H. Edwards Ficken (1852-1929) was an English American architect in practice in New York City.
Early life and career Henry Edwards Ficken was born May 25, 1852, in London. He was educated privately at home and at the Greenock Academy in Scotland.New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Ladies' Mile Historic District Designation Report, vol. 2 (1989): 963.
Ficken came to the United States in 1869 and worked variously for the firms of Renwick & Sands, Potter & Robertson, and McKim, Mead & Bigelow. In 1878, he formed a partnership with Charles H. Smith as Ficken & Smith, though their association was brief. By the following year, he was instead in partnership with Charles D. Gambrill. In October 1878, Gambrill had dissolved his former partnership with Henry Hobson Richardson, with whom he had been associated with since 1867. Gambrill & Ficken existed only very briefly, as Gambrill died in 1880 in what was presumed to be a suicide.A. J. Bloor, "Report of the New York Chapter" in Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects (New York: American Institute of Architects, 1881): 17-19.
Aside from a brief association with Edward H. Clark, initiated in 1885,American Architect and Building News 17, no. 473 (January 17, 1885): 36. Ficken maintained a private practice until 1913, when he was appointed supervising architect of Woodlawn Cemetery, a position he held until his death in 1929."Major H. Edward Ficken" in New York Times, January 27, 1929, 27.
Ficken joined the American Institute of Architects in 1881, and was made a Fellow in 1882.H. Edwards Ficken, AIA Historical Directory of American Architects.
Personal life Ficken was an amateur athlete and a member of the New York Athletic Club. In 1876, he was national champion in the high jump and, in 1877 and 1878, he was champion in the high jump as well as the 120 yards hurdles, though he later retired from competition.S. Conant Foster, "The New York Athletic Club" in Outing 4, no. 6 (September, 1884): 403-415. In 1883, he was chosen architect of the club's new building, though his design was eventually rejected due to cost. After construction began on a more expensive building designed by Charles W. Clinton, Ficken sued for and was awarded his full professional fee."Edwards-Ficken vs. the New York Athletic Club: A Suit for Commission" in American Architect and Building News 19, no. 525 (January 16, 1886): 25-26.
Ficken married twice. He married his first wife Josephine Hubbard in 1880."Recent Weddings" in Daily Graphic, October 23, 1880, 3. She died in 1886 soon after giving birth to twin daughters, Margery and Dorothy. In 1889, he married Mary Beck Goddard, as her second husband.Mary Thomas Seaman, The Seaman Family in America, ed. James Haviland Seaman Jr. (New York: Tobias A. Wright, 1928) Dorothy married Frederick W. Gwynne and had three children. One of them, Fred Gwynne, would become a noted actor.
Ficken served fifteen years in the New York National Guard, and during World War I, he served in the Office of the Inspector General.
Ficken died January 26, 1929, at home in New York City.
Architectural works At least six of Ficken's works have been individually listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, two of which are also National Historic Landmarks: Park Avenue Baptist Church, Plainfield, New Jersey (1878, demolished)Manufacturer and Builder 10, no. 7 (July 1878): 132. Muhlenberg Hospital, Plainfield, New Jersey (1879, demolished)"The Muhlenberg Hospital, Plainfield, N. J.," American Architect and Building News 5, no. 160 (January 18, 1879): 21. Iron Pier, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York (1879, burned 1911)Charles MacDonald, "The Ocean Pier at Coney Island," Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers 8, no. 184 (September 1879): 227-237. House and stable for Christopher Rhinelander Robert II, New York, New York (1880)Greenwich Village Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1979) Hoboken Land and Improvement Company shops, Hoboken, New Jersey (1881, demolished)Real Estate Record and Builders Guide 28, no. 697 (July 23, 1881): 744. Hoboken Terminal (former), Hoboken, New Jersey (1883, burned 1905)Patricia Florio Colrick, Hoboken (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 1999): 11. "The Cedars" for Harry Fenn, Montclair, New Jersey (1884, NRHP 1988)Arnold Lewis, American Country Houses of the Gilded Age (New York: Dover Publications, 1982): n. p. Interiors at "Grey Towers" for James Wallace Pinchot, Milford, Pennsylvania (1886, NHL 1963, NRHP 1966)Grey Towers Preliminary Historic Structure Report (Albany: Preservation/Design Group, 1978) "The Cloister" for the Book and Snake, New Haven, Connecticut (1887)Elizabeth Mills Brown, New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1976): 137. House for Frances A. Johnson, New York, New York (1887)New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District Designation Report, vol. 3 (1990): 484. "Pepperidge Hall" for Christopher Rhinelander Robert II, Oakdale, New York (1889, demolished 1941)Diane Holliday and Chris Kretz, Oakdale (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010) Sterling Opera House, Derby, Connecticut (1889, NRHP 1968)Birmingham Green Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2000) House for Frances deLancey Welsh, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1893–94, NRHP 1980)Rafsnyder-Welsh House NRHP Registration Form (1980) House for Robert D. Sheppard, Evanston, Illinois (1894, NHL and NRHP 1976)Charles G. Dawes House NRHP Registration Form (1976) Edward Ferguson Memorial of St. Luke's Chapel, Stamford, Connecticut (1898, NRHP 1987)St. Luke's Chapel NRHP Registration Form (1987) 147 Fifth Avenue building, New York, New York (1899)New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Ladies' Mile Historic District Designation Report, vol. 1 (1989): 268-270. Ridgefield School for Boys, Ridgefield, Connecticut (1911, demolished)"Ficken, Henry Edwards" in Who's Who in New York, ed. William F. Mohr (New York: Who's Who in New York, 1914): 245.
Gallery of architectural works
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