Joseph Everett Chandler diaries collection

Historical/Biographical Note

Historical/Biographical Note

Joseph Everett Chandler was born on December 11, 1863, in Plymouth, Mass. He studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and after graduating in 1889, established an independent office in Boston. During his career, Chandler acquired a reputation as an authority on Colonial architecture and helped build the historic preservation movement in New England. He was the author of a number of books and articles on the subject and was identified with the restoration of various historical landmarks in his home state, among which were the Paul Revere House, the Old Corner Book Store in Boston, and the House of the Seven Gables in Salem. In addition, Chandler designed several public buildings and supervised the erection of the Colonial Village, a housing project in Springfield, Massachusetts. In total, he is credited with more than 500 commissions. Chandler's career included work as an architectural historian, architect of new buildings, restorer of colonial houses, and museum designer. He was also a longtime friend of SPNEA founder William Sumner Appleton. After retiring to his home in Wellesley, Mass., Chandler died on August 19, 1945, at the age of eighty-one.

Sources

Withey, Henry F. and Elsie Rathburn Withey (1956). Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (deceased) (pg. 117). Los Angeles: New Age Pub. Co.
Orwig, T. (2010). Joseph Everett Chandler, Colonial Revival Architecture, and the Origins of Historic Preservation in New England (Publication No. 3430410) [Doctoral dissertation, Boston University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Orwig, T. (2011, Winter/Spring). Joseph Everett Chandler: Architect and Preservationist. Historic New England, 24-29.