the U.S. Capitol's design competition. Born in Paris in 1755, Hallet came to America around 1790 and worked for Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the engineer who designed the city of Washington.
The U.S. Capitol when first occupied by Congress, 1800: In 1790, Congress established Washington, District of Columbia, a 100-square-mile district along the Potomac River. An act of congress set a deadline of December 1800 for the capital and the White House to be ready.
The need to establish the principal buildings in the federal city would allow several European architects to come to America to make their mark. This new federal era was the dawn of the professional architect in a society that had previously relied primarily on gentlemen architects who used pattern books from London for mostly residential building. However, the roller coaster experience of working in Washington would ebb and tide with the relentless politics and fluctuation of the economy. William Thornton became an American citizen and one of the few that came out ahead of the process. A visionary, he had education, wealth, and social connections on his side.
Thornton was asked to design a mansion for Colonel John Tayloe. The Tayloe House, also known as The Octagon House, in Washington, D.C., was erected between 1799 and 1800. It served as a temporary "Executive Mansion" after the 1814 burning of the White House by the British.
John Tayloe considered Philadelphia a place to build a townhouse but was persuaded by George Washington to build it in the new capital city. The plan was to establish a pocket of development to stimulate fill-in growth. Although the lot shape was challenging, the location attracted much attention.
William Thortons work with George Washington would be the keystone to his success. Even with its problematic beginnings, the capitol would expose him to several esteemed projects, two of which were for the Washington family. During the capitol process, Thornton landed the design for the highly anticipated 1799 project that became known as the Octagon House. Barely a block away from the new White House, the Octagon was also a beacon of light for other high-profile projects. Like-minded owners and builders want to share these locations, raising the value of their surrounding lots. The client, John Tayloe (1770-1828), was from one of Virginia's wealthiest and most prominent families. The location on an irregular lot formed by angled streets created design challenges that made the unique solutions part of the Octagon's acclaim.
The Octagon House, the White House, and the Capital all went up in the new capital city of Washington simultaneously.
Thornton’s first problem was to plan a house that would fit the triangular lot, the south side of which was cut away on the bias by the diagonal of New York Ave.
The Octagon was flying a French Flag as a diplomatic residence at the time the British burned the city,, and the home was spared.
The Octagon House, completed in 1801, is located at 1799 New York Avenue in Washington, DC. The three-story brick house is a design transition from the more familiar late Georgian of the time to the Federal architecture and planning that followed. A prime example of Federal architecture in the early United States, the floor plan is a thoughtful use of a circle, two rectangles, and a triangle with a new disciplined restraint of the interior and exterior decoration. After the British destroyed the White House (1814) during the War of 1812, the Octagon House served as the temporary residence of President James and First Lady Dolley Madison for six months.
The Washington connection would bring Thornton to create a design for Woodlawn Plantation. The 2000-acre site was a 1799 gift to his nephew, Lawrence Lewis, and his new bride Nelly Parke Custis - granddaughter of Martha Washington. The Federal-style house was constructed between 1800 and 1805 and intended to be viewed from Mount Vernon. Woodlawn's design is an interesting contrast to the evolving architecture of the time. Mount Vernon, which embraced its roots as a family home, grew with the original house and two significant additions to become the 1799 mansion we see today. As a result, Washington had to work around the eighteenth-century ideal of symmetry with some significant compromises to make the best of the situation. However, Woodlawn had the advantage of being designed and built all at once to achieve the classic goal of balance and symmetry of the newly emerging federal architecture that Thorton was part of with the development of the new Federal City.
Woodlawn West (Carriage) Facade: Built c. 1800-1805, Woodlawn is a 5-part brick house in Georgian/Federal style. The influence coming from Robert Adam is growing in America. His British dominance in architecture and interiors crossed the Atlantic to the new Republic. As a result, the Federal/Adam style translates regionally up and down the East Coast from 1780-1840.
Woodlawn East Facade: The east facade of Woodlawn faces Mount Vernon and is the view Washington would have seen if he had lived long enough. At the time, from Woodlawn, you could see to the Potomac River.
Woodlawn Section Drawing: Documentation compiled after 1933- Measured Drawing(s) Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress) emphasizes the high priority of a balanced and symmetrical design.
Central Hall: An elliptical curving staircase is the focal point of the Central Hall and a trademark of architect William Thornton.
The Parlor: Trust experts have researched the many layers of paint, discovering the original bluish green of the parlor walls and the dove gray of its woodwork.
Formal Dining Room: The mansion was an important social center, visited by Lafayette, Robert E. Lee, President Andrew Jackson, and other prominent guests of the era. The most important rooms face the river side.
Family Parlor: Less formal, the family took their meals and afternoon tea here at Woodlawn. A more delicate approach of design is showing under the influnce of Willaim Thornton.
Nelly Parke Custis: Granddaughter of Martha Washington and bride to George Washington's nephew, Lawrence Lewis.
Painting: Woodlawn Plantation c. 1820 - Woodlawn's east or river facade that could be seen from Mount Vernon and looked onto the Potomac River.
Tudor Place South Facade: Tudor Place is a Federal-style mansion originally the home of Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Parke Custis Peter, a granddaughter of Martha Washington. Tudor Place shared the same architect, William Thornton. In Tudor Place (1805-1816,) Thornton expressed Palladio's forms in a distinctly Federal, American style, following a configuration popular in the Chesapeake region during the Federal period.
William Thorton and the Washington family connection continued with the Martha and Thomas Peter 8 1/2 acre Georgetown property in 1805. Martha Parke Custis, granddaughter of Martha Washington, would use her inheritance from the Washington estate to purchase the property. Both Thornton and Thomas Peter were avid horse racing owners and breeders. For Tudor Place, Thornton interpreted Palladio's forms dominating Europe in a Federal, American style. The house's five-part structure, with a two-story central block and low hyphens connecting to higher, two-story wings, followed a form prevalent in the Chesapeake region during this Federal time period. The domed, marble-floored Temple Portico is the house's most architecturally significant feature. Thornton clad the brick house's stucco exterior to resemble blocks of finished stone, a technique used at Mount Vernon. Coated with a golden lime wash, against which scored lines in the stucco were picked out with white lime to resemble stonework joints.
President Jefferson appointed Thornton the first Superintendent of the Patent Office. When Washington was burned by the British in 1814, Thornton convinced them not to burn the Patent Office because of its "importance to mankind." He held the Patent Office position from June 1, 1802, until he died in 1828 in Washington, DC. During his tenure, he introduced innovations, including the patent reissue practice, which still survives. In addition, Thornton's lifelong interest in horse racing, breeding, and importing new breeds played a significant part in his later years. A small elite circle in Virginia and Maryland dominated racing, joined by Thornton's 1802 Jockey Club and racetrack in the new Federal City. These contacts helped William Thornton survive the intense political and financial maneuverings that sunk the architectural careers of many of his contemporaries and competitors.
The south lawn is laid out in the manner of an 18th century English park. This was home to six generations of Martha Washington's descendants from 1805 to 1983.
Architect William Thornton's circular portico structure extends into the house, with a curved wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that transition between interior spaces and the garden. It is the only known entire temple portico embedded into a U.S. residence and the only one still standing.
Tudor Place South Facade: William Thornton two-story central block and low hyphens connecting to higher, two-story wings, followed a form immensely popular in the Chesapeake region during the Federal period.
On the crest of Georgetown Heights, you could see the Potomac river and smoke from the burning of the Capital by the British in 1814.
Tudor Place interiors reflect the centuries it's been lived in by the family's descendants. Next to Mount Vernon, it contains the most extensive collection belonging to George and Martha Washington. Tudor Place was built with the help of Marth Curtis Peter's inheritance from Martha Washinton.
Tudor Place Floor Plan: Via the Saloon, the Portico links two public reception room and creates an airy interface between the interior and the South Lawn’s expansive views originally expanding to the Potomac River.
Top: An avid thoroughbred breeder, In 1802, the Jockey Club sought a new site for its track, which at the time lay at the rear of what is now the site of Decatur House at H Street and Jackson Place. Thornton designed this new track, one mile in circumference, and named it the Washington City Race Course. It sat on land leased from the Holmead family and lasted until the mid-1840s.
Above: Belaire Mansion in Maryland was one of the most sophisticated and successful thoroughbred breeding programs at the time.
