Ambrose J. Russell

Ambrose J. Russell
BornOctober 15, 1857
Trivandram, India
DiedMarch 6, 1938
Alma materÉcole des Beaux-Arts
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsWashington Governor's Mansion, William Ross Rust House
Masonic Temple Building in Tacoma, Washington
William Ross Rust House designed by Russell while at Babcock & Russell (a firm with Everett Phipps Babcock), built by Charles Miller
Washington state's governor's mansion designed by Everett Babcock and Ambrose J. Russell's firm

Ambrose J. Russell (October 15, 1857 – March 6, 1938) was an architect in Tacoma, Washington. He was Scottish but born to parents on mission in the East Indies,[1] in the town of Trivandram, India. He was trained in Paris[2] at the Ecole des Beaux Arts where he was a classmate of Bernard Maybeck.[3]

Russell trained in the United States with 19th-century Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson.[4] Henry Rhodes had Russell and Frederick Heath design and build a house in 1901.[5]

In the Pacific Northwest Everett Phipps Babcock worked with him. Russell's projects included the Washington Governor's Mansion in Olympia and the William Ross Rust House built for smelter magnate William Rust, costing $122,500.[4] He also designed the Temple Theater, Rust Building, Perkins Building, Tacoma's armory and "many of the city's large mansions" including the Rhodes mansion and the Gower Mansion on E Street.[6]

Admiral James Sargent Russell was his son.[7]

References

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  1. ^ William Farrand Prosser Ambrose James Russell "One of the leading architects of Tacoma, is a native of the East Indies, where his birth occurred." Volume 2 of A History of the Puget Sound Country: Its Resources, Its Commerce and Its People: with Some Reference to Discoveries and Explorations in North America from the Time of Christopher Columbus Down to that of George Vancouver in 1792, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1903 Original from Harvard University Digitized Jan 30, 2008
  2. ^ Exploring Washington's past: a road guide to history - Page 340 Ruth Kirk, Carmela Alexander - Travel - 1995 - 543 pages
  3. ^ Bernard Maybeck: artisan, architect, artist - Page 25 Kenneth H. Cardwell - Biography & Autobiography - 1996 - 255 pages
  4. ^ a b Arts & Crafts Homes and the Revival Winter 2007 page 63, 64
  5. ^ Kathleen Merryman [Hosts for ghosts/ Homeowners say polite spirits pose no special problems] October 31, 1993 page H.3 Section: Soundlife The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington)
  6. ^ The Area Briefly November 23, 1994 page B.6 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington)
  7. ^ Steve Dunkelberger, Walter Neary Lakewood page 57