Frank Freeman

Frank Freeman (1861 – 13 October 1949) was a Canadian-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York. A leading exponent of the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style who later adopted Neoclassicism, Freeman has been called "Brooklyn's greatest architect". Many details of his life and work are however still unknown, and Freeman himself has received little recognition outside academia. Many of his works have been demolished or otherwise destroyed, but most of those that remain have received New York City landmark status, either independently or as part of larger historic districts.

Life and career

Freeman was born in Hamilton, Canada West, in 1861. In the early 1880s, he arrived in New York, where he obtained a minor position in an architect's office while studying architecture. By 1885 he was a qualified architect, and in 1887 he established his own practice. Almost immediately he began attracting major commissions, one of the first being for the Hotel Margaret in 1888.

Freeman's early work was completed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, at which he is considered a master. After the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 however, Romanesque went out of fashion and Freeman quickly adapted to the new Neoclassical trend, completing a major commission in the genre, the Brooklyn Savings Bank, even before the World's Fair had ended. He has been praised for his "fecund imagination" and "infinite versatility"—an example of the latter being his Brooklyn Savings Bank, a neoclassical design, considered by critic Francis Morrone to have been perhaps Freeman's finest work.

"the most splendid neighborhood firehouse in Greater New York."

"...a medieval brick fortress [that] recalls the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence,"

"at first seems simple enough but is in fact quite complex."

"a fine, stately office building demonstrating Freeman's infinite versatility."

Legend: Name=name of building; Address=address of building; Built=year building was completed (or remodelled, denoted by an "R" after the year); Style=architectural style. Styles include: RR=Richardsonian Romanesque; N=Neoclassical; E=eclectic; CR=Colonial Revival.

Buildings that no longer exist

Image Name Address Built Style Notes 100px Hotel Margaret 97 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn 1889 RR "the outstanding building of the Post-Civil War period" in Brooklyn Heights. Destroyed by fire during renovations, 1980. 100px Germania Club House 120 Schermerhorn St., Brooklyn 1890 RR "As a specimen of Romanesque architecture, it is unsurpassed by any other structure in Brooklyn". Demolished 1920s to make way for a subway. 100px Thomas Jefferson Association Building Boerum Place, Brooklyn 1890 RR "one of the most peculiar-looking structures in the city." Demolished to make way for an arterial link, 1960. 100px Brooklyn Waterworks Freeport, Long Island 1890 RR "unquestionably Long Island's most ambitious Romanesque Revival design." Burned down during renovations, 1990s. The remaining facades and walls were torn down in September 2010. 100px Bushwick Democratic Club House 719 Bushwick Ave., Brooklyn 1892 RR An "astounding, round-edged cube ... wrap[ping] a tight skin of precise decoration around a compact mass", 100px Brooklyn Savings Bank 1894 N "may have been Freeman's finest work." Demolished 1938. Legend: Name=name of building; Address=address of building; Built=year building was completed (or remodelled, denoted by an "R" after the year); Style=architectural style. Styles include: RR=Richardsonian Romanesque; N=Neoclassical; E=eclectic; CR=Colonial Revival.