![]() His unmarked grave is in the Friends burial ground, near 4th and Race Sts. Two months later the 55-year-old architect died in his home on south 2nd St. Late in the frigid month of December, 1776, Smith was rushing barracks to completion at Fort Billingsport, New Jersey, several miles downstream from Mifflin, when he became ill. Smith designed and supervised installation of 65 innovative "chevaux-de-frise," underwater obstacles which could - and did - impale enemy shipping. At Fort Mifflin, he strengthened a fortification which later helped delay the British fleet from supplying their army in Philadelphia. His contributions to defending Delaware river approaches to the city were critical and, as it proved, fatal. He also joined the "Committee of Forty" raising money for supplies by the wagonload sent to Boston families facing starvation that winter. In June, 1774, three months before the First Continental Congress at Carpenters' Hall, Robert Smith attended an overflow meeting at the City Tavern to protest closing of the port of Boston by the British and summon a Congress to assert the rights of American colonists. Philadelphia's artisans - skilled craftsmen such as carpenters, printers and metal smiths - formed the core support for the approaching Revolution. Erecting the 200-foot landmark steeple of Christ Church paved the way for building two Anglican (Episcopal) churches, St. A contract for the Second Presbyterian Church helped assure Smith work at the Presbyterian College of New Jersey, now Princeton University. Pleased with "my carpenter," Hamilton, also a prominent Mason, probably steered Smith to building the Freemasons' Lodge, America's first Masonic hall, off 2nd St. Deputy governor James Hamilton gave Smith - less than a year after his arrival - the job of extensive renovations to Bush Hill, Hamilton's country mansion. ![]() Smith's third talent, networking, paid off quickly and handsomely. Smith's bridge would have replaced a ferry and, later, a floating bridge of logs chained together, which had the unfortunate habit of being swept away in floods. Fifteen years before the Revolution, Smith presented to the Pennsylvania Assembly a model for a covered bridge using multiple trusses across the Schuylkill river at Market St. The new truss also made possible a graceful arched ceiling with better acoustics. To create the truss, heavy timbers were reinforced with iron plates and strapping. Smith's solution: a "raised tie beam truss" capable of spanning up to 65 feet. Of 13 churches credited to Smith, eight were in Philadelphia, four in New Jersey and one in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.Ĭongregations of large churches demanded an unobstructed view of the pulpit, not one interrupted with columns supporting the roof. His grasp of design and engineering won Smith contracts for most of the city's large public projects. Instead he practiced the accepted Georgian architectural idiom of his era, named for British kings named George who ruled in the 18th century. Unlike today's architects, Smith did not innovate designs. Three are prized possessions of the Carpenters' Hall library. In Philadelphia, when he became successful, he purchased them. In London, he borrowed those of his employers. ![]() The new Scottish immigrant embodied three essentials for success, then and now: a thorough understanding of design and engineering the ability to expand technology and the gift of what we call "networking."Īrchitectural books were his passion. Larger structures demanded an exceptional architect. Smith became that man. Moving to London, he was a keen observer of its churches and public buildings, which would influence his work here. Robert was the fourth son of a baker (a "baxter") and his wife in Dalkeith, a small town near Edinburgh, Scotland. How he gained his knowledge of architecture and design is unclear. Only 26 when he landed, Smith's talents quickly became known major commissions followed. The city destined to become the largest in the colonies - and the nation's first capital - needed buildings to match its expansion. Without realizing it, Robert Smith's arrival in Philadelphia could not have been better timed. First, before beginning the tour, we must get better acquainted with our guide.
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