George F. Meacham


George Frederick Meacham was an architect in the Boston, Massachusetts, area in the 19th century. He is notable for designing Boston's Public Garden, the Massachusetts Bicycle Club, and churches, homes, and monuments in greater Boston and elsewhere in New England.

Early life and career

George F. Meacham was born in 1831 in Watertown, Massachusetts to Giles A. and Jane A. Meacham. In 1849, after attending schools in Newton, Waltham and Cambridge, he entered Harvard College. He graduated in 1853. After college he trained and worked as a civil engineer, at one point working on the Water Works of Jersey City, New Jersey. In 1855 he entered the office of an unnamed architect in Boston. By 1857 he was associated with architect Shepard S. Woodcock, and by 1858 they had formed a partnership. Meacham established an independent firm in Boston in 1864.
Meacham was appointed architect of Boston's new Masonic Temple in 1866, after the health of the original architect, Merrill G. Wheelock, failed. Construction had begun in 1865, and Meacham completed the exterior of the building to Wheelock's design and was responsible for the design of the interior. The building was dedicated in 1867. It has been demolished. In 1867 a set of plans for an apartment house designed by Meacham was published in an overview of charity work in France, though it does not indicate whether it was intended to be built in France or Boston, where the book was printed. Meacham continued in Boston until 1891, when he retired from active practice. He continued to work on a few projects from his home in Newton in the following years.
Though most of Meacham's work was architectural, he did his best known work in the capacity of landscape architect. In 1859 his design was adopted for the reconstruction of the Public Garden, his plan for which has remained largely intact. He was also responsible, in 1865, for an extension to the Center Cemetery of Shirley, and for Farlow Park in Newton in 1882.

Personal life

In 1859 Meacham married Mary J. Warren of New Boston, New Hampshire. In 1870 they moved from Watertown to Newton. They had two children together, who both died in their youth. Mary J. Meacham died in 1877. Meacham remarried in 1881, to Ellen Louisa Frost, who survived him. Meacham died on December 4, 1917. At the time of his death he was a resident of Boston.

Legacy

Following his association with Woodcock, several architects who would become notable trained in his office. These include Henry M. Francis and George R. Pyne.
Several of his works have been individually listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Architectural works

YearProjectAddressCityStateNotesImageReference
1864House for John A. Wiley93 Elm StNorth AndoverMassachusettsNRHP-listed as part of the Machine Shop Village District.
1864South Congregational Church90 Main StNew BritainConnecticutHammatt Billings may have been associated with Meacham in the earliest phases of the design. Meacham was also responsible for the addition of a parish house in 1889. NRHP-listed.
1865Reformed Church of Utica276 Genesee StUticaNew YorkDemolished.
1866Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument,
Common Park		Purchase StNew BedfordMassachusetts
1866Soldiers' Monument,
Evergreen Cemetery		2060 Commonwealth AveBrightonMassachusetts
1867Silver Lake Mills320 Nevada StNewtonMassachusetts
1867Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument,
Riverside Cemetery		274 Main StFairhavenMassachusetts
1867Tabernacle Baptist Church8 Hopper StUticaNew YorkNRHP-listed.
1868Melrose High School 69 W Emerson StMelroseMassachusettsDemolished.
1868Soldiers' Monument,
Waltham Common		610 Main StWalthamMassachusetts
1869Engine House No. 19128 Babson StDorchesterMassachusettsDemolished.
1869First Baptist Church of Lewiston240 Bates StLewistonMaineDemolished.
1869Gate,
Newton Cemetery		791 Walnut StNewtonMassachusettsDemolished.
1870Green School 408 Merrimack StLowellMassachusetts
1871Houses for Newton Talbot234-236 Clarendon StBostonMassachusettsExtant but altered.
1871Lewiston [City Hall (Lewiston, Maine)|Lewiston City Hall]27 Pine StLewistonMaineBurned in 1890.
1872Cary Avenue Baptist Church 60 Tudor StChelseaMassachusettsLater the First Methodist Church of Chelsea, and now Temple Emmanuel.
1872House for Uriah H. Coffin232 Clarendon StBostonMassachusetts
1872Mechanics Savings Bank Building200 Merrimack StLowellMassachusettsBurned in 1962.
1873House for James W. Tobey119 Marlborough StBostonMassachusetts
1873Mercantile building for Charles Duane91 Water StBostonMassachusettsDemolished.
1873Underwood School101 Vernon StNewtonMassachusettsDemolished.
1873Walnut Avenue Congregational Church 120 Walnut AveRoxburyMassachusettsNow known as the Eliot Congregational Church. NRHP-listed.
1874House for Charles B. Fillebrown219 Bellevue StNewtonMassachusetts
1874Newton City HallWashington and Cherry StsNewtonMassachusettsA smaller existing building was incorporated into the new City Hall. Demolished.
1875Curb and fence,
Tremont Mall, Boston Common		Tremont StBostonMassachusettsRemoved and replaced.
1877Central Fire Station51 Main StPlymouthMassachusettsDemolished.
1877Hotel Huntington25 Commonwealth AveBostonMassachusettsDemolished.
1877House for Edwin Morey338 Beacon StBostonMassachusetts
1877Whitford Block663 Main StWalthamMassachusetts
1878House for Daniel Chamberlin338 Commonwealth AveBostonMassachusetts
1879House for Frank N. Thayer325 Commonwealth AveBostonMassachusetts
1880House for John W. Field10 Melville AveDorchesterMassachusetts
1881Channing Church 75 Vernon StNewtonMassachusettsNow the Newton Presbyterian Church.
1881House for George C. Lord259 Waverley AveNewtonMassachusetts
1883Hollis Street Church28 Exeter StBostonMassachusettsLater the South Congregational Church. Demolished.
1884House for Hartley Lord26 Summer StKennebunkMaine
1884Y. W. C. A. Building40 Berkeley StBostonMassachusettsDemolished.
1885Massachusetts Bicycle Club 152 Newbury StBostonMassachusettsIncorporated into the former Boston Art Club building after the club was disbanded.
1886Tomb for Hartley Lord,
Hope Cemetery		Barnard LnKennebunkMaine
1887Eliot Church474 Centre StNewtonMassachusettsBurned.
1887House for Levi B. Gay303 Franklin StNewtonMassachusetts
1889Home for Little Wanderers202 W Newton StBostonMassachusettsDemolished.
1890"Irwinton" for Charles I. TravelliHighland and Chestnut StsNewtonMassachusettsBurned in 1898. The former stable still stands at 22 Burnham Rd.
1893House for William F. Bacon52 Hyde AveNewtonMassachusetts
1894Dickson Memorial Chapel,
Greenlawn Cemetery		57 Orne StSalemMassachusettsNRHP-listed as part of Greenlawn Cemetery.