NC Architects and Builders is a growing system. We will post this entry as soon as it is ready.
This biographical dictionary highlights architects and builders who have produced North Carolina's architecture for more than 300 years. A brief biography plus a building list traces each person's work in the state. This is a growing website, with many more entries still to be added. We invite users to send corrections and updated information to enhance the site.
John A. Taylor House [Wilmington]
Benjamin Gardner (1792-1860), a builder active in antebellum Wilmington, built and may have designed key Greek Revival buildings including the city's handsome market house. Part of a family established in the city, he appeared in the United States Census in Wilmington in 1820 and in subsequent censuses through 1850, when he was listed as a carpenter. The buildings cited to him are unusually sophisticated for antebellum Wilmington, raising unanswered questions about his design experience and influences. Gardner's early life and career are little known. He may be the "B. Gardner" who advertised as an artist in New Bern in...
Dorton Arena, Raleigh
Matthew Nowicki, architect
"The bill is made to have the work done in a manner & style that will suit you, but can be done for less money if done in a plainer manner. I have concluded to put the bill at $1150, you will please let me know whether [you] wish to have the bill changed to less work & plane."
Jacob W. Holt to client W. R. Baskerville, Virginia, June 29, 1860.
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