Background
George Watson Hewitt was born in 1841 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
George Watson Hewitt was born in 1841 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
At the start of his career Mr. Hewitt organized the firm of Fraser, Furness & Hewitt, with the late John Fraser and Frank Furness as partners, but practiced in that association only a few years. In 1877 he established a joint office with his brother William and they carried on work together until 1902. During his long career Mr. Hewitt was identified with the design of many well-known buildings of the late nineteenth century in Philadelphia, such as the old Bourse; Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (the first important hotel to have modern conveniences); Academy of Fine Arts; Mercantile Library; Hahne- man Hospital; St. Timothy's Hospital, and residence of Henry Pratt McLean, later the home of E. S. Stotesbury.
Known also as a specialist in ecclesiastical work, Mr. Hewitt was commissioned to design more than fifty churches in the popular Victorian style, among which should be mentioned the Church of the Holy Apostles; Holy Trinity; St. James; St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the Jewish Synagogue at Broad and Mt. Vernon Streets.
A charter member and officer of the Philadelphia Chapter, A. I. A., he continued active in the management of its affairs for many years. Mr. Hewitt, however, did not limit his activities to architectural practice, but devoted much of his time to the study of optics, astronomy and photography. He was one of the earliest of amateur photographers, and contributed much to the perfection of photographic art, when the use of dry plate succeeded the former wet process.