Rose and Rose
Variant Name(s):
Garland R. Rose (1879- 1937); James P. Rose (1883-1964)
Founded:
Statesville, NC
Residences:
- Durham, NC
Trades:
- Architect
NC Work Locations:
Building Types:
Styles & Forms:
Gothic Revival; Craftsman; Mission; Neoclassical Revival
Rose and Rose, a prominent Durham architectural firm formed by brothers Garland Roberson Rose (1879-1937) and James Pickett Rose (1883-1964), had a long-lived and extensive practice during the urban growth era of the early 20th century. Like other architects of their day, they worked easily in many different styles and undertook various building types. Among their best known works are the Mechanics and Farmers Bank in central Durham and Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church in the Trinity Park neighborhood, They also designed many houses, typically featuring very robust versions of Craftsman, Mission, and other styles.
Garland R. (Roberson) Rose and James P. (Pickett) Rose were natives of Statesville, where in 1880, Garland Rose, aged 1, was living with his parents Pickett Rose (1843-1883) and Eugenia Rose (1851-1922), in a household that included his elder siblings Marie, Hattie Eugenia, and Willie (William); James P. was born in 1883. Eugenia was a native of Person County, and Pickett Rose came from Fayetteville. Pickett died in 1883, leaving Eugenia a widow with young children. What became of the family in the several years after Pickett’s death is unknown (the census of 1890 does not survive).
By 1900 the brothers Garland R. and James P. Rose as well as their older brother William E—all identified as students—were living together in the household of their aunt, Hattie Brown, who ran a boarding house in Raleigh. Their elder sister Marie was married, and their other sister Hattie was living with relatives in Statesville. Eugenia’s whereabouts in that year are unknown.
Both Garland and James studied at present North Carolina State University, though their field of study has not been identified, nor is it certain when or whether they graduated. The Statesville Record and Landmark of July 1, 1902 reported that “Messrs. Jame[s] and Garland Rose are at home from the Agricultural and Mechanical College, Raleigh.” Several years later in Durham, Garland and James P. Rose were among the organizers of a local chapter of former students of the “A & E college,” which was also cited as North Carolina state college (Durham Morning Herald, August 14, 1919).
As was normal practice, Garland and James supplemented their education by working as draftsmen for established architects. As shown in city directories, Garland Rose gained experience and expertise as a draftsman with a series of established architects. He worked first (1903) for William P. Rose in Raleigh, a prolific architect and builder whose familial relationship if any is unknown and then (1905) for Charles W. Barrett in Raleigh, an architect previously associated with William P. Rose. After these brief periods of employment, in 1905 Garland Rose moved to Durham to work for Hill C. Linthicum, one of the city’s preeminent architects and a leader in the state’s architectural profession. This connection defined the direction of the Rose brothers’ careers. In 1909 John P. was also employed as a draftsman with Linthicum, and by 1910 Garland was a partner in the firm.
The Rose brothers and their extended families maintained close ties. Garland Rose married Ethel Augusta Shaffer of Raleigh in 1906, and their extended family lived together for a time as the brothers established themselves. The 1910 census recorded Garland (G. R.), aged 30, as head of a household that included his wife Ethel and their baby daughter Honora, plus his brother James (J. P.), aged 27, and J. P.’s wife Georgia, along with Garland’s mother-in-law Alice Shaffer, 50, and three young nieces.
Details of Garland Rose’s professional trajectory appeared in a typically glowing account in the promotional publication, Durham Illustrated, of 1910:
Born in Statesville, NC on June 9, 1879, Garland R. Rose has been a resident of Durham since 1905, coming to this city from Raleigh, N. C., where he had been practicing his profession since his graduation in 1903 from his college course in architectural drawing and structural engineering at the A. & M. College. He immediately entered the employ of Hill C. Linthicum as draughtsman and by his careful attention to every detail of his work and his expert knowledge of his profession quickly won his way to the front, and [on] … January 1, 1910, entered into partnership with Mr. Linthicum, forming the firm of Linthicum and Rose. Since coming here Mr. Rose has been connected with and instrumental in the construction of many important buildings, both in the city of Durham and throughout the entire State. He is considered by those capable of judging to be one of the best draughtsmen in North Carolina, and like Mr. Linthicum is a member of the State Architectural Association. He has closely allied himself with the city’s best interests and makes his home at 414 Cleveland Street.
In this period, Hill C. Linthicum was a leader in promoting professionalization for architects in North Carolina, first in the North Carolina Architectural Association (established in 1906) and then in founding the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1911 and 1912. As a partner in the firm of Linthicum and Rose, Garland Rose associated with leaders in the state’s architectural profession. On September 16, 1913, Rose was one of the five architects—including such established figures as Linthicum (who became president), Louis H. Asbury, Richard Sharp Smith, and Willard C. Northup (see Northup and O’Brien)—who met on September 16, 1913, to form what Linthicum called “a baby chapter” of the AIA.
Shortly after this, having had a solid period of training in older architects’ offices, Garland Rose established his own firm, with his younger brother as partner. A notice in the Durham Morning Herald of December 6, 1913, announced, “The firm of Linthicum & Rose, architects, has this day been dissolved by mutual consent. All parties indebted to the firm are hereby notified to settle the same with Hill C. Linthicum, and all indebtedness will be settled by him. Hill C. Linthicum, Garland R. Rose, Dec. 4, 1913.” Linthicum posted an adjacent notice thanking his friends for their patronage for the past ten years and stating that he would continue his practice in his present office at 501-503 Trust Building. The Durham Morning Herald of December 7, 1913, and subsequent issues carried advertisements for the new firm of Rose and Rose. Their office was also in the Trust Building, on the fourth floor. (In the meantime, in 1912 Linthicum’s son, H. Colvin Linthicum had come to work with his father as a draftsman; he later became a partner in the firm of Linthicum and Linthicum and continued to practice after his father’s death.)
The 1910s and 1920s were prolific decades for Rose and Rose, as they had been for Linthicum and Rose. During this era, the firm planned numerous residences in Durham’s expanding suburban neighborhoods. These included bungalows and many variations on the foursquare house form, large and small, often characterized by especially robust detailing, including Craftsman elements, hefty roof brackets, and stout porch posts of brick or rough stone. Although only a few of their residential works have been identified with certainty, of those that have been identified, a high proportion survive.
Good publicity doubtless helped their business. During 1916-1917, the Durham Morning Herald carried a Sunday series of illustrated articles about new additions to Durham’s “Homes Beautiful,” which included some designed by Rose and Rose including bungalows and the foursquare type (see building list). Typically the feature on the “house beautiful” of the day was accompanied by advertisements for companies employed in building it and supplying materials. (Issues of the Durham Morning Herald in newspapers.com stop in 1922.)
In 1928, the firm was one of seven architectural firms listed in the Durham city directory: Atwood and Nash, George W. Carr, R. R. Markley, Milburn and Heister, G. Murray Nelson, Northup and O’Brien, and Rose and Rose. Possibly because Rose and Rose undertook few major public projects or perhaps because their client list was somewhat less prestigious than some of the other architects’, their firm is not as well known today as some of their contemporaries.
As well as practicing architecture together, Rose and Rose’s households also remained close, and for many years they resided on Geer Street in Durham. The United States Census of 1920 listed Garland as a 40-year-old architect living with his wife, Ethel, 36, and daughter Honora, aged 10. James’s household included his second wife, Thelma, sons Beverly and J. P. Jr., plus James and Garland’s mother, Eugenia, and their unmarried sister Hattie. The Durham Morning Herald of April 28, 1922, reported the death of Mrs. Eugenia Rose, a “well known lady,” at the home of her son Garland R. Rose on Geer St. in Durham. A native of Person County born in 1851, she was a daughter of Col Henry L. Sweaney and Mary Moore Sweaney and a descendant of Gen. Stephen Moore (a prominent figure during the American Revolution). She had moved to Durham from Statesville ten years earlier. In 1930, both families still lived on Geer Street, and Garland’s household now included his wife’s mother, Alice Shaffner, 82.
At the time of his death, Garland Roberson Rose was still identified as an architect with Rose and Rose and a resident of 108 W. Geer St. in Durham. His wife, Ethel, survived him. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh. The obituary for James P. Rose, 81, of Tampa, in the Tampa Tribune of August 6, 1964, reported that he had lived in Riverview, Florida, for two years. He was survived by his wife and three sons, two daughters, and four grandchildren. He was buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Durham, as was his wife, Thelma.
Note: Any family relationship between the brothers Garland and James P. Rose (natives of Statesville) and the brothers William Preston Rose and David Jeptha Rose of Johnston and Wayne counties remains unknown. That Garland Rose worked as a draftsman for William P. Rose suggests there may have been a kinship, but evidence is missing at this point.
The following building list is taken mainly from the website opendurham.org, which contains illustrations and information from earlier architectural surveys and National Register of Historic Places nominations.
Claudia Roberts (Brown) and Diane Lea, The Durham Architectural and Historic Inventory, 1982.
Buck Clements House
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:ca. 1920-1925
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:310 Watts St.
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:opendurham.org
Note:The grand scale and the bold and lavish Mission and Craftsman stone and wooden details set this house apart from the many brick foursquare residences in Trinity Park. The roof of copper was fashioned to resemble green tile. The stout porch posts of stone are typical of many of Rose and Rose’s residences.
Calvary United Methodist Church
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:1914-1916
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:304 E. Trinity St.
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
Images Published In:opendurham.org
Note:An article in the Durham Morning Herald of May 17, 1914, pictured a perspective drawing of the brick, Gothic Revival church with its two crenellated front corner towers flanking a broad gable. It was to be built at the corner of Trinity Avenue and Elizabeth Street in the emerging “North Durham” area. At that time the congregation was identified as Mangum Street Methodist Church for its original location, but that was soon to change. Rose and Rose of Durham were identified as the architects. The article noted that “North Durham” had become one of the city’s “choice residence sections,” and the church was intended to be “as attractive and useful suburban church as can be found in any city.” The Durham Morning Herald of April 6, 1916, noted progress on its construction, with the contractor identified as J. T. [John T.] Salmon of Durham, and the plans and specifications by Rose and Rose. Moreover, “It has been decided that the new church will be known as Calvary Methodist church.” The church followed the so-called Akron plan: the auditorium had a seating capacity of 350, plus eight Sunday school class rooms, but “if converted into one large auditorium about 600 persons may be seated.” The Durham Morning Herald of December 2, 1916, carried an announcement of the opening service in the “handsome new Calvary Methodist church” to be held the following day.
Dr. and Mrs. W. W. Olive House
Contributors:Rose and Rose , architechtsDates:1916
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:902 Vickers Ave.
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Note:The Durham Morning Herald of Sept. 24, 1916, displayed a photograph of the house built for Dr. and Mrs. W. W. Olive, a large foursquare house (apparently of brick) with a full-width porch and porte cochere. It had a living room, sun parlor, dining room, kitchen, and butler’s pantry on the first floor and upstairs, four bedrooms and two bathrooms, the latter something of a luxury in the day.
Fidelity Bank, East Durham Branch
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:1921
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:318 S. Driver St. at Angier Ave.
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Images Published In:opendurham.org
Note:According to opendurham.org, Fidelity Bank was established by Durham financial leaders Washington and Benjamin Duke, M. A. Angier, and George Watts in 1887, and in the early 1920s it expanded with two branches in the growing commercial districts of East Durham’s and West Durham’s textile villages. Both branch buildings were designed by Rose and Rose. The East Durham branch employs a popular classical format with a stone façade and an imposing portico with Corinthian columns. It became a key landmark of the small commercial district.
Henry Carr House
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:ca.1920-1925
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:409 Watts St.
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:opendurham.org
Note:The large 2-story brick house features the robust but simple craftsman detail and heavy brick porch posts characteristic of the firm’s work. It is located in the Trinity Park neighborhood.
Holloway Street School
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:1928
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:1107 Holloway St.
Status:Standing
Type:Educational
Images Published In:opendurham.org
Note:Built during the widespread investment in public school buildings, the substantial brick school, 2 stories tall above a lighted basement, features stylized Tudor-inspired detail. It later gained rear wings and a gymnasium.
James A. and Irene Smith House
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:1931
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:1417 Acadia St.
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:opendurham.org
Note:The small but richly detailed and picturesque Tudor Revival house displays high quality materials and workmanship in brick and stone. It was one of the last houses built in the Duke Park suburb before the construction hiatus of the Great Depression.
Maynard Mangum House
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:1914
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:1111 N. Mangum St.
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:opendurham.org
Note:The large frame house typifies the firm’s work in its broad proportions and hefty porch pillars and columns. Maynard Mangum also built in 1916 a frame, foursquare rental house on N. Mangum St. as a rental house. It was featured in the Durham Morning Herald of August 27, 1916.
Mechanics and Farmers Bank
Contributors:Rose and Rose , architects; C.E. Lightner and Brothers, contractors; Lightner, C. E (1878-1960), architectDates:1921
Location:Durham, NC, Durham CountyStreet Address:116 Parrish St., Durham, Durham County, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Images Published In:Claudia Roberts [Brown], The Durham Architectural and Historic Inventory (1982).
Tatum House (Rose House)
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:1916
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:107 Geer St.
Status:No longer standing
Type:Residential
Note:As part of its series of illustrated articles about new additions to Durham’s “Homes Beautiful,” the Durham Morning Herald of August 8, 1906, featured a house designed by Rose and Rose, “the most attractive bungalow that has been completed for months.” Mrs. Nannie Tatum was the proprietor, but architects Rose and Rose were residing there. It was identified as an addition to Durham “Homes Beautiful,” with “very convenient” interior arrangements; “it is an ideal bungalow throughout.” The Durham City Directory of 1917 showed the Rose brothers residing here.
Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:1926-1927
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:927 W. Trinity Ave.
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
Images Published In:opendurham.org
Note:Located in the Trinity Park neighborhood, the red brick, Gothic- Revival church features a stout central entrance tower flanked by a crenellated front roofline. (The crenellated feature also appears on the two corner towers of the firm’s Calvary United Methodist Church.)
Walter B. Davis House
Contributors:Rose and Rose, architectsDates:1916
Location:Durham, Durham CountyStreet Address:112 Buchanan Blvd.
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Note:The Durham Morning Herald of August 20, 1916, featured an illustrated article on “the latest addition to Durham’s “Homes Beautiful,” a foursquare house for Walter B. Davis, which was cited as “one of the most modern residences that has been erected in Durham in several months,” with “every convenience.” The gable-fronted 2-story house has the lower story weather boarded and the upper story shingled, and features a porch of bold stonework. The 1917 Durham city directory has Walter B. Davis residing at 112 Buchanan Boulevard.