Alpheus C. Morse

Alpheus C. Morse (June 3, 1818 – November 25, 1893) was an American architect who spent most of his career in Providence, Rhode Island.

Life and career Alpheus Carey Morse was born June 3, 1818, in Boston, Massachusetts to Hazen and Lucy (Cary) Morse. Hazen Morse was a noted silversmith and engraver. He was named for stonecutter Alpheus Cary, his mother's father. He was educated in architecture in the office of Alexander Parris, then one of Boston's leading architects. Morse, in the company of Seth Wells Cheney, traveled through Europe for five years, with a home base in Florence at the studio of Horatio Greenough. In Europe, Morse devoted much time to painting and crayon portraiture.

When he returned to Boston in 1847, Morse opened a studio on Tremont Row, where he at first continued that same work. However, the firm of Snell & Morse was short-lived, and was dissolved in 1853.

In the same year, Morse was commissioned to design a house in Providence for a close friend, the artist Thomas Frederick Hoppin. This house is and was considered one of the best local examples of Italianate architecture. After that project was completed in 1855, Morse chose to remain in Providence and establish an architectural practice.

Morse consistently relied on the architecture of the Italian Renaissance as a source for his own work, and was largely dedicated to that style. However, this fell out of favor in his later years, and he transitioned to other styles, including the High Victorian Gothic, Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne. The couple moved into the house at 44 Benefit Street, the southern half of a double house built in 1827 by Tallman & Bucklin for the bride's father as an investment. They lived there for the remainder of their lives, raising three daughters. Their eldest, Anne Goddard Morse, was educated as an artist in Boston and New York.

Brown University professors John Larkin Lincoln and George Ide Chace were both his brothers-in-law.

Morse died November 25, 1893, at home in Providence after a brief illness, at the age of 75. and in 1875 was founding president of the institute's Rhode Island chapter. He designed many prominent buildings in Providence, including the old Rhode Island Hospital and Sayles Hall on the campus of Brown University. Two of his projects have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and many others contribute to listed historic districts.

Works First Parish Unitarian Church (former), 130 Main St, Haverhill, Massachusetts (1847–48, demolished 2017) Interiors of Boston Music Hall (former), 1 Hamilton Pl, Boston, Massachusetts (1852, altered) House for Thomas Frederick Hoppin, 383 Benefit St, Providence, Rhode Island (1853–55, NRHP 1973) Merchants Bank Building, 20 Westminster St, Providence, Rhode Island (1855–57, NRHP 1977) House for William Binney, 72 Prospect St, Providence, Rhode Island (1859) House for Henry Albert Rhodes, 101 Benefit St, Providence, Rhode Island (1860–62) House for Amos Newell Beckwith, 2 Stimson Ave, Providence, Rhode Island (1861–62) Atlantic Building, 49 Westminster St, Providence, Rhode Island (1869–70, altered 1892 and 1910, demolished 1970) Breck Building, 35 N Main St, Providence, Rhode Island (1870, demolished) 79 Brown St, Providence, Rhode Island (1874) House for William Francis Sayles, 103 Prospect St, Providence, Rhode Island (1878) House for William Carey Poland, 53 Lloyd Ave, Providence, Rhode Island (1890)

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