In 1790, he opened a drawing school here as well.īy May 1791, when George Washington visited Charleston as part of his southern tour, Hoban was a prominent figure in the community. Their work included the thousand-seat Charleston Theatre and the Charleston County Courthouse.įor use as his home and office, Hoban also bought a plot of land and built a three-story structure on it. Partnering with an Irish carpenter called Pierce Purcell, Hoban worked on both public buildings and private houses.
Other members of the Hoban family, including his brothers Philip and Joseph, were also living there at this time. Records from the Charleston County Public Library show that Hoban wasn’t alone in the city. But by April 1787, he had relocated to Charleston in South Carolina where his Georgian style architecture began to appear among the city’s post-revolution buildings. Hoban became an ambitious architect and, by 1785, he had emigrated to Philadelphia to seek out success. Leinster House in Dublin, which provided inspiration for The White House design The school’s principal Thomas Ivory, who was responsible for lots of Dublin’s Georgian buildings, then employed him as an apprentice. Because the Society aimed to advance the arts in Ireland, poor students who displayed great talent didn’t have to pay fees to attend.Īt the school, which was based on Grafton Street, Hoban won a Duke of Leinster medal for drawings of brackets, stairs and roofs. Hoban must have shown skill because, despite his modest upbringing, he went on to study at the Dublin Society’s School of Architectural Drawing in 1780. The precise connection isn’t known, but Hoban was educated while living here and became a skilled carpenter and wheel maker. Hoban’s father was probably a tenant farmer or a laborer on the estate. The family lived in a thatched cottage on the huge Desart estate which belonged to a wealthy Baron named John Cuffe. Although the details of his early life aren’t completely clear, we know he was born to Martha and Edward Hoban and had at least three siblings – Joseph, Philip and Ann. James Hoban was born around 1760 near Callan, Co. A success story beginning with meagre means But, in the case of James Hoban, his success and influence is largely owed to America’s first president, George Washington.
It was designed by an Irishman named James Hoban.”īiden, who is now 46th President – and the 23rd to come from Irish descent – is quick to recognise the contributions Irish people have made to the US. “In 1963, President Kennedy addressed the Irish Parliament and he said, and I quote, ‘Our two nations, divided by distance, have been united by history… and nothing exemplifies this bond more than this building. Positioned in front of American flags and Irish tricolours, he spoke : Back in 2014, when Joe Biden was the US Vice President, he stood in the White House’s East Room with cameras recording his every move.
0 kommentar(er)
