W. W. Boyington-The Architect Who Built Terrace Hill

By David Cordes

2005

The architect of Terrace Hill, William Warren Boyington, was one of the most prominent architects in Chicago from 1853 to the time of his death in 1898. As for any person with a high public profile, his work was not always the subject of praise, but was sometimes the subject of outright ridicule.

Perhaps the most famous of Boyington’s buildings is the Old Chicago Water Tower, one of three of Boyingtons buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Referring to this building, playwright Oscar Wilde described it as “a castellated monstrosity with pepper boxes stuck all over it.” In a differing opinion, the director of the Chicago Historical Society described it as “quaint, even whimsical.”

The vast majority of buildings designed by Boyington were public buildings. The fact that he was highly sought after as a building designer would indicate that he was highly regarded in his profession. However, one architectural historian has described him as a “prolific, if undistinguished, architect” best qualified to design railroad stations. Despite the critic’s commentary, Boyington had a phenomenally successful career. Most of his buildings, however, were replaced as a result of the effects of a rapidly growing city in a 20th century world.

Boyington studied architecture while residing in New York State. Upon arriving in Chicago in 1853, he joined E. Townsend Mix in a partnership that lasted until Mix moved to Milwaukee in 1856. Mix became one of the leading 19th century architects of that city.

Through the course of the next 40 years, Boyington designed buildings in a range of architectural styles that rose in and fell from popular favor. From the 1850s to 1871, he designed and built dozens of buildings, including the main building for the University of Chicago, the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet, railroad stations, churches, and hotels in Chicago.

During these same years, Boyington’s skill was put to use throughout the Midwest. He designed a number of schools, churches and public buildings in Des Moines, as well as Terrace Hill in 1866. Other residences that Boyington designed included the General Dodge House in Council Bluffs and the Hegeler-Carus Mansion in La Salle, Illinois.

After the fire, Boyington spent significant time rebuilding the damaged and destroyed buildings in Chicago. Among his projects was the Chicago Board of Trade Building, a 10-story granite building topped by a 300-foot tower. For the Illinois Building at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, Boyington used the Beaux Arts Style in designing that 450-foot-long building, which had a 200-foot-tall central dome and together with the cost of exhibits totaled $800,000.

Boyington died in October of 1898 at the age of 80. He often boasted that if all of the buildings that he had built were placed in a row, they would extend a distance of 25 miles.

Sources: National Historic Landmark Nomination for Terrace Hill, by Marlys Svendsen. Terrace Hill by Sherrie Goettsch and Steve Weinberg (1978, Wallace-Homestead).

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