William Tubby

William Bunker Tubby (21 August 1858 – 1944) was an American architect who was particularly notable for his work in New York City.

William Bunker Tubby
William Bunker Tubby
Born	1858 Des Moines, Iowa
Died	1944
Occupation	Architect
Known for	Pratt family residences, Pratt Institute Library, Old Nassau County Courthouse

Old Nassau County Courthouse

House designed by Tubby for William H. Childs (inventor of Bon Ami Cleaning Powder) on Prospect Park West in Brooklyn New York. Now an Ethical Culture Society building.

Pratt Institute's Library

Tubby was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1875.^[1] He worked in the architectural offices of Ebenezer L. Roberts until beginning his own firm in 1883. Continuing this practice until his retirement in 1942, Tubby became a major New York architect. He created important buildings in a variety of styles, and was especially known for his Romanesque and Dutch Revival-style designs.

The house that Tubby designed for Charles Millard Pratt at 241 Clinton Avenue (1893, located in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill Historic District) is one of the city's finest examples of Romanesque Revival architecture. His creativity and expertise can also be seen in several other Brooklyn homes: the neo-Jacobean Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture Meeting House, the Romanesque Revival style home at 234 Lincoln Place, the Queen Anne style row at 864-872 Carroll Street, the residences of Brooklyn mayors at 405 Clinton Avenue, and the Dutch Revival house at 43 Willow Street, which Tubby himself occupied.

His institutional designs include Pratt Institute's Student Union from 1887, the Romanesque Revival style South Hall for Pratt Institute in 1892 (designated New York City Landmark), the Renaissance Revival style library building for the Pratt Institute (1896, a designated New York City Landmark), the Romanesque Revival style 83rd Police Precinct House in Brooklyn (1894–95), a designated New York Landmark) and the Flemish Revival style Wallabout Market (demolished) which was once the second-largest market in the world. As a member of the Architects' Advisory Commission for the Brooklyn Carnegie Libraries, Tubby designed five library buildings.

Outside of New York City, Tubby created designs for banks, churches, libraries, hospitals and large estates throughout the Northeast, including Waveny House in New Canaan, Connecticut, and Dunnellen Hall in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[2] The Roslyn National Bank and Trust Company Building at Roslyn, New York, was built in 1931.^[3]

Tubby lived in Brooklyn Heights at 43 Willow Street before retiring to Greenwich in his later life. A member of the Brooklyn Guild Association, he taught architecture at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.

List of works

The following table presents an incomplete list of buildings designed by William Tubby, focusing on those that are extant or for which there is adequate documentation of their style. Note that most addresses link to Google Street View images of the buildings.

Name	Completed	Style	Image	Address (Google Maps link)	Location	Original use	Present use	Designations and references
124 Willow Street House	1885	Eclectic-Flemish Renaissance Revival		124 Willow St.	Brooklyn, NY	1831 townhouse remodeled by Tubby^[4]	Private residence	Brooklyn Heights Historic District^[5]
864-872 Carroll Street houses	1887	Queen Anne		864-872 Carroll Street	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Park Slope Historic District^[6]
286A-290 Vanderbilt Ave. houses	1889	Romanesque Revival		286A-290 Vanderbilt Ave.	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Fort Greene Historic District^[7]
234 Lincoln Place House	1889	Romanesque Revival		234 Lincoln Place	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Park Slope Historic District^[6]
Charles A. Schieren House	1889	Romanesque Revival/Queen Anne		405 Clinton Ave.	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Clinton Hill Historic District^[8]
William B. Tubby House	1890?	Dutch Colonial Revival		43 Willow St.	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Brooklyn Heights Historic District^[5]^[9]
Pratt Institute South Hall	1891	Renaissance Revival		215 Ryerson Street	Brooklyn, NY	High school	University	NYC Landmark^[10]
1-15 Adams Street Factory	1891	Romanesque Revival		2 John St.	Brooklyn, NY	Factory	Industrial	DUMBO Historic District^[11]
179-183 St. James Place houses	1892	Romanesque Revival/Queen Anne		179-183 St. James Place	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Clinton Hill Historic District^[8]
Charles Millard Pratt House	1893	Romanesque Revival		241 Clinton Ave.	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Brooklyn RC archbishop's residence	Clinton Hill Historic District^[8]
Charles Millard Pratt's Carriage House	1893?	Romanesque Revival		261 Vanderbilt Avenue	Brooklyn, NY	Carriage house	Apartments	None^[8]
John Thatcher House	1894	French Renaissance Revival		674 10th St.	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Park Slope Historic District^[6]
129-135 Cambridge Place houses	1894	Queen Anne		129-135 Cambridge Place	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Clinton Hill Historic District^[8]
83rd Precinct Police Station and Stable	1894	Romanesque Revival		179 Wilson Avenue	Brooklyn, NY	Police precinct	Police precinct	NYC Landmark,^[12] National Register of Historic Places^[13]
50-52 Bridge Street Factory	1895	American Round Arch		50 Bridge Street	Brooklyn, NY	Factory	Residential/commercial	DUMBO Historic District^[11]
Wallabout Market	1896	Dutch Colonial Revival		219 Flushing Avenue	Brooklyn, NY	Wholesale market	Demolished 1941 to build Navy Yard	None^[14]
Pratt Institute Library	1896	Renaissance Revival		224-228 Ryerson Street	Brooklyn, NY	University	University	NYC Landmark^[15]
American Thread Building	1896	Renaissance Revival		260 West Broadway	New York, NY	Warehouse	Residential lofts	National Register of Historic Places^[16]
Old Jamaica High School	1897	Dutch Colonial Revival		162-02 Hillside Ave.	Jamaica, NY	Public school	Public school	NYC Landmark^[17]
194-200 Court Street apartment houses	1898	Renaissance Revival		194-200 Court Street	Brooklyn, NY	Apartments & Retail	Apartments/retail	Cobble Hill Historic District^[18]
Maxwelton (estate)	1898?		Water tower	3 Whitney Circle	Glen Cove, NY	Stable for estate	Only water tower from stable designed by Tubby is extant on residential property	None^[19]
Old Nassau County Courthouse	1901	Classical Revival		1550 Franklin Ave.	Garden City, NY	Government	Government	National Register of Historic Places^[20]
William H. Childs House	1901	Neo-Jacobean		53 Prospect Park West	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture	Park Slope Historic District^[6]
Old Brooklyn Friends School	1902	Classical Revival		112 Schermerhorn St.	Brooklyn, NY	Private school	Public school	National Register of Historic Places^[21]
187-195 Waverly Ave. garages	1904			187-195 Waverly Ave.	Brooklyn, NY	Garages	Private residence	None^[22]
DeKalb Library	1905	Classical Revival		790 Bushwick Avenue	Brooklyn, NY	Library	Library	NYC Landmark^[23]
Leonard Library	1908	Classical Revival		81 Devoe St.	Brooklyn, NY	Library	Library	None^[24]
231-233 Front Street Factory	1908	Commercial		231 Front Street	Brooklyn, NY	Factory	Commercial	Vinegar Hill Historic District^[25]
Ernest G. Draper House	1910	Italian Provincial Revival		61 Prospect Park West	Brooklyn, NY	Private residence	Private residence	Park Slope Historic District^[6]
Waveny House	1912	Tudor Revival		677 South Avenue	New Canaan, CT	Private residence	Municipally-owned event venue	None^[26]
Stone Avenue Library	1914	Neo-Jacobean		581 Mother Gaston Boulevard	Brooklyn, NY	Public library	Public library	None^[27]
Dunnellen Hall	1918	Neo-Jacobean		521 Round Hill Road	Greenwich, CT	Private residence	Private residence	None^[28]
William Tubby Jr. Residence	1918?				Greenwich, CT	Private residence	Precise location and status of this work is not known	None^[29]
Wexford Hall	1929	Tudor Revival		521 Round Hill Road	New Canaan, CT	Private residence	Private residence	None^[30]
Roslyn National Bank and Trust Company Building	1931	Classical Revival			Roslyn, NY	Bank	Retail	National Register of Historic Places^[31]

References

1. Christopher Gray, "On Speed-Dial Before Speed-Dial", New York Times, March 28, 2013.
2. Waveny ca. 1925-2000. Garden Club of America Collection.
3. Mark Peckham (February 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Roslyn National Bank and Trust Company Building". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
4. "Qfwfq Reports: BHA House Tour 2011". Brooklyn Heights Blog. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
5. "Brooklyn Heights Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
6. "Park Slope Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
7. "Fort Greene Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
8. "Clinton Hill Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
9. "Walkabout: William B. Tubby, part 2". Brownstoner.com. Brownstoner Media LLC.
10. "Pratt Institute Main Building including attached South Hall and Memorial Hall (designation report)" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
11. "DUMBO Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
12. "83rd Precinct Police Station and Stable (designation report)" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
13. "83rd Precinct Police Station (nomination form)". US Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service.
14. "Wallabout Market". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
15. "Pratt Institute Library (designation report)" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
16. "American Thread Building (National Register of Historic Places registration form)". U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
17. "Jamaica High School (Now Jamaica Learning Center) (designation report)" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
18. "Cobble Hill Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
19. "Maxwelton (estate)". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
20. "Old Nassau County Courthouse (National Register of Historic Places registration form)". U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
21. . U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
22. Gray, Christopher (28 March 2013). "William Bunker Tubby, the Pratt family's architect". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
23. "Brooklyn Public Library, DeKalb Branch (designation report)" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
24. "Leonard Library History and Photos". 22 August 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
25. "Vinegar Hill Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
26. "Waveny House". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
27. "Stone Avenue Library". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
28. "Extraordinary Round Hill Estate". 18 July 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
29. "William Tubby Jr. Residence". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
30. "A William Tubby Masterwork in New Canaan". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
31. "Roslyn National Bank & Trust Company Building (National Register of Historic Places registration form)". U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Retrieved 5 January 2015.