George E. Harney (September 1, 1839 – November 12, 1924) was a late 19th-century American architect based in New York City.

Biography George Edward Harney was born September 1, 1839, in Lynn, Massachusetts, to George Ballard Harney and Mary Johnson Harney."Harney, George Edward" in The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography 1 (New York: James T. White & Company, 1898): 371.Gravesite, Cold Spring Cemetery, Cold Spring, New York He was educated privately and at the Lynn High School. After leaving the high school he studied architecture in the office of Alonzo Lewis, an architect and engineer of Lynn. During this time in Lynn he published several designs for improvements to country estates in periodicals such as the New England Farmer and The Horticulturist, which as an anonymous biographer wrote in 1898, "proved to be the foundation of his business career."

In 1863 he came to Cold Spring, New York, on the Hudson River to assist Horticulturist editors Peter B. Mead and George E. Woodward with designing the Cold Spring Cemetery. After completing the gatehouse, Harney remained to establish his practice there. Though he was never solely an architect of country houses, his prior experience led them to become a staple of his practice for the rest of his career. Due to the success of the West Point Foundry in developing the village, Harney attained several house commissions in Cold Spring from prominent community figures. One was the Foundry's head, Robert Parker Parrott, for whom Harney designed a farm, known as Plumbush, and its outbuildings in 1865.

After settling in Cold Spring, he established a second office upriver in Newburgh. From this office, he designed and remodeled several country houses in Orange County.

In 1870 he authored Stables, Outbuildings and Fences, a book of designs for outbuildings on country estates, and in 1873 was editor of the fifth edition of Andrew Jackson Downing's Cottage Residences, originally published in 1842. For this work he provided designs for eight cottages and a church and solicited others from architects including Frederick Clarke Withers, Downing's former assistant, and Arthur Gilman."Harney, George Edward" in Who's Who in America 12 (Chicago: A. N. Marquis & Company, 1922): 1410.Andrew Jackson Downing, Cottage Residences, 5th edition, ed. George E. Harney (New York: John Wiley & Son, 1873), xv. This is the version of Cottage Residences reprinted by Dover Publications as Victorian Cottage Residences in 1981. Francis R. Kowsky, The Architecture of Frederick Clarke Withers and the Progress of the Gothic Revival in America after 1850 (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1980), 60–61. Kowsky attributes the design of Eustatia primarily to Withers.

In 1873 he moved his home and practice to New York City and was soon after commissioned by Adele L. S. Stevens to design a store for Brooks Brothers at Broadway and Bond Street. He briefly formed the partnership of Harney & Paulding with architect William I. Paulding of Cold Spring, but this only lasted a year. In New York Harney developed a successful practice, designing office buildings and city and country houses. Circa 1891 Harney formed the partnership of Harney & Purdy with his associate, William S. Purdy, with whom he would practice for the rest of his career.Tolles, Bryant F., Jr. Resort Hotels of the Adirondacks. Lebanon: University Press of New England, 2003.

Harney retired from practice in 1910. His partner, Purdy, continued the practice under his own name until his death in 1920."Obituary" in Journal of the American Institute of Architects 8, no. 4 (April, 1920): 168.

Personal life Harney was married in 1872 to Maria Renshaw Jaques of Boston. She died in 1887. Harney was a member of the Century Association, the American Federation of Arts and the American Institute of Architects (AIA), into which he was admitted as a fellow in 1871. Harney died November 12, 1924, in New York City at the age of 85."Obituary" in Journal of the American Institute of Architects 13, no. 8 (August, 1925): 315. He was buried in the Cold Spring Cemetery at his former home of Cold Spring.

Legacy The anonymous author of his AIA obituary wrote that he was "an architect of the older school [and a] scholar and practitioner of the highest ideals." Several of his works have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Selected architectural works

Cold Spring Cemetery Gatehouse, Nelsonville, NY (1863) Wilson House, Garrison, NY (1865) Robert Parker Parrott House, "Plumbush," Cold Spring, NY (1865)"National Register of Historic Places nomination form, Plumbush". Farm of Robert Parker Parrott, the inventor of the Parrott gun, located at 1656 Route 9D. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Remodeling of 8 Chestnut Street, Cold Spring, NY (1866–67)May N. Stone, "Building Structure Inventory Form: 8 Chestnut Street, Cold Spring, Putnam Co., New York" (NYS Division for Historic Preservation, 1975) Transept and extension, Dutch Reformed Church, Newburgh, NY (1867–68) Episcopal Church of St. Mary-in-the-Highlands, Cold Spring, NY (1867–68)Elbert Floyd-Jones, St. Mary’s Church in the Highlands, Cold Spring-on-the-Hudson, New York: A History (Poughkeepsie, NY: Frank B. Howard, 1920) Wade House, Fishkill, NY (1867–68) St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Wallingford, CT (1868–69) Unitarian Church of Our Father, Newburgh, NY (1869–70) Laura A. Fellows House, "Overdell," Balmville, NY (1869–70, demolished) St. Mary's Episcopal Church and Rectory, East Providence, RI (1870)Historic Resources of East Providence, Rhode Island: Partial Inventory, Historic and Architectural Properties. Washington: United States Department of the Interior, 1979. Remodeling and outbuildings, Harriet Musgrave House, New Windsor, NY (1871) John B. J. Fenton House, Balmville, NY (1871, demolished) Christ Episcopal Church, Brentwood, Long Island, NY (1871) Chapel, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Salem, MA (1871–72) St. Mary's Parish House, Cold Spring, NY (1872–74) Brooks Brothers Store, 670 Broadway, New York, NY (1873–74) Frederic W. Stevens House, 2 W. 57th St., New York, NY (1874–75, demolished)American Architect and Building News March 24, 1877: x. Reformed Episcopal Church of the Corner Stone, Newburgh, NY (1875–76) Children's Chime Tower, Stockbridge, MA (1878) Stevens Building, 18 Wall St., New York, NY (1879, demolished)Manufacturer and Builder June 1879: 128. Barthold Schlesinger House, "Southwood," Brookline, MA (1880–82)"Southwood" mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Web. Luther Kountze House, "Delbarton," Morristown, NJ (1883) Commercial Union Assurance Co. Building, 46 Pine St., New York, NY (1883, demolished)Sanitary Engineer May 10, 1883: 539. Eagle Insurance Company Building, 71 Wall St., New York, NY (1884, demolished)Manufacturer and Building May 1884: 104. John Ballantine House, Newark, NJ (1885) Moffat Library, Washingtonville, NY (1887) South Highland United Methodist Church, Garrison, NY (1887) George Bruce Memorial Library, 226 W. 42nd St., New York, NY (1887, demolished)"The Bruce Library". Library Journal January 1888: 18. George E. Dodge House, 27 W. 57th St., New York, NY (1888, demolished)Engineering and Building Record December 24, 1887: 64. Hotel Champlain, Plattsburgh, NY (1888–90, burned 1910)Tolles, Bryant F., Jr. Resort Hotels of the Adirondacks. Lebanon: University Press of New England, 2003. Washington A. Roebling House, Trenton, NJ (1889–92, demolished 1946) M. R. Townsend Houses, 3–5 E. 10th St., New York, NY (1890)Engineering and Building Record October 18, 1890: 321. Mercantile Library Building, 13 Astor Pl., New York, NY (1890–91) Delaware and Hudson Railroad Depot, Scranton, PA (1893–99, demolished)Engineering Record 21 Oct. 1893: 339. Henry M. Day House, "Meadow Beach," Southampton, NY (1893, altered)"A Summer House at Southampton, Long Island". Scientific American: Architects and Builders Edition May 1894: 66. Helena Flint House, Larchmont, NY (1894)Scientific American August 7, 1897: 92. 85 Larchmont Avenue, Larchmont, NY. God's Providence House, 330 Broome St., New York, NY (1894)Engineering Record January 6, 1894: 99. Lincoln Safety Deposit Co. Warehouses, 60 E. 42nd St., New York, NY (1894, demolished)Souvenir of the XXViiith Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects, October, 1895. 1894. George E. Dodge House, Tuxedo Park, NY (1898, demolished)American Architect and Building News September 24, 1898: xiii. Lincoln Hospital and Home, Bronx, NY (1898, demolished)Engineering News November 18, 1898: 189. Robert Olyphant House, 16 E. 52nd St., New York, NY (1900, demolished)American Architect and Building News July 21, 1900: xii. D&H Railroad Depot, Saratoga Springs, NY (1900, demolished) Toucey Memorial Parish House, St. Philip's Church, Garrison, NY (1900) Commercial Union Assurance Co. Annex, 60 William St., New York, NY (1903, demolished)Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide February 14, 1903: 304. Fort William Henry Hotel (Addition), 48 Canada St., Lake George, NY (1908, burned 1909)Engineering News February 20, 1908: 55.

Published works George E. Harney, Stables, Outbuildings and Fences (New York: George E. Woodward, 1870) Andrew Jackson Downing, Cottage Residences, 5th edition, ed. George E. Harney (New York: John Wiley & Son, 1873)

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