View source for George S. Cooper

{{Short description|American architect and builder}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = George S. Cooper
| image         = George S. Cooper.jpg
| caption       =
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1864|12|14}}
| birth_place   = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1929|3|12|1864|12|14}}
| death_place   = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| resting_place =
| nationality   = American
| occupation    = Architect
| known_for     =
}}
'''George S. Cooper''' (December 14, 1864 – March 12, 1929) was an American architect and builder from [[Washington, D.C.]]  During his 40-year career, he was responsible for designing around 850 properties, including homes, commercial buildings and apartment buildings, several of which are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP).  The 1903 book ''History of the City of Washington'' states: "It may be thought that Mr. Cooper's forte lies in the designing of apartment houses, since the handsomest in the city are a result of his genius..." and "No young man has played a more important part in the active growth and great development of Greater Washington than George S. Cooper..."<ref name=nomination>{{cite web | url={{NRHP url|id=94001034}} | title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form – Gladstone and Hawarden Apartment Buildings | publisher=National Park Service | date=June 30, 1994 | accessdate=December 27, 2014 | author=Barsoum, Eve Lydia }}</ref>
==Biography==
Cooper was born in Washington, D.C., to Henry C. and Georgeanna J. Cooper, natives of [[Kentucky]].  Following his education in Washington public schools, he received private tutoring in architecture.  In the 1880s, he began his first job in the architectural field as a draftsman for Gray and Page, a local firm specializing in [[Victorian architecture]].  He then worked for the prominent firm [[Hornblower & Marshall]] for about a year before joining [[Alfred B. Mullett]]'s firm.  Cooper and B. Carlyle Fenwick opened their own office in 1886, though Cooper later established his own successful practice in 1888.<ref name=nomination/>
Throughout Cooper's 40-year career, he designed single-family dwellings and office buildings, but he's most known for his apartment designs.  Although the first apartment building in Washington, D.C., the Portland Flats, had been erected in 1880, Cooper's designs "played a significant role in the development of the local type and its acceptance for middle-class living."  Cooper's first apartment design was the Montrose Flats, built in 1892 and located at 1115 9th Street NW (now demolished).  He was the first local architect to lower design costs by replicating plans for apartment buildings, a practice that became very popular in late 19th and early 20th century Washington.  His first such venture, [[Gladstone and Hawarden Apartment Buildings|The Gladstone and The Hawarden]], are the first documented twin apartment buildings in the city.  His work encouraged the city's middle class citizens to accept the changing demography and no longer see apartment buildings as only for the upper and lower classes.  Cooper would go on to design 24 apartment buildings between 1892 and 1909, with his last works being The Westchester (now Barlcay North) at 1332 15th Street NW, and Dumbarton Court, located at 1657 31st Street NW.<ref name=nomination/>
Cooper was also a prolific designer of homes, especially in what was then considered Washington's suburbs as well as developed neighborhoods like [[Dupont Circle]] and [[Foggy Bottom]].<ref name=gwu>{{cite web | url={{NRHP url|id=94001044}} | title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form – President's Office, George Washington University | publisher=National Park Service | date=September 1989 | accessdate=December 27, 2014 | author=Adams, Anne H. }}</ref>  He designed the first town houses in [[Kalorama Triangle Historic District|Kalorama Triangle]], a row of houses on Wyoming Avenue constructed in 1895, and was responsible for developing and designing many homes in the [[Washington Heights Historic District|Washington Heights]] neighborhood (present day [[Adams Morgan]]).<ref name=washingtonheights>{{cite web | url=http://www.kaloramacitizens.org/calendar/files/WH_Survey_Report.pdf | title=Intensive-Level Survey of the Washington Heights Area of Washington, D.C. | publisher=Kalorama Citizens Association | date=June 2005 | accessdate=December 27, 2014 | author=EHT Traceries, Inc. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204417/http://www.kaloramacitizens.org/calendar/files/WH_Survey_Report.pdf | archive-date=March 3, 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=kalorama>{{cite book | title=Kalorama Triangle: The History of a Capital Neighborhood | publisher=The History Press | author=Hansen, Stephen A. | year=2011 | location=Charleston | pages=58 | isbn=9781609494216 }}</ref>  Cooper's work was not limited to Washington, D.C.  He was among the prominent architects responsible for designing homes in [[Chevy Chase Village, Maryland|Chevy Chase Village]] in [[Maryland]].<ref name=chevy>{{cite web |url=http://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/c/457/part-10 |title=Chevy Chase A Bold Idea, A Comprehensive Plan |publisher=Chevy Chase Village |accessdate=December 27, 2014 |author=Robinson, Judith Helm |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226105627/http://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/c/457/part-10 |archivedate=December 26, 2014 |df= }}</ref>
==Personal life==
In 1884, Cooper married Margaret H. Steir and the couple had four children: Freddie (b. 1886), Daisy (b. 1887), Helen (b. 1890) and George Jr. (b. 1896)  The family lived at 1807 R Street NW in Dupont Circle until moving to a new home, designed by Cooper, at 1620 T Street NW.<ref name=scribd>{{cite web | url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/79289984/Historic-Survey-of-Shaw-East-Kelsey-amp-Associates-2001-2002#scribd | title=Historic Survey of Shaw East Washington, D.C. | publisher=Scribd | date=2002 | accessdate=January 5, 2015 | author=Williams, Paul Kelsey | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105133738/https://www.scribd.com/doc/79289984/Historic-Survey-of-Shaw-East-Kelsey-amp-Associates-2001-2002#scribd | archive-date=January 5, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>  During his career, Cooper progressed from being just an architect to becoming a designer, developer, and owner of several properties in the city.  He was active in the Board of Trade, served on the board of directors of the Southern Maryland Trust Company, and became a member of the Washington City Club.  Cooper was also an accomplished singer who performed at local churches, including the Church of the Incarnation and [[St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square|St. John's Episcopal Church]], and served as president of the Damrosch Musical Society. He retired in the 1920s.<ref name=nomination/> Cooper died on March 12, 1929, at Emergency Hospital in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96563418/rites-for-g-s-cooper-15-mar-1929-eve/ |title=Rites for G. S. Cooper |date=1929-03-15 |newspaper=[[The Washington Star|Evening Star]] |page=17 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2022-02-27}}{{Open access}}</ref>
==Selected works==
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* 1400–1408 5th Street NW (1899)<ref name=scribd/>
* 1427–1431 New Jersey Avenue NW (1888)<ref name=scribd/>
* 1521–1523 Vermont Avenue NW<ref name=scribd/>
* 1605 7th Street NW (1898)<ref name=scribd/>
* 1612–1636 6th Street NW (1889)<ref name=scribd/>
* 1620 T Street NW (1900)<ref name=scribd/>
* 1628 19th Street NW (1891)<ref name=herald>{{cite news | url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016373/1891-07-19/ed-1/seq-13/# | work=The Sunday Herald | title=Real Estate | date=July 19, 1891 | accessdate=December 27, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305202706/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016373/1891-07-19/ed-1/seq-13/ | archive-date=March 5, 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1800–1804 Belmont Road NW (1900)<ref name=washingtonheights/>
* 1819–1827 Wyoming Avenue NW (1908)<ref name=washingtonheights/>
* 1837–1841 California Street NW (1903)<ref name=washingtonheights/>
* 1910 S Street NW (1908)<ref name=scribd/>
* 2406–2410 18th Street NW (1900)<ref name=washingtonheights/>
* The Analoston (1893) – 1718 Corcoran Street NW<ref name=dcinventory>{{cite web|url=http://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Inventory%202009%200%20Alpha%20Version%2003%2011.pdf |title=District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites |publisher=District of Columbia Office of Planning – Historic Preservation Office |date=September 30, 2009 |accessdate=December 26, 2014 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105032209/http://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Inventory%202009%200%20Alpha%20Version%2003%2011.pdf |archivedate=November 5, 2014 |df= }}</ref>
* The Balfour (1900) – 2000 16th Street NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* Barlcay North (1909) 1332 15th Street NW<ref name=nomination/>
* The Berkeley (1902) – 1733 Willard Street NW<ref name=gwu/>
* [[Bond Building]] (1901) – 1404 New York Avenue NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* The Carrolton (1902) – 1735 Willard Street NW<ref name=gwu/>
* The Decatur (1903) – 2131 Florida Avenue NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* Dumbarton Court (1909) – 1657 31st Street NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* [[Gladstone and Hawarden Apartment Buildings|The Gladstone and The Hawarden]] (1900, 1901) – 1419 and 1423 R Street NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* The Hampton (1906) – 1740 18th Street NW<ref name=nomination/>
* [[Jefferson Apartment Building (Washington, D.C.)|The Jefferson]] (1899) – 315 H Street NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* [[Lafayette Apartment Building (Washington, D.C.)|The Lafayette]] (1898) – 1605–1607 7th Street NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* [[Laogai Museum]] (formerly ''[[The Real World: D.C.]]'' house) (1891) – 2000 S Street NW
* Malnati House (1902) – 712 East Capitol Street NE<ref name=malnati>{{cite book | title=The Majesty of Capitol Hill | url=https://archive.org/details/majestyofcapitol00thom | url-access=registration | publisher=Pelican Publishing | author=Grooms, Thomas B. | year=2005 | location=Gretna, Louisiana | pages=[https://archive.org/details/majestyofcapitol00thom/page/128 128] | isbn=9781455608126 }}</ref>
* The Oneida (1901) – 147 R Street NE<ref name=nomination/>
* The Ononadaga (1901) – 149 R Street NE<ref name=nomination/>
* The Pebbleton (1901) – 1747 Church Street NW<ref name=nomination/>
* [[President's Office, George Washington University]] (1892) – 2003 G Street NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* The Saint Clair (1903) – 1717 T Street NW<ref name=dcinventory/>
* Scott-Grant House (1907 renovation) – 3238 R Street NW<ref name=loc>{{cite web | url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0900/dc0969/data/dc0969data.pdf | title=Historic American Buildings Survey: Scott-Grant House | publisher=Library of Congress | accessdate=December 26, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209035148/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0900/dc0969/data/dc0969data.pdf | archive-date=February 9, 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref>
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|George S. Cooper}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, George S.}}
[[Category:1864 births]]
[[Category:1929 deaths]]
[[Category:Architects from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:19th-century American architects]]
[[Category:20th-century American architects]]
[[Category:People from Dupont Circle]]