William Robert Ware | William° ° Robert Ware Privately Printed for the Alumni Association of the School of Architecture Columbia University 1915 William Robert Ware A.B., Harvard, 1852; B.S., 1856; LL.D., 1896 Died, June 9th, 1915, at Milton, Mass. WiLLiaM ROBERT WARE was born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1832. He was graduated at Harvard in 1852, and in 1859 entered the office of the late Richard M. Hunt. Five years later he formed a partnership with the late Henry Van Brunt. This partnership lasted fifteen years, during which the firm designed the first Unitarian Church in Boston, Memorial Hall at Harvard University, the former Union Station at Worcester, and the Universalist Church at North Cambridge. After spending thirteen months in Europe, 1866-67, he established and for fourteen years directed the course in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1881 the Trustees of Columbia University voted to establish a department of architecture and called Prof. Ware to the task of its organization and direction. His services in this position continued until 1903, when, owing to failing health, he was retired as Emeritus Professor of Architecture. His literary labors included works on architectural shades and shadows, modern perspective and the American Vignola, all of which are in wide use as text-books. During the closing years of his life, spent at his home in Milton, Mass., he was universally recognized as the Dean of architectural educators in this country. The members of the Alumni Association of the School of Architecture, Columbia University, . herebv record their reverence for the achievements Resolution whichpid have caused his name to be honored here Entered upon the Minutes of the Alumni Association and abroad; their gratitude for all his years of of the . ; . School of Architecture, Columbia University dey Wi Em or the pe their oye a July 7, 1915 spire in so high a degree y his persona ity, an their deep sympathy for his bereaved family. WiLLiIAM ROBERT WARE began his professional [Signed] and educational activities at a period when archi- Henry Snyder Kissam, ’86, President tectural efficiency in this country was at its lowest Frank Dempster Sherman,’84 H. G. Emery, "94 ‘ ; y George Carey, "85 Edgar J. Moeller, "95 ebb. During the last thirty years architecture has William J. Wallace, ’86 Gollwin Coldemiih, "96 won its present position among the learned profes- H. O. Hunting, 87 Herbert W. Congdon, "97 sions, and the public has awakened to the dignity Arthur A. Stoughton, "88 Arthur Ware, "98 . Richard K. Mosley, ’89 E. L. Satterlee, "99 and importance of the American architect 2 eon. Charles P. Warren, 90 Francis A. Nelson, 00 tribution to the development of American civili- Lloyd Warren, *91 Edward S. Hewitt, "01 zation. Will Walter Jackson, ’92 Lawrence W. Fowler, 02 In this awakening and development, Professor Martus’T, Boyne, = Rip Endiow. 03 hs : rthur Lobo, ’04, Secretary Ware’s influence has constantly been a compelling force. The subordination of mere technical pro- Committee ficiency to broad knowledge and imaginative vision S. B. P. Trowbridge, "86 John Russell Pope, *94 was the predominant characteristic of his educa- Stockton B. Colt, "88 F. Livingston Pell, 95 tional message. The students who through suc- Henry Hornhosle, "ol Ritund H, Dans, Jn, 04 : 8 . 2 5 . g Chester H. Aldrich, ’93 J. Monroe Hewlett, ’90 cessive years have looked to him for inspiration Chairman and guidance have borne this message throughout the length and breadth of our country, and thus his influence is and will be apparent in ever widening circles. TheIY ovZoerang 3 WePos~ [4 I Professor Ware To THE EDITOR oF THE EVENING Post: Sir: The writer has read with inter- est the letters from various sources rela- tive to the life and work of Prof. William R. Ware, and the very high position he held in the world of architectural effort. I wish to speak of him from dnother standpoint, which will find echo, I know, in a hundred hearts, fellow students, whose lives were enriched and gladdened nd encouraged by him in the earlie days of our struggles. Personally, I loo back to 1879, when the offices of Pember- on Square and Devonshire Street hel dozens of us, studying and working, with Europe as the Mecca of our endeavors, the old Adams House eating-counter our “grubby,” where one could get ‘a bowl of that mnever-to-be-forgotten tomato soup—and eat all the bread one could get their hands on. And then we were perfectly content with our 8x10 hall bedroom, or even the soft side of a draw- ing board for the elaboration of out architectural ideas. Ah, blessed memories of that galaxy of royal architects, whose names would bring thankful remem brances of their help and encourage- ment; and among them there was no man who held the love of “his boys” ore than did Mr. Ware. “Where wera they,” ‘who were they working with,” “how were they succeeding,” “how could he help them”! These were the burden of his daily life among us as a profes- sional man and as a teacher. And I look back to one bright morning in May when, together with one of his “Tech” boys, we trudged down to the Providence railroad station with knapsacks on our backs, to take the New York train to board the Devonia, of the Anchor Line, to take our first student-life trip to Europe. An it was a seven o'clock morning train, mind you, and yet down came Mr. Ware o see us off; and as the train started, hie slipped a $2 bill in each hand, saying, “When you get to Angouléme buy a lit- tle work on the churches of southern France’-——and so we were off. But jus analyze that little seven o'clock act for a. moment, multiply, it by hundfeds, and oli an “understand this side of‘Mf Ware's life; what it meant to us, send- ing: us off with strong, hopeful, buoyan hearts! And I know his death will bring up many such a scene to the boys now grown up and scattered over the. coups try. I could not help reciting the above incident, because the very recollection of that morning, with its simple act of affectionate thought for us, “his boys,” has come back to me often, and love for him has grown stronger as he has grown older, and has left the recollection of him sweet and tender. So, I beg you ill add my wreath of affection to his emory. CHARLES A. Rich. New York, June 15 The Milton& Recordi SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 1915. Deaths PROFESSOR WILLIAM R. WARE. Professor William Robert Ware, one of Milton’s most distinguished citizens, whose reputation in his chosen profes: sion of architecture was nation-wide, and who had been greatly honored also as an educator and an author, died Wednesday at his home, 290 Adams street, where he had lived for a long time with his sister, Miss Harriet Ware. Professor Ware was eighty-three years of age. His health had not been good for some time, but his final illness, which developed into pneumonia, was of short duration. Professor Ware was a native of Cam- Lridge, where he was born May 27, 1832. His father was Henry Ware, Fiarvard 1812. He studied at the Hop- kins Classical School, Milton Academy, and Phillips Exeter Academy. After being graduated from Harvard ,in 1852, he was for two years in New York as a private tutor, and then for two years in the Lawrence Scientific School, fol- lowed by two years in the office of E. C. Cabot, and eight months of study in New York. From 1860 to 1881 hc practised arch- itecture in Boston, first with E .S. Phil- brick, and then with Henry Van Brunt. In conjunction with the ast named he built the First Church in Boston, the Union Passenger Station at Worcester, the buildings of the Episcopal Theolog- ical School in Cambridge ,and Weld and Memorial Halls, in Cambridge, and the Medical School in Boston for Harvard University. In 1865, on the establishment of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was made professor of architecture, and spent a year and a half abroad by way of preparation. He remained there till 1881, when he became professor of architecture in the School of Mines, Columbia College, New York. He was a fellow of the American Academy. He had been emeritus professor of Colum- bia since 1903. He had been, as one of the TDest- known architects in the country, not only a teacher, but in the practise of his profession, a consulting architect on many public buildings. He was on the Pan-American Exposition architectural commission, and helped to design the plans for the new State Capitol at Harrisburg, Pa. He was notably re- sponsible for the high standard for the profession in the United States. In 1896 Harvard conferred upon Professor Ware the degree of doctor of laws as “the creator of two serviceable schools of architecture; teacher of a generation of American architects.” Professor Ware was the author of a standard work on “Modern Perspective,” and other works and was a constant con- tributor to architectural periodicals. He was unmarried and besides his sister, Miss Harriet Ware of Milton, leaves a brother, Charles Ware of Brookline. The fdneral, which was private, was held Thursday. Burial was at Mt. Au- Professor Ware. To THE EDITOR OF THE EVENING POST! Sik: I have just read, in your issue of last night, Professor Hamlin’s gracious and fitting tribute to Professor Emeritus William Robert Ware, who has just passed away, after a long career of use- fulness and honor in the field of archi- tecture, ‘the practice of which, as a fine art, he did so much to advance.