Charles Boss Clarke

Charles B. Clarke

Born| April 6, 1836

Norwich, Connecticut, US

Died| January 4, 1899 (aged 63)
Burial place| Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis
Jonathan Pierce Residence Fagin Building, St. Louis Randolph County Courthouse, 1877, Huntsville, Missouri

Charles Boss Clarke (1836–1899), commonly known as Charles B. Clarke, was an American architect working in St. Louis.

## Career

[edit]

Charles was born in 1836 in Norwich, Connecticut.[citation needed] He came to St. Louis around 1859[citation needed] and began practicing architecture. The majority of his commissions were in out-state Missouri, where his penchant for designing exotic victorian buildings made him well-known.[1] Characteristics of his work included elaborate rooflines and powerful massing.[2] Within his lifetime, his work received negative evaluation as well, drawing criticism for his abilities as a superintendent and designer on buildings which required enormous repairs within three years of construction.[3] In 2004, his last remaining known work was demolished.[4]

### John Pierce Mansion

[edit]

The John Pierce mansion in St. Louis was one of Clarke's most well-known commissions. The structure was characteristic of Clarke's works and featured dramatic massing with a complex roofline.[2]

### Fagin Building

[edit]

Clarke's Fagin Building, constructed in St. Louis, was commissioned by Aaron W. Fagin, the vice president of the Merchant's Exchange of St. Louis. Fagin wished, upon returning from a worldwide trip, to furnish St. Louis with a unique and original building. The Fagin building, when completed, was described by one newspaper with lavish praise in 1890.[2] In 1893, the building was described by one critic in the Architectural Record as the "most discreditable piece of architecture in the United States". In the same review, it was described to embody "all the vices and crudities that we call 'western', though in fact the geography has nothing to do with them."[5]

More recent scholarship has placed the building within the struggle to define the appropriate architecture for the tall office building as an emerging building type.[2]

## Personal life

[edit]

Clarke married Nancy Josephine, fourth daughter of Aaron W. Fagin, on June 26, 1873.[2] He died on January 6, 1899.

## Known works

[edit]

Clarke has at least 33 known works credited to his authorship by a published list.[6] Notable entries include:

* State Normal School, Cape Girardeau, Missouri[citation needed]
* Central High School, Chillicothe, 1875 (razed 1923)[citation needed]
* Third Baptist Church, St. Louis[citation needed], 1867
* St. Luke's Hospital, St. Louis, 1870[6]
* Randolph County Courthouse remodeling, Huntsville, Missouri, 1877[6] (burned 1882)[7]
* Fagin Building, St. Louis, 1888[6] (Demolished)
* John Pierce Mansion, St. Louis, 1868[6] (Destroyed)
* Clusky-Elms House, Jennings, 1871[8] (Demolished 2004)[4]

## See also

[edit]

* Architecture of St. Louis
* Early Skyscrapers
* Second Empire Style

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Simmons, David J. (Winter 1998). "Three Victorian Architectural Aberrations" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2022.
2. ^ a b c d e Ross, Benjamin Levi (2009). "Charles B. Clarke's Fagin Building: Aberration or Innovation?". Arris. 20: 65, 67–69, 71, 73.
3. ^ Monroe, Dona (Fall 2000). "Charles B. Clarke and the Lebanon Public School" (PDF). p. 2\. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 10, 2023.
4. ^ a b Hamilton, Esley (Summer 2005). "Charles B. Clarke: a St. Louis Original" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 30, 2022.
5. ^ ""Architectural Aberrations No. 7- the Fagin Building"". The Architectural Record, 1893 April-June (PDF). 1893. p. 472.
6. ^ a b c d e "Charles B. Clarke: Known Works by location" (PDF). Fall 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 24, 2021.
7. ^ Ohman, Marian M. (August 1980). "Missouri Courthouses Randolph County" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 12, 2023.
8. ^ "Jennings Survey, Office of Historic Preservation, P.O. Box 176. Jefferson City, Historic Inventory SL-AS-011-029" (PDF). p. 91\. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2022.