Bruce Price

Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Venturi.

He also designed Richardsonian Romanesque institutional buildings, Beaux-Arts mansions, and Manhattan skyscrapers. In Canada, he designed Châteauesque railroad stations and grand hotels for the Canadian Pacific Railway, including Windsor Station in Montreal and Château Frontenac in Quebec City.

Early life, family and education

Price was born in Cumberland, Maryland, the son of William and Marian Bruce Price. He was first cousin (once removed) to Francis Scott Key. Following a brief study trip to Europe, he opened an office in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he practiced from 1873 to 1876.

In 1876, he relocated to New York City, working on a series of domestic projects there. These culminated in the design and layout of the exclusive 7,000-acre planned community of Tuxedo Park (1885–86), created by Pierre Lorillard IV.

Among the Manhattan office buildings he designed were the American Surety Building, the St. James Building, the Bank of the Metropolis and the International Bank. He also collaborated with sculptor Daniel Chester French on the Richard Morris Hunt Memorial (1898) in Central Park. He designed a lecture hall and a dormitory at Yale University. His grandest residential commission was Georgian Court, the neo-Georgian estate of George Jay Gould I in Lakewood, New Jersey.

Price invented, patented, This work prompted the Canadian Pacific Railways to consider his portfolio. He designed the Château Frontenac in Quebec City for the Canadian Pacific (arguably the structure Price is most identified with), as well as the first Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, and many other hotels and stations.

He was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (1890) and belonged to the Architectural League of New York. In 1900, he entered into a partnership with French architect Jules Henri de Sibour, who had earlier worked in his office. The firm continued to use the name "Bruce Price & de Sibour" until 1908, five years after Price's death.

Personal life In 1871, Price married Josephine Lee, the daughter of a Wilkes-Barre coal baron. They had two children: Emily (Price) Post, who became a novelist and the American authority on etiquette, and William, who died in infancy.

The family resided in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, then settled in New York City in 1877.

Price is buried, along with his wife and son, in Hollenback Cemetery in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Honors and awards In 2026, Price was announced as a posthumous inductee into the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Selected works

United States

Daniel B. Wesson residence, Springfield, Massachusetts (1898)

10 East Chase Street, Baltimore, Maryland (c. 1870) Coryell Apartment Building, 21 East 21st Street, Manhattan, New York (1878) James Alfred Roosevelt Estate, Cove Neck, New York (1881) "Cleftstone" (Charles T. How cottage), Bar Harbor, Maine (1881); now Cleftstone Manor Hotel "Seacroft", Rumson, New Jersey (1881) "Far Niente" (William B. Rice cottage), Bar Harbor, Maine (1882, demolished 1943) J. M. Wayne Neff residence, Cincinnati, Ohio (1882, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's Artistic Country-Seats (1886–87) "Seaverge" (George F. Baker residence), Monmouth Beach, New Jersey (c. 1884, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's Artistic Country-Seats (1886–87) Cordelia Sterling residence, Stratford, Connecticut (1886). Listed in Sheldon's Artistic Country-Seats (1886–87) Osborn Hall, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (1887–88, demolished 1926). Welch Hall, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (1891) Main Building, Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut (1892, demolished 1970) Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, Sharon, Connecticut (1893) Elizabeth Train Station, Elizabeth, New Jersey (1893–94). Built as Central Railroad of New Jersey Depot American Surety Building, 100 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City (1894, altered). Architect Herman Lee Meader widened the building and added additional stories in 1922. "The Turrets" (John J. Emery house), Bar Harbor, Maine (1895); now part of College of the Atlantic St. James Building, 1133 Broadway, Manhattan, New York (1896) George Jay Gould Mansion, Lakewood, New Jersey (1898); now part of Georgian Court University Richard Morris Hunt Memorial, Fifth Avenue between 70th & 71st Streets, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City (1898), with sculptor Daniel Chester French. Daniel B. Wesson residence, Springfield, Massachusetts (1898, destroyed by fire 1966). Old Washington County Library, Hagerstown, Maryland (1900). Whittier Hall Dormitories, Teachers College, Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City (1901), with J. M. Darragh Audrain Building, 220-30 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island (1902) Bank of the Metropolis, 31 Union Square West, Manhattan, New York City (1902–03) Northfield Chateau, Northfield, Massachusetts (1903, demolished 1963)

Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park Post Office (1885) Gate-Lodge and Keep (1885–86) Erie Railroad Tuxedo Park Station (1885) "Cottage G" (Pierre Lorillard V Cottage) (1885–86, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's Artistic Country-Seats (1886–87). William Kent Cottage (1885–86, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's Artistic Country-Seats (1886–87). Vincent Scully argues that Frank Lloyd Wright modeled his Oak Park house and studio after this and the Chanler cottage. W. Chanler Cottage (1885–86, altered). Scully identifies the client as "W. Chandler," but it was likely Winthrop Astor Chanler. The Tuxedo Club (1886, demolished 1927) Pierre Lorillard IV Cottage (1886, altered). Listed in Sheldon's Artistic Country-Seats (1886–87). Henry I. Barbey Cottage (1886, demolished). Listed in Sheldon's Artistic Country-Seats (1886–87). Travis Van Buren Cottage, Tower Hill Road (1886, altered beyond recognition). Listed in Sheldon's Artistic Country-Seats (1886–87). Francis D. Carley Cottage, West Lake Road (1886, moved from original site 1896) Tuxedo Park School (first building) (c. 1887, demolished) M. G. Barnwell Stable, Clubhouse Road (1889–90) Meta K. Cruger Cottage, Tower Hill Road (c. 1890) Japanese Cottage, 16 Summit Road (1891) Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, Route 17 (1895, burned 1897) Bruce Price Cottage, Pepperidge Road, Tuxedo Park (1897). Voss Cottage, Pepperidge Road (c. 1897). One of four cottages Price built for rental. Samuel Clemens rented it in 1907. Emily Post cottage (c. 1897). One of four cottages Price built for rental. His daughter Emily (Price) Post inherited it. Addison Cammack House (1900) Price Collier House, West Lake Road (1900) Tuxedo Park Association Offices, Route 17 (1900) Tuxedo Stores (Business Block), Route 17 (c. 1900) Tuxedo Park Library, 227 Route 17 (1901) Methodist Episcopal Church, 7 Hospital Road (1902); now Tuxedo Historical Society R. M. Gillespie House (1903)

Canada Windsor Station, Montreal, Quebec (1887–89) James Ross House, Montreal, Quebec (1892); now known as Old Chancellor Day Hall at the McGill University Faculty of Law Château Frontenac, Quebec City, Quebec (1893) Place Viger, Montreal, Quebec (1897). A combined railroad station and hotel.

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