Located in New York City, the firm of Carrére and Hastings was one of the outstanding Beaux-Arts architecture firms in the United States.  The firm was in operation until 1911 when Carrére was killed in an automobile accident.  Hastings continued, using the same firm name until his death in 1929.

The partnership’s first success was the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida.  They went on to establish a successful practice during the 1880s and early 1890s, and rose to national prominence by winning the competition for the New York Public Library in 1897.  The firm designed commercial buildings, elaborate residences, and prominent public buildings in New York, Washington, Toronto, London, Paris, Rome, and Havana.

Carrére and Hastings’ clients included Elihu Root, Edward H. Harriman, and Thomas Fortune Ryan.  Today the firm is recognized as one of the most important in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Their contributions to civic design and classicism are of continued importance today.

 

 

John Merven Carrére (1858 – 1911)

John Merven Carrére was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Carrére was the son of Anna Louisa Maxwell whose father was Joseph Maxwell, a prosperous coffee trader.  Carrére entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris in 1880 where he met Thomas Hastings.   He then returned to New York where his family had resettled after leaving Brazil, and worked as a draughtsman for the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White.  Hastings also worked there and in 1885 they decided to strike out on their own.  Carrére was most active in the firm’s large civic and commercial projects, including the House and Senate office buildings on Capitol Hill, the Manhattan Bridge and its approaches, and the New York Public Library.  In 1911 Carrére was killed in a tragic accident when a streetcar collided with the taxi in which he was riding.

 

Thomas S. Hastings (1860 – 1929)

 

Thomas S. Hastings was born in New York City, the son of a noted Presbyterian minister and dean of the Union Theological Seminary.  His grandfather composed hymns including “Rock of Ages”.  Hastings was educated in private schools in New York, and began his architectural apprenticeship at Herter Brothers, the premier New York furnishers and decorators.  He attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris from 1880 to 1883 where he met his future partner, John Carrére.  When he returned to New York, he entered the office of McKim, Mead & White and renewed his friendship with Carrére.  Hastings is credited with many of the firm’s designs and, in particular because he survived Carrére by 18 years.