J. A. Wood

A view north along Franklin Street c. 1910s-1920s. The old Hillsborough County Courthouse (demolished in 1953) is pictured on the right John A. Wood (June 11, 1837 – December 18, 1910), was an American architect . His work in upstate New York included projects in Poughkeepsie and Kingston, New York, as well as four armories, in Kingston, Newburgh, Bethel, and Watertown. His work in Tampa, Florida, includes the Tampa Bay Hotel and Old Hillsborough County Courthouse. His hotel work included the design of the Piney Woods Hotel, Oglethorpe Hotel, Mizzen Top Hotel, and Grand Hotel.

The Tampa Bay Hotel was listed on the National Historic Register in 1972.

Biography

Wood was born in Bethel, New York. He began his career in 1863 in Poughkeepsie Wood is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Bethel.

Wood established his practice in Poughkeepsie by 1863.

The summer home of Effingham Brown Sutton in West Islip, New York (ca. 1870)consisted of a mansion and several fine cottages. The main house, Woodruff Sutton cottage, and gate house were razed by railroad magnate Edwin Hawley. The last original building, owned by George Nicholas in later years, was demolished in the 1950s.

Wood's design for the Grand Hotel (Highmount, New York) was a project for Thomas Cornell, owner of Hudson River steamships and the Ulster and Delaware Railroad. Cornell concluded that a hotel near the railroad would boost traffic and draw wealthy clients who would be hours away from Grand Central Station in New York City. The three-story hotel included elegant features such as turrets, and a covered piazza along its 350-foot length.

List of works

Bardavon Opera House (1869), Poughkeepsie, New York Kingston City Almshouse (1874), Kingston, New York Kingston Argus Building (1874, demolished), Kingston, New York Newburgh Free Library (1875), Newburgh, New York New York State Armory (1878), Kingston, New York Watertown Armory (1879), Watertown, New York (demolished 1966) New York State Armory (1880), Newburgh, New York Mizzen Top Hotel (1880) 687-691 Broadway / 250-254 Mercer Street, New York City (1885–88) Oglethorpe Hotel (1888), Brunswick, Georgia Tampa Bay Hotel (1891), Tampa, Florida Old Hillsborough County Courthouse (1892, demolished 1953 ) Grand Hotel in Highmount, New York (1881) Mahoney-McGarvey House at 1709 Reynolds Street in Brunswick, Georgia Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery gates and gatehouse Vassar Brothers Institute, Poughkeepsie, New York Vassar Home for Aged Men, Poughkeepsie, New York Calisthenium and Riding Academy, Poughkeepsie, New York Akin Free Library, Pawling, New York (1908) Stuyvesant Hotel in Kingston, New York (1910)