John Hubbard Sturgis - Boston Architect

Church of the Advent, Brimmer Street, designed by parishioner Sturgis	John Hubbard Sturgis (1834-1888), son of a wealthy Boston merchant active in the China trade, was born in Macao, China. After attending Boston Latin School, he traveled extensively in Europe. In England, he decided to study drawing under artist James K. Colling, noted for paintings of botanical subjects, especially architectural foliage. In 1858, Sturgis married Frances Anne Codman of Boston. He returned to Boston in 1861, working at the firm of Bryant and Gilman. In 1866, he formed a partnership with Charles Brigham, a young architect also at Bryant and Gilman.
Sturgis continued his frequent trips to England, where terra-cotta was starting to be used for exterior surfacing. Boston during this period aligned itself with English tastes; for example, the Back Bay streets were all named for English counties, and Pinebank was built in the Queen Anne Revival style. In 1868, Edward Newton ("Ned") Perkins commissioned Sturgis, a friend and distant relative, to build Pinebank to replace the previous house, which was destroyed by fire. (see letter). Sturgis seized this opportunity to use the molded brick and terra-cotta that was being used in the South Kensington Museums in London. The house pictured to the right was designed by Sturgis, and is part of Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth, RI.		Greenvale, Portsmouth, RI