Columbia in Maury County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

James Edwin R. Carpenter

Architect of the Maury County Court House

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 17, 2021

1. James Edwin R. Carpenter Marker

Inscription. James Carpenter was born in Columbia during the Civil War. He was educated in Columbia, and in preparation for a professional career, studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He returned to Columbia as draftsman for the Columbia Arsenal project, later Columbia Military Academy. He served one term as mayor of Columbia in 1884. During the 1890's he established an office in Norfolk, Virginia, and in his early work designed a number of business and commercial buildings. Among these were the American National Bank in Pensacola, Florida, the Empire Office Building in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Hermitage Hotel, Stahlman Building and St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. All these were erected prior to 1910. In Columbia, Mr. Carpenter designed the Maury County Courthouse, the Memorial Building, and the splendid Rosenthal home, now restored law offices at 207 West 8th Street.

In New York, where Mr. Carpenter maintained practice during the last twenty years of his life, he achieved his greatest success in planning apartment houses. At least fifty of these

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tall modern buildings were erected from his designs on Park Avenue and the east side of Fifth Avenue. Outstanding examples were 907 Fifth Avenue, awarded the A.I.A. Gold Medal award in 1916, and 819 Park Avenue, recognized in 1926 by the New York chapter, A.I.A. by its Gold Medal award.

Shortly before his death, which occurred in his office at 598 Madison Avenue following a heart attack in 1932, Mr. Carpenter collaborated with other architects in preparing plans for the huge Lincoln Building at 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. At his death he was called "the father of the modern New York apartment house".

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture.

Location. 35° 36.888′ N, 87° 2.041′ W. Marker is in Columbia, Tennessee, in Maury County. It is at the intersection of Public Square and West 7th Street, on the left when traveling east on Public Square. Marker is on a side wall near the courthouse's west entrance. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Columbia TN 38401, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 17, 2021

2. James Edwin R. Carpenter Marker

is in Middle Tennessee

and in Greater Nashville.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Andrew Johnson (a few steps from this marker); Maury County War Memorial (a few steps from this marker); The Founding of Maury County and Columbia (a few steps from this marker); James K. Polk (within shouting distance of this marker); The Forrest-Gould Affair (within shouting distance of this marker); Nathan Vaught (within shouting distance of this marker); Nelson House Hotel (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Defendants of 1946 (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.

Regarding James Edwin R. Carpenter. He was actually born January 7, 1867, nearly two years after the end of the Civil War.

Also see . . . James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter Jr.

James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter image. Click for full size.

Via Wikipedia / Fair use, circa 1932

3. James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter

Wikipedia entry on the renowned architect who rose from small-town Tennessee to shape upper Fifth Avenue in New York. (Submitted on July 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Maury County Courthouse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ross Jaynes

4. Maury County Courthouse

This, the county's third courthouse, was completed in 1906.

907 Fifth Avenue, New York image. Click for full size.

Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons, July 2019

5. 907 Fifth Avenue, New York

Built in 1916, it was the first apartment building to replace a mansion on Fifth Avenue above 59th Street.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 17, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 930 times since then and 58 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.