The Scots Who Built New York

Artisan Lecture Series – Fall 2024

The Scots Who Built New York
With John Kinnear, Historian Preservation Architect

Tuesday, October 22nd at 6 P.M.

Presented by The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen, with The American-Scottish Foundation

Location:
General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of The City of New York
20 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) Manhattan

Historian preservation architect John Kinnear will examine the considerable impact of Scottish-American architects, artisans, and engineers on the development of New York – from the 1700s till today.

Scots of all creative endeavors have been part of the making of New York and America. One of the many artisans, engineers, and architects of direct Scottish descent that Mr. Kinnear will focus on is John McComb Jr., an architect who designed numerous New York buildings, including Gracie Mansion, New York City Hall, and Hamilton Grange.

Mr. Kinnear will also discuss the engineer David Bates Douglass, who was first chief engineer of the Croton Aqueduct and contributed to the rural design of Green-Wood Cemetery.

He will also feature several artisans including the acclaimed furniture maker, Duncan Phyfe, considered one of the most influential craftsmen of the 19th Century, whose work is still revered today. (Both John McComb Jr. and Duncan Phyfe were active nineteenth-century General Society Members; Mr. McComb was Society President in 1818.)

Mr. Kinnear will also introduce Scots whose intellect and talents would today be called ‘influencers’ because their powers of intellect and artistic talent lent to new directions for society.

The Scots Who Built New York is a legacy project of the American Scottish Foundation chronicling the impact of Scots and American Scots on the development of New York, launched in 2016 as part of the Landmarks50 celebrations.

John Kinnear practices architecture primarily in New York City, Connecticut, and Dutchess County, with projects throughout the United States and Great Britain. Recent projects include the restoration of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century homes. He is President of the American Friends of the Georgian Group and Chairman of the Architectural Advisory Committee and Village District Consultants in Ridgefield, Connecticut.