Charles Bulfinch

Charles Bulfinch is regarded as the first American-born architect. He rose to prominence designing public buildings, including the Boston State House and US Capitol Building, and was a West Boston native whose designs still dominate the historic portions of the West End today.

Charles Bulfinch was born in Boston in 1763 to a prominent physician. He was educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard University, studying Mathematics and Perspective, culminating in his graduation with a master’s degree in 1784. Upon graduating from Harvard, and expecting to inherit a large fortune, Bulfinch wrote that he “found himself at leisure to cultivate a taste for Architecture.” After graduating from Harvard he became an acquaintance of Thomas Jefferson, who mentored the young Bulfinch and suggested great architectural works for him to visit in France, Italy, and other European states. With Jefferson’s travel plan in hand, Bulfinch spent two years touring Europe, where he was inspired by architects including Andrea Palladio, Sir Christopher Wren, Robert Adam, and William Chambers. Despite his European influences, Bulfinch was remembered for his “native genius” as the first American-born architect.

Bulfinch’s family lost its fortune around the time that he returned to the United States in 1787; once he had to make it out on his own, Bulfinch became an architect not for leisure but to make a living. He came back to a town of Boston that, like the rest of the country, was devastated by the Revolutionary War. Bulfinch’s architectural designs thus made a unique imprint on Boston when the town was rebuilt and redeveloped in the post-war period. Bulfinch briefly worked as a promoter before moving onto architecture, designing the Hollis Street Church (demolished 1935) and raising the memorial column on Beacon Hill (reproduction in place), which is the first Revolutionary War Memorial ever constructed. 

By 1790 Bulfinch was on the rise. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1791; and built the Federal Street Theater in 1793 (burned 1798), the Tontine Crescent in 1793/4 (demolished 1858), the Old State House of Hartford, Connecticut in 1796 (standing), and the Massachusetts State House in 1798 (standing but significantly altered). With the State House’s alterations both inside and out, some 19th-century observers remarked that “It is impossible to make the structure take again the form and comeliness of Bulfinch’s day.” He also built many private residences, including three homes for Harrison Gray Otis (all standing), the Barrell Mansion in 1793 (demolished 1925, staircase remains in the Somerville Museum), and the Nichols House in 1804 (standing). In addition, Bulfinch built a number of churches in Boston, of which only the New North church of 1802/4 remains. 

Bulfinch served on the Boston board of selectmen from 1791 to 1795, but resigned due to business pressures. He returned to the post in 1799 as chairman and served through 1817 despite a brief stay in debtor’s prison in July of that year. Just one month later, Bulfinch left prison after reaching an agreement to finance his debt, and his fellow selectmen reinstated him to his position without complaints. Bulfinch also served as fire and police superintendent during this period. During his tenure as superintendent he improved Boston’s streets, drains, public lighting, and civic center. In this role, and as selectman, Bulfinch is credited with helping facilitate Boston’s transition from town government to city government. Most notably, he designed the Boston Common (extant), remodeled and expanded Faneuil Hall in 1805 (standing), and built the India Wharf (now the site of the Harbor Towers). During the same period Bulfinch was involved in numerous other public and private projects. These included the Massachusetts State Prison in 1803 (the location he ironically occupied as a debtor, decommissioned 1955/6 and now site of Bunker Hill Community College), Boylston Market in 1810 (demolished 1887, site now occupied by Boylston Building, portions of original remain as part of Calvary Methodist Church in Arlington), Harvard’s University Hall in 1813/4 (standing), Lancaster Meeting House in 1815/7 (now First Church of Christ), and Mass General Hospital’s Bulfinch Building in 1818 (standing).

Bulfinch maintained a business partnership with Harrison Gray Otis from 1796 to 1807. In 1796, Otis and David Sears put their money in Tontine Crescent when Bulfinch was on the brink of bankruptcy. He intended Tontine Crescent to be a beautiful residential section of town, which included the Boston Theater that he designed. Yet Bulfinch struggled to sell the houses in that area, and Otis and Sears had the capital to wait until the properties sold. Most of Bulfinch’s designs after 1796 were on projects funded by Harrison Gray Otis and his circle, and Otis received most of the returns. Bulfinch relied on commissions for his designs and payment for the supervision of projects; he was paid $600 for his design of the State House and $800 for supervising its completion. The last project that Bulfinch and Otis worked on together was the filling of the Mill Pond in 1807 to expand downtown Boston. 

As the chair of the Board of Selectmen, Bulfinch was often overseeing and approving his own plans; he bridged the gap between public and private, and benefitted from inside knowledge. Otis and his associates, too, made investments with inside political knowledge, but only because they so regularly attended small town meetings. Bulfinch was re-elected many times, but he also received the lowest popular votes of any town official in his era. In 1815, when Bostonians did not re-elect Bulfinch to town government, the selectmen refused to take their positions unless Boston held another election and selected Bulfinch. 

In 1818, after a presidential visit to Boston that saw Bulfinch and President James Monroe become fast friends, Bulfinch was appointed as Architect of the Capitol in Washington. This was the first position Bulfinch held that guaranteed a consistent income. Bulfinch held some combination of the Architect post and Commissioner of Public Building for the remainder of his career. He oversaw the construction of a re-constructed Capitol Building (the original was burned in 1814 during the War of 1812), including both wings, the central portion, and the approach, portico, and original wooden domes (the building has since been expanded, and had its three iconic domes replaced with enlarged iron ones). While working on the Capitol Building he also planned the Capitol Grounds, produced plans for the Maine Statehouse (standing), built a Unitarian church in DC, constructed a DC prison, and was elected as an honorary member of the National Academy of Design. 

Bulfinch returned to Boston in 1830 after being removed from his post by President Andrew Jackson and died here in 1844, at the age of 80. He was buried in King’s Chapel Burial Ground, but was relocated to Mt. Auburn Cemetery. His monument can be found on Bellwort Path in Lot #2308.  

Bulfinch left a significant mark on the cityscapes of Washington, DC and Boston. His works brought a classical style to the US and showed a remarkable mastery for proportion. In 1896, Bulfinch’s granddaughter, Ellen Susan Bulfinch, wrote the architect’s biography. In 1898, the Massachusetts State House referenced the text in its documents associated with its celebration of the centennial of the “Bulfinch State House” — truly a nod not only to the building’s provenance, but the architect’s legacy.