Alexander Rice Esty (also known as Alexander Rice Estey) (18 October 1826 – 2 July 1881)Baldwin, Thomas W. "Vital Records of Framingham, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850". Boston, MA: Wright & Potter Print., 1911. p.72Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004), AmericanAncestors.org, Vol: 329; Page: 88. was an American architect known for designing many Gothic Revival churches in New England. His work also encompassed university buildings, public buildings, office buildings, and private residences across the Northeastern United States.
Biography Esty was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, the youngest child of Dexter Esty (1791–1860),Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004), AmericanAncestors.org, Vol: 139; Page: 92. d. April 20, 1860, in Framingham, AE 68, b. in Watertown. a local builder, and Mary Eames Esty (née Rice, 1787–1849).Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004), AmericanAncestors.org, Vol: 40; Page: 174. Mary E., w. of Dexter, d Sept. 3, 1849 in Framingham, a. 62 y. 6 m. 7 d. He was the brother of U.S. Representative Constantine C. Esty. Esty was a descendant of Edmund Rice, an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony,Edmund Rice (1638) Association, 2010. Descendants of Edmund Rice: The First Nine Generations. (CD-ROM). Available from Edmund Rice (1638) Association and a direct descendant of Mary Towne Esty, who was executed during the Salem Witch Trials.
Esty attended Framingham Academy as a boy. He then trained in architecture with Boston architect Richard Bond. He remained a resident of Framingham for his entire life.
Esty married three times: in 1854, Julia Maria Wight (1835–1862) daughter of Julia Maria Terry and Lothrop Wight (a wealthy Boston merchant) in 1865, Charlotte Louise Blake (1840–1866) in 1867, Emma Corning Newell (1845–1886) daughter of Olive Plimpton and George Newell (a sea captain)
In 1847, Esty worked for architect Gridley J. F. Bryant before opening his own Boston office the following year.City Directories for Boston 1848, p. 123. Many of Esty's churches were variations of a popular nineteenth-century style similar to Richard Upjohn's. In addition to his church designs, Esty designed numerous university, public, and office buildings. He also proposed a design for the Library of Congress building in Washington, D.C.
Esty received an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1866 from the University of Rochester.Univ. of Rochester, Office of the Provost, Honorary Degree Recipients 1860-1869 http://www.rochester.edu/provost/honorary/honorary_1860.html
From 1876 until his death, Esty was employed by the United States Treasury as Superintendent of Construction to the first United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building in Boston's Post Office Square."Death of Alexander R. Esty". The American Architect and Building News. Vol. X, No. 289 (9 Jul 1881); online archives, Google Books, Accessed 4 Jul 2011, Obituary for Alexander R. Esty.
Esty died in 1881, aged 54.
Works listed in the National Register of Historic Places Massachusetts Prospect Congregational Church (Christ the King Church), 1851, Cambridge Paul Gibbs House, 1860, Framingham Moses Ellis House, 1866, Framingham Old Cambridge Baptist Church, 1869, Cambridge St. John's Episcopal Church, 1871, Framingham Concord Square Historic District, Framingham
Elsewhere First Methodist Church of Burlington, 1869, Burlington, Vermont
Other works Massachusetts State Normal School Building, 1853, Framingham Park Street Baptist Church, 1854, Framingham Cornerstone Baptist Church, 1854, Framingham Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 1861, Boston St. Mark's Church, 1863, Southborough St. John's Episcopal Church, 1864, Gloucester Colby Hall at Andover Newton Theological School, 1865, Newton Church of Our Saviour, 1868, Brookline Newton Free Library, 1870, Newton Baptist Church, 1870, North Billerica Clinton Town Hall, 1872, Clinton Union United Methodist Church, 1872, Boston Grace Episcopal Church, 1872, Newton Monks Building, 1873, South Boston Edgell Grove Cemetery gateway, 1875, Framingham Boston and Albany Railroad Station, 1881, Boston Richardson, H., & Estey, A.. Boston and Albany Railroad Station (Boston, Mass.).
Cornerstone Baptist Church was remodeled in 1885 by Van Brunt & Howe, to whom the National Register of Historic Places incorrectly gives sole credit.
Elsewhere Anderson Hall at the University of Rochester, 1861, Rochester, New York Memorial Hall at Colby College, 1869, Waterville, Maine St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1876, East Greenwich, Rhode Island St. Luke's Church Shurtleff College building, date unknown, Alton, Illinois
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