Harding and Seaver

Harding and Seaver

Company type	Architectural partnership
Industry	Architecture
Founded	1902
Founder	George C. Harding, Henry M. Seaver
Defunct	1947
Fate	Taken over by Prentice Bradley and Douglas T. Gass, renamed Bradley & Gass
Headquarters	Pittsfield , United States
Area served	Pittsfield-Berkshire County, New England, New York State
Key people	George C. Harding, Henry M. Seaver

Harding and Seaver was an architectural partnership headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, operating from 1902 until 1947. The firm was established by architects George C. Harding (1867–1921) and Henry M. Seaver (1873–1947).

George C. Harding

George Campbell Harding was born on May 18, 1867, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He completed his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1889. Following his tenure in Boston architectural firms, Harding returned to Pittsfield, where he collaborated with Charles T. Rathbun until 1899. Subsequently, he maintained a solo practice before co-founding Harding & Seaver on January 1, 1902. He remained at the helm of the firm until his passing in 1921.

Henry M. Seaver

Henry Morse Seaver, born March 8, 1873, in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, graduated from Boston English High School in 1890 and finished a two-year architectural curriculum at MIT by 1897. After initial professional experience in Boston and designing the Theodore Parker Church, he joined Harding’s office as chief drafter in 1900. The two architects entered into partnership in 1902, which lasted until Harding’s death; thereafter, Seaver managed the firm until his own death in 1947.

In addition to his architectural work, Seaver served on Pittsfield’s Planning Board from its establishment in 1924 through 1947. He married Alice V. W. Wentworth in 1904.

Firm's impact

In 1948, architects Prentice Bradley (1906–1997) and Douglas T. Gass took over the practice and rebranded it as Bradley & Gass. Following their partnership dissolution in 1955, Bradley continued independently and renamed the firm Bradley Architects in 1971. This firm continues to operate in Pittsfield today.

Harding and Seaver made notable contributions to both public and private architecture throughout Pittsfield-Berkshire County, New England, and New York State. Multiple projects by the firm have been recognized on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Selected projects

• Saint Andrew's Chapel, Washington, Massachusetts (1899; listed on NRHP in 1986)
• Martin Memorial Chapel at Pittsfield Cemetery, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1900)
• Lenox Town Hall, Lenox, Massachusetts (1901–1902)
• Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1902–1903)
• "Mount Pleasant" residence for W. Murray Crane, Windsor, Massachusetts (1903)
• Personal residence of Henry M. Seaver, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1905)
• Lathrop Hall at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York (1905–1906)
• Pittsfield Boys' Club building, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1905–1906)
• Residence for William C. Plunkett (currently Adams Town Hall), Adams, Massachusetts (1907)
• "Sugar Hill" estate for W. Murray Crane, Dalton, Massachusetts (1907)
• Currier Hall at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts (1908)
• William R. Plunkett School, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1909; demolished in 2014)
• Y.M.C.A. facilities located in Dalton and Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1909–1910)
• Colgate Hall at Colby–Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire (1911–1912)
• Residence for Richard H. Stearns in Brookline, Massachusetts (1912)
• Masonic Temple in Bennington, Vermont (1912)
• Colgate Memorial Chapel at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York (1916)
• "Point O'View" residence for George D. B. Bonbright on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
• Z. Marshall Crane School and Library in Windsor, Massachusetts (1919–1920)
• Renovations to South Congregational Church in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1919)
• Clapp Memorial Building and Edward A. Jones Memorial Building at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield (constructed in 1924 and 1932)

Related Topics

• George M. Harding (1827–1910), architect known for work in Portland and Boston