# Samuel J. F. Thayer

Samuel J.F. Thayer (1842–1893) was an American architect, notable for designing buildings such as the Providence City Hall and the Cathedral of St. George, as well as the town halls of Brookline, Stoughton, and Methuen, Massachusetts. He was part of the architecture firms, Martin & Thayer and Ropes & Thayer.

## Biography

Thayer studied under John D. Towle. He lived for a time in South Boston, Massachusetts, and enlisted in the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers during the American Civil War, serving from October 1862 to July 1863.
After the war, Thayer collaborated briefly with Boston architect Abel C. Martin, forming the firm Martin & Thayer. This firm designed the Centenary Methodist Church in Stanstead, Quebec, a Gothic Revival structure, in 1866–1869. In 1867 they designed a large summer hotel on Lake Memphremagog, Quebec near the American border.
By 1869 the partnership with Martin had ended, and both opened separate offices. In 1875, African American William Augustus Hazel worked as a draftsman for Thayer, Hazel went on to later be a prominent architect in his own right. Thayer then designed the Town Hall of Brookline, Massachusetts, Providence City Hall in 1878, and the Dartmouth College library in 1885.
Thayer shot himself in a fit of despondency, dying on February 28, 1893. He had been "in ill health for some time," and reportedly had money troubles. He left behind a suicide note, along with a wife and son.

## Notable works

| Year | Project | Address | City | State | Notes |
| 1864 | Broadway Orthodox Congregational Church | 404 Broadway | Somerville | Massachusetts | Burned in 1866. The church was rebuilt in 1871, which building now forms part of the Broadway Winter Hill Congregational Church. |
| 1864 | Emmanuel Episcopal Church | 147 Summer St | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1865 | House for Samuel J. F. Thayer | 170 Dorchester St | South Boston, Boston | Massachusetts | Designed by Thayer has his own residence. A contributing property to the Dorchester Heights Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. |
| 1869 | Centenary Methodist Church | 430 W Broadway | South Boston, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1870 | Arlington House | 125 Causeway St | Boston | Massachusetts | |
| 1870 | Brookline Town Hall | 333 Washington St | Brookline | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1870 | Charlestown High School (former) | 30 Monument Sq | Charlestown, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1870 | Damon School | Readville St | Hyde Park, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1870 | Morse School | Summer and Craigie Sts | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1870 | New Church of Yarmouth | 266 Main St | Yarmouth Port | Massachusetts | |
| 1870 | Trinity Methodist Church | Main and Chandler Sts | Worcester | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1871 | Fairmount School (former) | 85 Williams Ave | Hyde Park, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1871 | Henry Grew School (former) | 40 Gordon Ave | Hyde Park, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1871 | Somerville High School (former) | 81 Highland Ave | Somerville | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1871 | Windsor Avenue Congregational Church (former) | 2030 Main St | Hartford | Connecticut | Presently the Faith Congregational Church. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. |
| 1872 | Chapel for the First Congregational Church of Canandaigua | 58 N Main St | Canandaigua | New York | Built as an annex to the original 1812 church. A contributing property to the North Main Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. |
| 1872 | Harvard School (former) | 20 Devens St | Charlestown, Boston | Massachusetts | |
| 1872 | Second Hawes Congregational Church, Unitarian (former) | 523 E Broadway | South Boston, Boston | Massachusetts | Presently the St. George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral. The church anchors the Cathedral of St. George Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. |
| 1872 | Springfield High School (former) | State St | Springfield | Massachusetts | Later the State Street Grammar School. Demolished. |
| 1872 | State Street Methodist Church | 319 State St | Springfield | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1872 | Winchester Home for Aged Women | 10 Eden St | Charlestown, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1873 | Mercantile building for George T. Bigelow | 77 Bedford St | Boston | Massachusetts | Built by Bigelow in his role as trustee of the Miller estate. Destroyed by fire in 1879, and rebuilt in 1880 by Anna Smith (Miller) Bigelow, again to a design by Thayer. |
| 1873 | Nashua High School (former) | 30 Spring St | Nashua | New Hampshire | Later the Spring Street School. Demolished. |
| 1874 | Engine House No. 25 | High St and Fort Hill Sq | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1875 | Providence City Hall | 25 Dorrance St | Providence | Rhode Island | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. |
| 1876 | House for J. Warren Merrill | 6 Smiths Point Rd | Manchester | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1877 | Atlantic House | 37 Oceanside Dr | Hull | Massachusetts | Burned in 1927. |
| 1880 | House for Mary F. Mallon | Mount Bowdoin Green | Dorchester, Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1880 | Jordan, Marsh & Company Department Store | 450 Washington St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1880 | Stoughton Town Hall | 10 Pearl St | Stoughton | Massachusetts | |
| 1881 | House for Edward H. Gilman | Elm St | Exeter | New Hampshire | Moved from Court Street in 1924 to serve as faculty housing for the Phillips Exeter Academy. Now known as Cushwa House. |
| 1881 | House for Daniel H. Lane | 291 Beacon St | Boston | Massachusetts | A contributing property to the Back Bay Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. |
| 1881 | House for John G. Phinney | 81 Summer St | Stoughton | Massachusetts | |
| 1881 | House for Nathaniel L. Ripley | 618 Centre St | Newton | Massachusetts | |
| 1881 | Jordan Building | 77 Bedford St | Boston | Massachusetts | Destroyed in the "Thanksgiving Day Fire" in 1889. |
| 1881 | Lyceum Hall | 206 Main St | Yarmouth Port | Massachusetts | Altered. |
| 1881 | Nevins Building | 78 Chauncy St | Boston | Massachusetts | Gutted in the "Thanksgiving Day Fire" in 1889. In 1890 the granite facades were reused for a new Nevins Building on site, also designed by Thayer. |
| 1882 | Farragut Hotel | Ocean Blvd | Rye | New Hampshire | Demolished in 1975. |
| 1882 | House for Isaac P. T. Edmands | 28 Atlantic Ave | Swampscott | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1883 | Nevins Memorial Hall and Library | 305 Broadway | Methuen | Massachusetts | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. |
| 1884 | Wilson Hall, Dartmouth College | | Hanover | New Hampshire | Built as the college library, and more recently part of the Hood Museum of Art. |
| 1885 | The Tudor | 34 1/2 Beacon St | Boston | Massachusetts | |
| 1885 | Remodeling of the Quincy House | Brattle St and Brattle Sq | Boston | Massachusetts | In addition to an interior remodeling, Thayer added several floors and a turret to the existing structure, as well as a new wing along Brattle Square. Demolished in 1935. |
| 1885 | Wauban Building | 184 Boylston St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1886 | Chadwick Building | 7 Tremont St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1886 | Potter Building | 202-212 Boylston St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1886 | The Thorndike | 240 Boylston St | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1887 | Boston Tavern | 14-16 Province Ct | Boston | Massachusetts | Demolished. |
| 1887 | House for John D. Long | 107 Washington Ave | Cambridge | Massachusetts | |
| 1891 | Remodeling of the Norwood Hotel | 37 Bridge St | Northampton | Massachusetts | Mostly demolished, but a fragment was moved to 11 Bridge Street, which is a contributing property to the Pomeroy Terrace Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. |