Peabody and Stearns

Peabody & Stearns
Company type	Architectural firm
Industry	Architecture
Founded	1 January 1870; 156 years ago in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Founder	Robert Swain Peabody, John Goddard Stearns Jr.
Headquarters	Boston, United States
Area served	Eastern United States

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Peabody and Stearns, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 30 November 2025

Peabody & Stearns stood out as a prominent architectural practice in the Eastern United States throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the firm was established by Robert Swain Peabody (1845–1917) alongside John Goddard Stearns Jr. (1843–1917). Renowned for their eclectic architectural approaches, they are especially recognized for contributions to the shingle style.

Following the inclusion of Pierce P. Furber as a partner, the company operated under the name Peabody, Stearns & Furber. Subsequently, the firm transitioned to Appleton & Stearns, led by W. Cornell Appleton—an alumnus architect of Peabody & Stearns—and Frank Stearns’ son.

Georgia

Plum Orchard (George L. Carnegie House), located on Cumberland Island (1898)
Stafford Place (William Carnegie House), also on Cumberland Island (1901)
Greyfield (Margaret Carnegie Ricketson House), situated on Cumberland Island (1901)

Maine

York Hall (William D. Sewall House), 1 Edwards St., Bath (1896–98)
Bangor High School, 185 Harlow St., Bangor (1912)
Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow St., Bangor (1912)
Exchange Building, 27 State St., Bangor (1912–13)

Massachusetts

Matthews Hall at Harvard University, Cambridge (1871)
Bussey Institute, part of Harvard University, located in Jamaica Plain (1871)
Frederick L. Ames House, 306 Dartmouth St., Boston (1872)
College Hall at Smith College, Northampton (1875)
R. H. White department store, situated at 518–536 Washington Street, Boston (1876)
First Church of Christ, 129 Main St., Northampton (1878)
Shepherd Brooks House, 275 Grove St., Medford (1881)
Dudley Hall Bradlee House, 21 Ashcroft Road, Medford (1878)
Henry Bradlee Jr. House, Medford (1881–82)
James C. Bayley House, 16 Fairmont Ave., Newton (1883–84)
Kragsyde (George N. Black Jr. House), 27 Smith's Point Rd., Manchester-by-the-Sea (1883) – Demolished in 1929
Elm Court (William D. Sloane House), 310 Old Stockbridge Rd., Lenox (1886)
Exchange Building, 53 State St., Boston (1887–91)
First Parish Church, 349 Boston Post Rd., Weston (1888)
Greystone (Jonathan H. White House), 62 Buckminster Rd., Brookline (1888)
Charles E. Cotting Buildings, 186–192 South St., Boston (1891)
Wheatleigh (Henry H. Cook House), Hawthorne Rd., Stockbridge (1893)
Fiske Building, located at 75 State St., Boston (1896) – Demolished in 1984
Christ Episcopal Church, 750 Main St., Waltham (1897–1902)
Worcester City Hall, 455 Main St., Worcester (1898)
Dorchester Heights Monument, Dorchester (1902)
Marlborough Public Library, 35 W. Main St., Marlborough (1903–04)
Springfield Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Building, 195 State St., Springfield (1905)
U.S. Custom House Tower, Boston (1913–15)
Registry of Deeds for Norfolk County, Dedham (1905)

Missouri

St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts, located at 1815 Locust St., St. Louis (1879–81) – Torn down in 1919.
Unitarian Church of the Messiah, 508 N. Garrison Ave., St. Louis (1880–82) – Demolished in 1987.
Turner Building, situated at 304 N. 8th St., St. Louis (1882–83) – Removed in 1902.
St. Louis Club, at T.E. Huntley Ave. & Locust Blvd., St. Louis (1884–85) – No longer standing.
George Blackman House, 5843 Bartmer Ave., St. Louis (1885)
Alvah Mansur House, 3700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis (1885–86)
Charles F. Morse House, 200 E. 36th St., Kansas City (1887) – Demolished.
Henry L. Newman House, 21 Westmoreland Pl., St. Louis (1889) – No longer extant.
Security Building, 319 N. 4th St., St. Louis (1890–92), designed by Peabody, Stearns & Furber
Corinne Dyer House, 38 Westmoreland Pl., St. Louis (1892)
Edward C. Rowse House, 10 Benton Pl., St. Louis (1892)
John T. Davis House, 17 Westmoreland Pl., St. Louis (1893–94)
Dr. George Ashe Bronson House, 3201 Washington Ave., St. Louis (1885)

Minnesota

James J. Hill House, located at 240 Summit Ave., St. Paul (1887–91) – Peabody & Stearns were removed from the project in 1889.
Union Depot, at 509 W. Michigan Ave., Duluth (1890–92)

New Jersey

Elberon Casino, Lincoln Ave., Elberon (1882–83) – No longer exists.
Lawrenceville School, situated in Lawrenceville (1884–95)
Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, located in Jersey City (1888–89)

Pennsylvania

George W. Childs-Drexel House, at 1726 Locust St., Philadelphia (1893)
Nathaniel Holmes House, Morewood & 5th Aves., Pittsburgh (1895) – Demolished.
Harvey Childs House, 718 Devonshire St., Pittsburgh (1896)
Sarah Drexel Fell House, located at 1801 Walnut St., Philadelphia (1896–98)
Durbin Horne House, 7418 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh (1897)
Joseph Horne & Co. Dept. Store, at 501 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh (1897–98)
East Liberty Market, located at 5900 Baum Blvd., Pittsburgh (1898–1900)
Remsen V. Messler House, found at 651 Morewood Ave., Pittsburgh (1900–01)
Laurento (E. Craig Biddle House), Darby-Paoli Rd., Villanova (1901) – Demolished during the 1980s.
Penshurst (Percival Roberts House), Conshohocken State Rd., Lower Merion (1901) – No longer standing.
Krisheim (George Woodward House), situated at 7514 McCallum St., Philadelphia (1910)
Westview (Livingston L. Biddle House), Westview Rd., Bryn Mawr (1917)

Rhode Island

Frederick S. G. D'Hauteville House, located at 489 Bellevue Ave., Newport (1871) – Destroyed by fire.
Nathan Matthews House, 492 Bellevue Ave., Newport (1871–72) – Burned down in 1881.
Weetamoe (Nathaniel Thayer House), situated at 2 Rovensky Ave., Newport (1872)
Grace W. Rives House, found at 30 Red Cross Ave., Newport (1875–76)
The Breakers (Pierre Lorillard IV House), located at 44 Ochre Point Ave., Newport (1877–78) – Burned in 1892 and subsequently rebuilt.
Hillside (Arthur B. Emmons House), positioned at 300 Gibbs Ave., Newport (1882)
Vinland (Catharine Lorillard Wolfe House), Newport (1882–83) – Currently Salve Regina's Mcauley Hall.
Honeysuckle Lodge (Josiah M. Fiske House), located at 255 Ruggles Ave., Newport (1885–86)
Midcliff (Caroline Ogden M. Jones House), found at 229 Ruggles Ave., Newport (1886)
Pavilion at Easton's Beach on Memorial Blvd., Newport (1887) – Lost during the hurricane of 1938
Ocean Lawn (Elizabeth Gammell House), situated at 51 Cliff Ave., Newport (1888–89)
Rough Point (Frederick W. Vanderbilt House), located at 680 Bellevue Ave., Newport (1888–91)
Althorpe (John T. Spencer House), Ruggles Ave., Newport (1889–90) – Now Salve Regina's Founders Hall.
Episcopal Church of the Messiah, found at 1680 Westminster St., Providence (1889–90)
Rockhurst (H. Mortimer Brooks House), Bellevue Ave., Newport (1891) – Demolished in 1955.
Parish House for St. John's Episcopal Church, located at 275 N. Main St., Providence (1893) – Demolished.
Shamrock Cliff (G.M.Gaun McRobert Hutton House), positioned at 65 Ridge Rd., Newport (1894)
Beechbound (William F. Burden House), situated at127 Harrison Ave., Newport(1895)
Bleak House(Ross R.WinansHouse), OceanAve.Newport(1895)—Demolished1948
Ridgemere(Fannie FosterHouse),11 LeroyAve.Newport(1896)
Hopedene(ElizabethH.Gammell SlaterHouse),43 CliffAve.Newport(1899-1902)
Providence Journal Building,60 EddySt.Providence(1906)

Washington, D.C.

Volta Bureau, located at 3414 Volta Place NW, Washington, D.C. (established 1893)

Distinguished Architects Associated with Peabody & Stearns

John Scudder Adkins – probable contributor to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
Francis Richmond Allen – initiated his career with the firm; later partner at Allen & Collens
Robert Day Andrews – started as an office boy in 1874; eventually became partner in Andrews, Jaques & Rantoul
Charles L. Bevins – employed from 1878 to 1882
Clarence H. Blackall – served as chief draftsman between 1884 and 1888
Warren R. Briggs – worked during 1874–1876
Henry Budden – Australian architect associated with the firm in the mid-1890s; partner at Kent & Budden
John Hutchins Cady – tenure from 1906 to 1907
Henry Ives Cobb – on staff 1881–1882; later partner of Cobb and Frost
Charles Collens – began as an apprentice; subsequently partner at Allen & Collens
Charles Sumner Frost – employed between 1876 and 1881; partner of Cobb and Frost
George A. Fuller – managed New York City office from 1876 to 1880; founder of George A. Fuller Company, recognized for pioneering modern skyscraper construction and contracting methods
Edward T. P. Graham – engaged in work during 1904
Charles R. Greco – employed from 1900 until 1907
S. Wesley Haynes – established his own architectural practice in 1918
Burnham Hoyt – began his professional journey here; later served as professor and dean at New York University Tandon School of Engineering
Charles Wilson Killam – chief architectural engineer from 1887 to 1908; also a Harvard architecture faculty member
Westray Ladd – pursued practice in Philadelphia following his period with the firm
Ellis F. Lawrence – apprenticed in 1902; co-founder and inaugural dean of the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture
Ion Lewis – worked after graduating from MIT until 1882; partner of Whidden & Lewis
Louis Christian Mullgardt – employed around the year 1886
Orlando Whitney Norcross – joined after H. H. Richardson’s passing; partner of Norcross Brothers
Frederick Lincoln Savage – served as apprentice and office boy between 1884 and 1886
Albert Cicero Schweinfurth – draftsman/apprentice during 1882–1883; brothers Henry and Julius also had connections to the firm
Julius A. Schweinfurth – chief designer from 1879 to 1883 and again from 1886 to 1895
Timothy Francis Walsh – worked between 1887 and 1897; partner at Maginnis & Walsh
Joseph Morrill Wells – employed during 1874–1875
Edmund M. Wheelwright – active in the late 1870s; served as Boston City Architect from 1891 to 1895
Arthur H. Vinal – apprentice before founding his own firm in 1875; Boston’s first City Architect from 1884 to 1887

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