Background
Henry Van Brunt was born in 1832 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Henry Van Brunt was born in 1832 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Through the period of hostilities in the Civil War Van Brunt served in the U. S. Navy, attached to the Atlantic Squadron, later returned to Boston, and in association with William Robert Ware established an office for architectural practice under the firm name of Ware & Van Brunt. As partners they collaborated on the design of various public buildings in Boston and neighboring cities, including Memorial Hall (1876-80), Weld Hall, and the east wing of the College Library at Harvard; Episcopal Seminary in Cambridge; the First Unitarian Church (later Congregational) in Boston; Mudge Memorial Church, Swampscott; Grace Church in New Bedford, and the old Union Station at Worcester, with its tall clock tower.
In 1881 Mr. Ware was appointed head of the newly organized Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and after the partnership was dissolved Mr. Van Brunt carried on work with Frank M Howe for a few years. During that period(1881-85) they designed the Harvard Medical School building in Boston; Public Libraries in Cambridge and Ded¬ham, also Stone Hall and other buildings on the campus of Wellesley College.
In the year 1886 Van Brunt & Howe decided to close their Boston office and start practice in Kansas City, Mo„ subsequently opened an office in the latter city. At first their work was mainly residential, and they became known as specialists in that field of design, planning homes of the better class for many of the city's prominent families. Later, through Van Brunt’s friendship with Charles Francis Adams, president of the Union Pacific Railroad, the firm was commissioned to plan a large number of Stations on the U. P. Line from Sioux City, Iowa, to Portland, Oregon. At the same time they were chosen architects of several business and commercial structures in Kansas City, including the Bryant and Emery Building, the Gibraltar Building, also a number of mercantile houses.
In 1890 when plans were being made for the proposed World s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Van Brunt & Howe, recognized as one of the leading architectural firms in the mid-west, was commissioned to design the Electricity Building, and a few years later Henry Van Brunt was appointed architect of the Court of Honor and the Electricity Building at the Lewis and Clark Exposition held in Portland, Oregon.
Henry Van Brunt was also a writer of some note and contributed frequently to professional magazines many articles distinguished for the author’s keen analysis of the architects’ current problems. In addition he made a translation of Violet-le-Duc'c “Entretiens sur l'architecture," published in 1875 under the title, “Discourses on Architecture.’’
Active in his chosen profession, he was one of the organizers of the Boston Society of Architects, A.I.A., while in practice in the latter city. He was also one of the earliest members of the American Institute of Architects, and after being appointed Secretary in 1861, was taken into Institute Fellowship three Years later.