The images in this blog are from Through a Fiery Trial: Building Washington 1790-1800, and give a good synopsis of Blodget's Grand Hotel Lottery or the first Washington Lottery.
"Dr. T-" Examined and the Case of the "Ingenious A" "Saturday, Feby 1st a fine day. The ground covered with the deepest snow we have ever seen here (in 5 yrs.) - river frozen over. Dr. T- engaged in drawing at his plan for a House to build one day or another on Sq. 171." Or Why William Thornton Didn't Design the Octagon House and Isn't the "First Architect of the Capitol" By Bob Arnebeck author of Through a Fiery Trial: Building Washington 1790-1800 and Slave Labor in Capitol: Building Washington's Iconic Federal Landmarks Introduction: How Glenn Brown, an architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, helped his own career by making William Thornton the most famous American architect of the 18th century. Chapter One: A Tale of Two Properties (1755 to 1786) Lancaster, Tortola and a Scientific Education - The roots of Thornton's wealth, his Quaker education, medical degree and mentors Chapter Two: Going ...
Table of Contents The Doctor Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck Introduction 1. William Thornton in 1804 In January 1793, Dr. William Thornton, who was just off a boat from Tortola, British Virgin Islands, drew the elevation and floor plan that won the design contest for the United States Capitol. The judge was President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson quickly fed his boss's enthusiasm. Not five months later, the latter told the former that they had been fooled by an amateur. What Thornton had designed could not be built. The thirty-three year old's sole professional credential was an M.D. from a Scottish medical school. J...
The Doctor Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck Table of Contents Chapter Seven: Walls Fall Down 72. Robert Morris house in Philadelphia where the president lived and worked In mid-February, 1795, the New York Minerva, immediately followed by the Boston Orrey and Philadelphia's Gazette of the United States, printed a three part "Essay on the City of Washington." Since it was also printed in French, one scholar suggests that Hallet wrote it.(1) However, Greenleaf had several French employees including Mr. Henry who he paid to project ideas about the world capital soon to be built. Another Greenleaf brother-in-law, Noah Webster, was publisher of the Minerva. The essay primarily celebrated the economic and cultural importance of the city, and it also championed Hallet's Capitol and especially its court yard: The capitol which is constructed on the plan drawn by Mr. Hallet, will be one of the most s...
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