H. Webster Tomlinson

7 FOREWORD

9 INTRODUCTION

10 EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

12 EARLY CAREER AND PARTNERSHIPWITH FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

22 SOLO CAREER, 1902–16:NONRESIDENTIAL DESIGN

30 SOLO CAREER, 1902–16:RESIDENTIAL DESIGN

45 SOLO CAREER, 1902–16:NONARCHITECTURAL WORK

48 LATER CAREER AND LIFE, 1916–42

52 TIME LINE

54 NOTES

57 BIBLIOGRAPHY

58 GENEALOGY

59 PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

60 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FIGURE 1.Henry WebsterTomlinson, 1907.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Tomlinson (fig. 1) was born in Chicago on August 11, 1869, to John Henry Tomlinson (1827–1911) and Annette Augusta Webster (1835–1911). John was a firstgeneration Canadian whose father had been an English immigrant. He was a publisher involved with the First Baptist Church, originally located at South Water and Franklin Streets on Chicago’s Near South Side, and reportedly the oldest active officer of any Sunday school in the United States in the late

1800s. Tomlinson’s mother, Annette, was born in New Hampshire. Through her mother, Julia Ann Dearborn, Tomlinson was eligible for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution; he was a descendant of Simeon Choate. 1 According to her obituary, Annette was “of a very intellectual and philanthropic mind,” noted for “her deeds of kindness.” 2

10HENRY WEBSTER TOMLINSON

the term bootleg to refer to these houses, as he was strictly forbidden from designing work independent of Adler & Sullivan at the time. These projects were in Corwin’s name because Wright, arguably, could have lost his job with the firm for designing them.

In 1901, the first year of Wright and Tomlinson’s partnership, the architects designed and built four houses. The first was the E. Arthur Davenport House in River Forest, Illinois. 15 The close-out contract for the home is preserved in the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. It includes itemized construction costs of $3,422 and contractor fees of $300. The contract was clearly signed on each page by Davenport, Wright, and Tomlinson. However, based on the style of the signatures, the bracket that was added to connect Wright’s and Tomlinson’s signatures, and the letter s that was added to the word Architect, it appears that Tomlinson signed the contract for Wright (figs. 2–3). The signatures and nature of the contract may suggest that the Davenport House was more Tomlinson’s legwork than Wright’s.

FIGURES 2a–b. E. Arthur Davenport’s, Wright’s, and Tomlinson’s signatures on the contract for the E. Arthur Davenport House by Wright & Tomlinson, 1901.

FIGURE 3. For comparison’s sake, this is a sample of Wright’s signature on a letter to Herbert Miles, April 9, 1901. The differences between this signature and the one on the E. Arthur Davenport House contract suggest that Wright’s partner, Tomlinson, may have signed his name on the contract.

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24HENRY WEBSTER TOMLINSON

FIGURE 19. “The House in the Wood,” Vick’s Magazine, May 1906.

FIGURES 20–21. Tomlinson, 710 East Prospect Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, 1903 (photographed April 1903 and c. 1950).

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FIGURE 26. Tomlinson, 618 Maple Avenue

(view from the east), 1910 (photographed 2017).

FIGURE 27. Tomlinson, 618 Maple Avenue

(view from the north), 1910 (photographed 2017).

FIGURE 28. Tomlinson, 618 Maple Avenue (view from the southeast), 1910

(photographed 2017).

36HENRY WEBSTER TOMLINSON

FIGURE 32. The original billiard room windows of 618 MapleAvenue, 1910 (photographed 2018).

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FIGURE 34. First- (top) and second-floor (bottom)plans for renovations to 618 Maple Avenue bySheehan Partners, February 15, 2006.

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It is unclear how much input Tomlinson had on the Prairie-style homes he designed with Wright at the turn of the twentieth century, but as one of the Eighteen, he was an important voice in the development of modern American architecture. Indeed, as Hugh Miller wrote in Chicago School of Architecture:

Architecture, unlike painting, literature, or music, is not the product of the genius of one person. Architecture is a business as well as an art. An architect employs other architects, often more capable than himself, to prepare his designs, make working drawings, and even supervise construction. He hires consultants for the structural, mechanical, and electrical elements of buildings —the infrastructure that often controls the final design. 70

Not only are there unsurprising parallels between Tomlinson’s and Wright’s independent designs, but there are also connections between Tomlinson’s pioneering work in reinforced concrete and the work of master architects like Le Corbusier. Tomlinson was passionate about designing architecture that honored the human condition, creating tenement housing that provided residents equitable living conditions and showed respect for all. Though he was only 5'1½", he cast a long shadow in his profession.

This look at Tomlinson and his work is long overdue. He was a man who contributed all of himself to his architecture and construction, creating many beautiful designs and advancing the science of his profession.

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TIME LINE

1869

Henry Webster Tomlinson is born on August 11 in Hyde Park.

1883–87

Tomlinson attends South Division High School on the South Side of Chicago.

1887–93

Tomlinson works for the architect William Warren Boyington in Chicago.

1889

Tomlinson becomes a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.

1896

Steinway Hall, designed by Dwight H. Perkins, opens in Chicago.

Tomlinson graduates (in only three years) with a BS in architecture from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, on June 19.

On June 29, Tomlinson submits an application for a passport so that he can travel to Europe on a sketching tour.

1901

Tomlinson announces his partnership with Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wright & Tomlinson receives commissions for the E. Arthur Davenport House in River Forest, the Frank W. Thomas House in Oak Park, the F. B. Henderson House in Elmhurst, the William Fricke House in Oak Park, and the Herbert and Flora Miles House in Racine, Wisconsin.

1902

Wright & Tomlinson receives the commission for the Victor Metzger House in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Wright & Tomlinson dissolves.

1903

Tomlinson receives commissions for Jungle Nook, the home of John Howard, in Lake Bluff and a warehouse for E. A. Cook in Chicago.

In May, Tomlinson designs a three-story apartment building for M. M. Lewis on Chicago’s West Side.

1904

In November, Tomlinson receives the commission for the Lake Bluff Village Hall.

1905

In March, Tomlinson receives the commission for an eight-story storage facility on Chicago’s West Side.

In June, Tomlinson receives the commission for a new courthouse building in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

1906

Tomlinson receives the commission for an addition to the Hinsdale Sanitarium.

In February, Tomlinson receives the commission for the new Yankton County Prison in Yankton, South Dakota.

1907

Tomlinson builds a home for C. D. Michaels in Chicago.

52HENRY WEBSTER TOMLINSON

1908

Tomlinson works on additional plans for the Hinsdale Sanitarium.

Tomlinson receives the commission for the home of Dr. L. J. Isaac in Chicago.

Tomlinson designs an apartment buildingat 5528–30 S. Lake Park Avenue at the behest of the Hyde Park Betterment League.

In February, Tomlinson receives the commission for a mental hospital in South Dakota.

1909

In March and December, Tomlinson publishes articles in American Architect.

1910

Tomlinson receives the commission for the home of the Sherman sisters in Lake Bluff.

1911

On March 4, Tomlinson’s mother, Annette Augusta Webster, dies at age seventy-four in Chicago. Nine days later, his father, John Henry Tomlinson, dies at age eighty-three in Chicago.

On March 30, Tomlinson marries Carry Stewart Merriman.

1914

Tomlinson applies for a patent for a slide rule to measure concrete beams.

Tomlinson receives the commission for the R. C. Leland Residence in River Forest.

1914–18

World War I rages throughout Europe.

1915

Tomlinson receives the commission for the Maurice Mandeville House in Lake Bluff.

1916

On August 25, Tomlinson begins work on Stateville Penitentiary, outside Joliet.

1918

Tomlinson and his wife move to Joliet.

1919

With Elmer C. Jensen and George C. Nimmons, Tomlinson publishes “Second Report on the Work of the Underwriters’ Laboratories” in American Architect.

1921

Tomlinson constructs his own home in Joliet.

1924

Tomlinson completes work at Stateville Penitentiary.

1925

Tomlinson is sent to Europe to inspect prisons on the Continent.

1929–39

The Great Depression takes place in the United States and throughout the world.

1931

Tomlinson designs a two-unit building in Joliet.

1940

Tomlinson retires.

1942

On July 11, Tomlinson dies after a short illness at his home in Joliet. He is buried with his wife’s family.

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