After gaining a classical education from present Washington and Lee University, Glenn Brown studied medicine under his father, expecting to follow in his footsteps. To earn extra money, Brown learned mechanical drafting and rendered patent drawings in the evenings. By 1873 this part-time interest changed the direction of his career, and he entered the office of architect Norris G. Starkweather to learn the rudiments of architectural practice. In 1875 Brown enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a special student, the status accorded to those who wished to take the concentrated two-year architectural program. He then found employment with the contracting firm of Norcross Brothers, master builders of many works designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The young Brown served as clerk of the works for their Cheney Building in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1879 he returned to Washington DC and began a diverse fifty-year career in the capital as a historian, an architect, and an organizer and leader of the architectural profession.
As a historian, Brown attained national fame for his two-volume History of the United States Capitol (1901 and 1904). He published many other works, including an analysis of the Octagon (the headquarters of the American Institute of Architects), and over a hundred articles on various architectural and professional topics. As an architect, he maintained a respected practice in Washington DC for forty-five years. Among his best known works in the capital, which range from Romanesque to various neoclassical styles, are the National Insurance Building (1890) on F Street; the Beale House (1907) on Massachusetts Avenue; and the Buffalo or Dumbarton Bridge (1913) on O Street. As an organizer, he took a key role in defining the national role of the American Institute of Architects, for which he served as secretary from 1898 to 1913. Among his accomplishments were the relocation of the AIA national headquarters to the Octagon in Washington in 1899, creation of a national AIA archive and library, founding the organization's first journal, and increasing the national visibility and stature of the institution.
In North Carolina, Brown planned a few buildings early in his career, most in the town of Winston (in present Winston-Salem). In 1890, as reported in the Manufacturers' Record on October 25, he designed a two-story house for W. B. Carter (the W. B. Carter House), to cost $6,000, a substantial sum for its day. In 1892, he collaborated with Willis E. Hall, a North Carolina cousin, in designing two major buildings in downtown Winston, both in strikingly bold Romanesque Revival style. Hall operated as supervising architect. The First National Bank of Winston was announced in the Manufacturers' Record on March 26, 1892, and on March 21, 1896, the journal reported that the bank had occupied the building, which was described as Romanesque in style, in pressed brick and sandstone with terra cotta trim. One of the principal edifices in town was their Winston Town Hall (1891-1893), which was built by the local Miller Brothers, on a bid of $45,000.
The Manufacturers' Record of August 15, 1891, reported that Brown and Hall had furnished plans for the Winston municipal building for Winston. In contrast to the ornate Forsyth County Courthouse (1893-1896), designed by Frank Pierce Milburn, the brick municipal building featured clean lines and forceful massing emphasized by a dramatic corner tower. It encompassed the city jail, armory, and market as well as administrative offices. Brown and Hall also reported in the Manufacturers' Record (March 26, 1892) that they had prepared plans for a 100-room Renfro Hotel, to be built in Surry County of rubble stone, rustic plank, and shingle. It may have been the Renfro Hotel in Mount Airy, which once stood at the corner of Main Street and Pine Street. After Hall's death, it appears that Brown did no further architectural projects in North Carolina.
Glenn Brown's most lasting significance for North Carolina stems from his successful campaign as AIA secretary to expand the influence and membership of the organization. In 1901 he launched a national membership drive, sending invitations to architects across the nation to solicit applications for AIA membership. AIA bylaws required recommendations from current members who could vouch for the character of an applicant and the standard of his work, which tended to restrict membership. Several North Carolina architects responded to Brown's 1901 initiative, but without AIA members in the state, they were unable to obtain recommendations from AIA members who personally knew them. Although this requirement was intended to prevent the admittance of unethical practitioners, in effect it delayed AIA expansion to North Carolina and other states in the South and West because so few architects in those areas were members of the Institute. Even in Atlanta, Georgia, architects struggled for years before they were able to bring together five AIA members to form a chapter in 1906.
Brown, who had strong ties with North Carolina, took a strong role in establishing the AIA in the state. An important step came when North Carolina native Louis H. Asbury became an AIA member in 1908 (he was recommended by Ralph Adams Cram and other AIA members who had known of him from his work associated with Cram's principal building contractors). Soon after this, Asbury established an independent practice in Charlotte and became active in organizing the profession in western North Carolina. In 1913, North Carolina architectsRichard Sharp Smith (Asheville), Hill C. Linthicum (Durham), Garland Rose (Durham), and Willard C. Northup (Winston-Salem, see Northup and O'Brien) also became AIA members. (They and others had previously formed the North Carolina Architectural Association in 1906.) Linthicum had been working closely with Brown for a few years before in hopes of organizing a chapter. The five AIA members met in Greensboro on September 16, 1913 to organize a chapter and selected Linthicum as president, as Linthicum reported to Brown in a letter of September 17 (see Jackson and Brown, History of the North Carolina Chapter). Brown promptly obtained the approval of the board of AIA and enrolled the chapter on September 25. In addition to the institute members, the original chapter members also included Frank A. Weston, W. L. Brewer, Charles E. Hartge, James F. Gause, Jr., Albert Heath Carrier, William H. Lord, and Herbert W. Simpson. Despite obstacles, Brown persisted in his mission to expand the profession and the AIA, and nurtured the formation of key AIA chapters across the country, including Iowa (1903), Georgia (1906), Kentucky (1906), Louisiana (1910), Indiana (1910), Wisconsin (1911), North Carolina (1913), Ohio (1913), South Carolina (1913), and Texas (1913).
Author: William B. Bushong. Update: Catherine W. Bishir.
Published 2009
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(for larger image, click on photograph, then click "Actions/View all Sizes")
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Glenn Brown, architect, was the son of Dr. Bedford Brown. See William B. Bushong, "Glen Brown, the White House, and the Urban Renaissance of Washington, D.C." in White House History, Vol. II, Summer 2002: 14-28.
Brown spent his early childhood in North Carolina. Following the Civil War he lived in Washington and Alexandria. He studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He returned to Washington and opened an office, where he remained in practice until about ten years ago. He was active in the organization of The American Federation of Art and the National Fine Arts Commission. During and after the World War most of his time was taken up with government work at Quantico, Virginia. He organized the Public Art League of America, and was elected corresponding member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Great Britain, and of French, Belgian and Italian architectural societies. He was a member of the Society of Arts and Letters, an associate of the National Academy of Design, and served from 1899 to 1912 as secretary of the American Institute of Architects. His last book was entitled "Memories" and was published in 1931.
Source: ArchInForm
Glenn Brown practiced architecture in both Washington, DC and Alexandria, serving as the first executive secretary of the AIA from 1898-1913. During Brown's tenure, the Institute was instrumental in developing the Senate Park Commission Plan which reasserted the open spaces of the eighteenth-century L'Enfant Plan. As a former assistant of Henry Hobson Richardson, he designed many local buildings and bridges in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Interested in historic structures, he was involved with documenting and restoring many local structures and authored the first comprehensive history of the US Capitol.
Mayor William D. Euille of Alexandria will attend and present our chapter with a proclamation from the City of Alexandria proclaiming April 9-14 as Architecture Week. Addtional comments from Tony Wrenn, former archivist for AIA National. Cosponsored by the Lyceum.
At the Lyceum, 201 S Washington Street, Old Town Alexandria. Advance registration required.
Ongoing exhibition runs from February through April 2007.
Glenn Brown: An Alexandria Architect's Monumental Vision
2007 Glenn Brown Award
The Washington Chapter/AIA and the Washington Architectural Foundation are pleased to cosponsor the Glenn Brown Award to honor an individual who has raised public awareness of architecture and its benefits to society, and who has improved the quality of life in Washington, DC.
Glenn Brown was the founder of AIA|DC and the quiet force behind the resurrection of the L’Enfant Plan and the development of the McMillan Plan in 1900. Author, scholar, presidential advisor, and most of all, civic activist, Brown bestowed upon the Chapter a strong legacy of involvement by architects in city affairs.
The recipient is chosen annually by a jury that includes at least two members of the Chapter and two members of the Foundation appointed by the presidents and ratified by the boards of directors of the respective organizations. The award will be presented at the Chapter’s Annual Awards gala.
Glenn Brown, The development of Washington with special reference to the Lincoln Memorial. Address by Glenn Brown, secretary American institute of architects, before the Washington Chamber of commerce, December 13, 1910. Published by the CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF WASHINGTON, D. C. PRESS OF BYRON S. ADAMS, WASH., D. C.
Joint Committee to co-operate with the American Institute of Architects in the plans of the Park Commission:
Glenn Brown, Chairman
Wm. E. Shannon, Vice-Chairman
Thos. Grant, Secretary
The Development of Washington, D.C.
Glenn Brown, a founding member of the Washington Chapter, was tapped to become executive secretary of the AIA when it moved to Washington. Brown was a strong administrator and had the connections to position the Institute as a major player in shaping the architectural landscape of this country. During Brown's tenure, the Institute was instrumental in consolidating the MacMillan Commission (also know as the Senate Park Commission) plan for Washington and ensuring that it became a reality. This plan reasserted the open spaces and planning concepts of the eighteenth-century L'Enfant plan. In addition, the commission envisioned complexes for government buildings in the Federal Triangle and around the Mall and Lafayette Square.
The Institute was also instrumental in the formation of and appointments to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, established in 1910. Today, this body continues to advise the federal government on matters of art and architecture that affect the appearance of the nation's capital.
The MacMillan Plan and the Fine Arts Commission were significant factors in the development of Washington during the twentieth century. In asserting its role on the national stage, the AIA played a key part in construction of the Lincoln Highway, advocacy for the Appalachian Trail, and support for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed by Maya Lin. Most recently, the AIA has lobbied for school construction funding, brownfields legislation, and state licensure issues, and has taken a leading role in combining security concerns with architectural aesthetics. Visit AIA Government Affairs.
European and Japanese Gardens
The Relations of Railways to City Development
White House Historical Collection
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Glenn Brown, architect, was son of Dr. Bedford Brown. See William B. Bushong, "Glenn Brown, the White House and Urban Renaissance of Washington, D.C." in White House History, Vol. 11, Summer 2002: 14-28.
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: Glenn Brown
Age in 1860: 6
Birth Year: abt 1854
Birthplace: North Carolina
Home in 1860: Yanceyville, Caswell, North Carolina
Gender: Male
Post Office: Yanceyville
Household Members: Name Age
B Brown 33
M Brown 27
M G Brown 8
Glenn Brown 6
Lucy Brown
1870 United States Federal Census
Name: Glenn Brown
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1855
Age in 1870: 15
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1870: Alexandria Ward 1, Alexandria (Independent City), Virginia
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Alexandria
Household Members: Name Age
Bedford Brown 45
Mary E Brown 41
Glenn Brown 15
Lucy Brown 11
Willie B Brown 5
1880 United States Federal Census
Name: Glenn Brown
Home in 1880: Alexandria, Alexandria, Virginia
Age: 24
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1856
Birthplace: Virginia
Relation to Head of Household: Son
Father's Name: Bedford
Father's birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's Name: Mary
Mother's birthplace: Maryland
Occupation: Architect
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Household Members: Name Age
Bedford Brown 56
Mary Brown 50
Glenn Brown 24
Lucy Brown 21
William B. Brown 15
Mary Brown 27 (wife of Glenn Brown)
Madison Brown 3 (son of Glenn and Mary Brown)
Bedford Brown 1 (son of Glenn and Mary Brown)
1900 United States Federal Census
about Glenn H Brown
Home in 1900: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia
Age: 45
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1855
Birthplace: Virginia
Relationship to head-of-house: Head
Spouse's Name: Mary E
Race: White
Occupation: Architect
Household Members: Name Age
Glenn H Brown 45
Mary E Brown 34
George W Brown 20
Bedford Brown 21
1930 United States Federal Census
Name: Glenn Brown
Home in 1930: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia
Age: 75
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1855
Birthplace: Virginia
Relation to Head of House: Head
Race: White
Marital Status: Widowed
The 1900 US Census shows him born in Virginia (and is correct).
U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925
Name: Glenn Brown
Birth Date: 13 Sep 1854
Birth Place: In Faquier County, Virginia
Residence: Washington, District of Columbia
Passport Issue Date: 10 Jul 1900
Passport Includes a Photo: N
Source: Passport Applications, 1795-1905 (M1372)
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Brown, Glenn. Memories: 1860-1930. Washington, D.C.: W. F. Roberts Company, 1931.
Catherine W. Bishir, Charlotte V. Brown, Carl R. Lounsbury, and Ernest H. Wood III, Architects and Builders in North Carolina: A History of the Practice of Building (1990).
William B. Bushong, "Glenn Brown and the Planning of the Rock Creek Valley." Washington History 14, No.1 (Spring/Summer 2002).
William B. Bushong, "Glenn Brown, the American Institute of Architects, and the Development of the Civic Core of Washington, D.C.," PhD Dissertation, The George Washington University (1988).
William B. Bushong, "Glenn Brown, the White House and the Urban Renaissance of Washington, D.C.," White House History (No. 11, Fall 2002; reprinted White House History Collection 2).
William B. Bushong, A History of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (1987).
C. David Jackson and Charlotte V. Brown, History of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, 1913-1998 (1998).
Manufacturers' Record, various issues.
Molly Grogan Rawls, Winston-Salem in Vintage Postcards (2004).
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Glenn Brown (1854-1932), an architect from Virginia with family ties in [Caswell County] North Carolina, designed buildings in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the Romanesque Revival style, but his most important contribution to the state was his role, as secretary of the American Institute of Architects, in nurturing the formation of the North Carolina Chapter of the AIA (1913). Glenn Brown was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, the son of Dr. Bedford Brown and Mary E. Simpson. In 1855 Dr. Brown moved the family to North Carolina to live at Rose Hill, the Caswell County plantation of his father, Bedford Brown. The elder Bedford Brown was a North Carolina planter and politician who served in the United States Senate from 1828 to 1841. Bedford Brown II practiced medicine in North Carolina, served as a surgeon for the Confederacy, then moved to Alexandria, Virginia, in 1867 and became prominent in the medical profession.
After gaining a classical education from present Washington and Lee University, Glenn Brown studied medicine under his father, expecting to follow in his footsteps. To earn extra money, Brown learned mechanical drafting and rendered patent drawings in the evenings. By 1873 this part-time interest changed the direction of his career, and he entered the office of architect Norris G. Starkweather to learn the rudiments of architectural practice. In 1875 Brown enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a special student, the status accorded to those who wished to take the concentrated two-year architectural program. He then found employment with the contracting firm of Norcross Brothers, master builders of many works designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The young Brown served as clerk of the works for their Cheney Building in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1879 he returned to Washington DC and began a diverse fifty-year career in the capital as a historian, an architect, and an organizer and leader of the architectural profession.
As a historian, Brown attained national fame for his two-volume History of the United States Capitol (1901 and 1904). He published many other works, including an analysis of the Octagon (the headquarters of the American Institute of Architects), and over a hundred articles on various architectural and professional topics. As an architect, he maintained a respected practice in Washington DC for forty-five years. Among his best known works in the capital, which range from Romanesque to various neoclassical styles, are the National Insurance Building (1890) on F Street; the Beale House (1907) on Massachusetts Avenue; and the Buffalo or Dumbarton Bridge (1913) on O Street. As an organizer, he took a key role in defining the national role of the American Institute of Architects, for which he served as secretary from 1898 to 1913. Among his accomplishments were the relocation of the AIA national headquarters to the Octagon in Washington in 1899, creation of a national AIA archive and library, founding the organization's first journal, and increasing the national visibility and stature of the institution.
In North Carolina, Brown planned a few buildings early in his career, most in the town of Winston (in present Winston-Salem). In 1890, as reported in the Manufacturers' Record on October 25, he designed a two-story house for W. B. Carter (the W. B. Carter House), to cost $6,000, a substantial sum for its day. In 1892, he collaborated with Willis E. Hall, a North Carolina cousin, in designing two major buildings in downtown Winston, both in strikingly bold Romanesque Revival style. Hall operated as supervising architect. The First National Bank of Winston was announced in the Manufacturers' Record on March 26, 1892, and on March 21, 1896, the journal reported that the bank had occupied the building, which was described as Romanesque in style, in pressed brick and sandstone with terra cotta trim. One of the principal edifices in town was their Winston Town Hall (1891-1893), which was built by the local Miller Brothers, on a bid of $45,000.
The Manufacturers' Record of August 15, 1891, reported that Brown and Hall had furnished plans for the Winston municipal building for Winston. In contrast to the ornate Forsyth County Courthouse (1893-1896), designed by Frank Pierce Milburn, the brick municipal building featured clean lines and forceful massing emphasized by a dramatic corner tower. It encompassed the city jail, armory, and market as well as administrative offices. Brown and Hall also reported in the Manufacturers' Record (March 26, 1892) that they had prepared plans for a 100-room Renfro Hotel, to be built in Surry County of rubble stone, rustic plank, and shingle. It may have been the Renfro Hotel in Mount Airy, which once stood at the corner of Main Street and Pine Street. After Hall's death, it appears that Brown did no further architectural projects in North Carolina.
Glenn Brown's most lasting significance for North Carolina stems from his successful campaign as AIA secretary to expand the influence and membership of the organization. In 1901 he launched a national membership drive, sending invitations to architects across the nation to solicit applications for AIA membership. AIA bylaws required recommendations from current members who could vouch for the character of an applicant and the standard of his work, which tended to restrict membership. Several North Carolina architects responded to Brown's 1901 initiative, but without AIA members in the state, they were unable to obtain recommendations from AIA members who personally knew them. Although this requirement was intended to prevent the admittance of unethical practitioners, in effect it delayed AIA expansion to North Carolina and other states in the South and West because so few architects in those areas were members of the Institute. Even in Atlanta, Georgia, architects struggled for years before they were able to bring together five AIA members to form a chapter in 1906.
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