John McComb Jr. was the son of John and Mary (Davis) McComb. His father, son of James who came to America from Scotland, via North Ireland, in 1732, was born in Princeton, New Jersey. After his marriage, April 27, 1761, he resided in New York, acting as architect and builder. His best-known work included the Brick Church, 1767, the North Dutch Church, 1769, and the New York Hospital, of which the cornerstone was laid in 1773. Upon the outbreak of the Revolution he took his family to Princeton, where he was made quartermaster in the Continental Army in 1777. He returned to New York in 1783 and was made a City Surveyor on March 16, 1784. He was also influential in the founding of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in 1785. On his death in New York City, in 1811, he left three children, John and Isaac, both architects, and Elizabeth, who was an amateur artist of some skill. The younger John was born in New York.
Career
John McComb Jr. seems to have received the greater part of his culture and professional knowledge from his father, whose assistant he became in 1783. At some time prior to 1790, he made an extended tour of Europe and in that year began his independent career with an engagement to design the façade of Government House in New York. From that time on he became one of the busiest of the New York builders and architects. Among his public buildings were three lighthouses, the Montauk (1795) and the Eaton's Neck Light (drawings dated 1798), both still in use, and the Cape Henry Lighthouse (1791), now a national monument to the landing of Captain John Smith. Castle Garden in the Battery, New York, was designed and built by him (Account Books in New York Historical Society). On October 4, 1802, the competition for the New York City Hall was decided by the award of a premium to the design submitted by McComb and Joseph F. Mangin. After some conferences and the curtailing of the original drawings, McComb was appointed architect to superintend the construction, and he was in sole charge of the detailing and execution of the design until its completion in 1812. During this period he also designed the New York Free School House (1808), the Hubert Street Fort (1808), Washington Hall, home of the Washington Benevolent Association (1809 - 12), and subsequently used as a hotel and assembly rooms, Queens Building, Rutgers College, the building of the Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen on Park Place (1802 - 03), and Alexander Hall of Princeton Theological Seminary (1815).
His most important church was St. John's Chapel on Varick Street (cornerstone laid September 1, 1803), which he did in partnership with his brother Isaac. He was also the architect of the Cedar Street Presbyterian Church (1807), the Murray Street Presbyterian Church (1811 - 12), and the very beautiful Bleecker Street Presbyterian Church (1825). In 1822, he altered the interior and designed and built a new spire for the Brick Presbyterian Church, originally built by his father. Of his numerous houses, that for John Coles, on Whitehall Street, deserves mention for its size. "The Grange, " designed for Alexander Hamilton, still stands in a new location as the rectory for St. Luke's Church, Convent Avenue and 141st Street, New York City. In 1817, on the resignation of B. H. Latrobe as architect of the United States Capitol, he was mentioned for the post, and on December 5, 1817, his friend the elder James Renwick wrote him from Washington to find out, unofficially, if he would accept it. He was street commissioner of New York City from 1813 to 1821. On December 31, 1816, he was made an Academician of the American Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1818, president of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen. He was a trustee of the Brick Presbyterian Church, 1816-25, and deacon from 1827 until his death.
Achievements
Personality
His carefully kept account books reveal alike his generosity and his painstaking attention to detail. In general, his architectural work shows excellent taste, careful study, a refined sense of detail, and well illustrates the persistence of American Colonial tradition, with strong British influence, into the nineteenth century. The French character of the New York City Hall is so exceptional that it is probably to be accounted for by the connection of Joseph François Mangin with its original design.
Connections
McComb was married, December 15, 1792, to Elizabeth, daughter of James Embree Glean. By this marriage he had two children, a son and a daughter. His wife died June 3, 1817, and on June 24, 1821, he married Mrs. Rebecca Rockwell, a widow, who survived him.