Nicholas J. Clayton

Irish-American architect (1839 – 1916)

Nicholas J. Clayton

Saint Marys Cathedral, Austin, TX

The Beach Hotel, Galveston

Bishop's Palace, postcard

Nicholas Joseph Clayton (November 1, 1840, in Cloyne, County Cork – December 9, 1916) was a prominent Victorian era architect in Galveston, Texas.

Early life

Clayton was born on November 1, 1839, in Cloyne, County Cork, Ireland. His father, also named Nicholas Joseph Clayton, died in 1848. Margaret O'Mahoney Clayton, his mother, moved from Ireland to Cincinnati the same year.^[1]

Career

Clayton constructed many grand religious and public buildings in Galveston including the First Presbyterian Church (Galveston, Texas). He is also credited as the architect of Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Tampa, Florida) and of the Main Building of St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. He also designed an addition to St. Mary Cathedral in Galveston.^{[1] [2][3][4][5] [6] [7][8] [9]}

Works

• St. Mary's Church - Gothic Revival, Austin (1873)^[10]

1874

• Ball High School, Galveston (1884, demolished)^[11]
• St. Mary's Infirmary, 701 Market Street, Galveston (1874, demolished in 1965)^[12]
• Dallas Orphan Asylum

1875

• Seeligson House, 1208 Ball Avenue, Galveston (1875)^[13]
• Galveston County Courthouse (1875, demolished)^[14]

1876

• Burr House, 1228 Sealy Avenue, Galveston (1876)^[15]

1877

• Lovenberg House, 1412 Market Street, Galveston (1877)^[16]
• Bolton Estate Building, 2321–2323 Strand, Galveston (1877, Clayton & Lynch)^[17]
• Wallis, Landes and Company, 2411 Strand, Galveston (1877, Clayton & Lynch, only the storefront remains)^[18]
• St. Patrick's Church, 1013–1027 34th Street, Galveston (1877, Clayton & Lynch)^[19]

1878

• George Schneider and Company Building, 2101–2107 Strand Street, Galveston (1878, Clayton and Lynch)^[20]
• The John Stoddard Brown & Company Building, 2111 Strand Street, Galveston (1878, Clayton)

1879

• Eaton Memorial Chapel, Trinity Episcopal Church, 721 22nd Street, Galveston (1879, Clayton and Lynch)^[21]

1880

• Masonic Lodge Building, Galveston (c. 1880, demolished)^[22]

1882

• Ursuline Academy, Dallas (1882, central building only, demolished in 1949)^[23][24]
• Beach Hotel (Galveston), Tremont Street at the beach (1882, destroyed by fire in 1898)^[25]
• Electric Pavilion, Galveston (1882, burned 1883)^[26]
• H. M. Trueheart & Company Building, 212 22nd Street, Galveston (1882)^[27]
• Greenleve, Block & Co. Building, 2310–2314 Strand, (1882)^[28]

1883

• Harmony Hall, Galveston (1882–1883, burned, 1928)^[29]
• W. L. Moody Building (Strand Surplus Senter), 2202–2206 Strand, Galveston (1883)^[30]

1884

• Galveston News Building, 2108 Mechanic Street, Galveston (1884)^[31]
• Ball High School, Galveston (1884, demolished)^[32]

1886

• Stafford Opera House, 425 Spring Street, Columbus, Texas (1886)^[33]

1887

• Sonnentheil House, 1826 Sealy Avenue, Galveston (1887)^[34]
• Temple B'Nai Israel, 816 22nd Street, Galveston, (1887 and 1902 addition), later the Masonic Temple^[35]

1888

• Incarnate Word Academy (Houston), (1888–89 and 1899, demolished; 1905, extant)
• St. Matthews Catholic Church (Monroe, La.)
• St. Edward's University (Main bldg. and Holy Cross dormitory), Austin (1888)

1889

• Rudolph Kruger House, 1628 Postoffice Street, Galveston (1889)^[36]

1890

• Sacred Heart Church, Palestine, Texas (1890–1893)^[1]
• Ursuline Convent (Dallas)
• John Sealy Hospital

1891

• Ashbel Smith Building - Romanesque Revival (1891)

1892

• Bishop's Palace, Galveston, 1402 Broadway, Galveston, Victorian (1892)^[37]

1893

• League House, 1710 Broadway, Galveston (1893)^[38]
• Ursuline Academy, 2600 Avenue N Galveston (1891–1894, demolished in 1962)^[39]

1895

• St. Joseph's Infirmary, Houston (1892–94, 1895, demolished)^[1]
• Grace Episcopal Church, Galveston (1894)
• St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (Alexandria, Louisiana) - Gothic Revival (1895)
• Hutchings-Sealy Building (Galveston) (1895)^[40]

1896

• St. Patrick's Church, Denison (1896–1898)^[1]
• Sacred Heart Cathedral, Dallas - Gothic Revival (1896–1902)^[1]
• St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 1013–1027 34th Street, Galveston (reconstructed in 1902)^[41]

1905

• Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Tampa, Florida) - Romanesque Revival (1905)
• St. Matthew's Catholic Church, Monroe, Louisiana (1905)

1912

• the dome of the second Sacred Heart Church, Galveston (1912)

Gallery

• 
  Bishop's Palace, Galveston
• 
  Ashbel Smith Building, also known as "Old Red Building," University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
• 
  Main Building, St. Edward's University, Austin
• 
  Sacred Heart, Tampa, Fla.-interior
• 
  Grace Episcopal Church (Galveston, Texas)

References

1. Nesbitt, Robert A.; Fox, Stephen. "Clayton, Nicholas Joseph". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
2. Speck, Larry. "Old Red, University of Texas Medical School Galveston", Landmarks of Texas Architecture, (1986), University of Texas Press
3. Castillo, Juan. "St. Mary Cathedral gets a face-lift", American-Statesman, February 2, 2013
4. Wooten, Heather Green. Old Red: Pioneering Medical Education in Texas, Texas A&M University Press, 2013, ISBN 9780876112946
5. "Nicholas Joseph Clayton", Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas, Austin
6. "GHF and the City of Galveston Celebrate Nicholas Clayton’s 175th Birthday on November 1", Galveston Historical Foundation
7. Speck, Larry. "The Bishop's Palace", Landmarks of Texas Architecture, (1986), University of Texas Press
8. Card, Terry. "The Bishop’s Palace: Galveston’s Most Significant Building", Island Guide
9. Canright, Marsha. "Island celebrates renowned architect", Coast Monthly, October 24, 2015
10. "History". Saint Mary Cathedral. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
11. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 54.
12. Barnstone (1993), pp. 81–84.
13. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 94.
14. Robinson (1981), p. 122.
15. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 117.
16. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 69.
17. Beasley and Fox (1996), pp. 19–20.
18. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 19.
19. Beasley and Fox (1996), pp. 175–176.
20. Beasley and Fox (1996), pp. 24–25.
21. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 53.
22. Robinson (1981), p. 156.
23. "Bosse, Paula. "Nicholas J. Clayton’s Neo-Gothic Ursuline Academy", Flaskback: Dallas
24. Robinson (1981), p. 193.
25. Barnstone (1993), pp. 117–122.
26. Robinson (1981), p. 180.
27. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 33.
28. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 20.
29. Robinson (1981), p. 57.
30. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 22.
31. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 34.
32. Robinson (1981), p. 190.
33. "1886 Stafford Opera House". Columbus Historical Preservation Trust. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
34. Beasley and Fox (1996), pp. 101–102.
35. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 52.
36. Beasley and Fox (1996), p. 74
37. Beasley and Fox (1996), pp. 111–112.
38. Beasley and Fox (1996), pp.113–114.
39. Barnstone (1996), pp. 180–183.
40. Henry (1993), p. 26.
41. Beasley and Fox (1996), pp. 175–176.

Bibliography

• Barnstone, Howard (1993). The Galveston That Was (Second ed.). College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-0-89096-887-1.
• Beasley, Ellen; Fox, Stephen (1996). Galveston Architecture Guide. Houston: Rice University Press. ISBN 0-89263-346-8.
• Henry, Jay C. (1993). Architecture in Texas, 1895–1945. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-73072-1.
• Robinson, Willard B. (1981). Gone From Texas: Our Lost Architectural Heritage. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-106-9.
• Wooten, Heather Green (2013). Old Red: Pioneering Medical Education in Texas. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9780876112946.

Further reading

• Scardino, Barrie; Turner, Drexel (2000). Clayton's Galveston: The Architecture of Nicholas J. Clayton and His Contemporaries. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-881-0.

External links

• Photos of Clayton's work