Addison Hutton

Addison Hutton was just beginning his own practice as an architect in 1865 when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opened the country's first professional school of architecture. Hutton's own training had been as an apprentice to his carpenter father and working in French Door's Factory in Salem, Ohio where he learned architectural drawing. In 1857, Hutton came to Philadelphia where he worked as Samuel Sloan's assistant until their partnership dissolved in 1868. Hutton worked independently and with various younger architects for 40 years, designing for a predominately Quaker clientele. While conservative, he was in step with the latest fads and fashions of the time. He used brick and stone favored in Philadelphia, incorporating them into the late Victorian style characterized by asymmetrical massing of elements, use of contrasting materials and combining various architectural elements from past and foreign cultures. He created buildings on a monumental scale that reflected the country's earlier search for the "sublime." Hutton's Bucks County commissions included the courthouse in Doylestown (1877), the Lenape Building co-designed with architect Thomas Cernea (1874), and the Bucks County Prison (1884), now the site of the Michener Art Museum.

Education and Training
Apprenticeship to his father, Joel Hutton, carpenter, 1850
Study of Architectural Drawing with Robert Grimacy, the French Doors Company, Salem, Ohio
Office assistant and draftsman for architect Samuel Sloan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1857 to 1864
Partnership with architect Samuel Sloan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1864 to 1868

Teachers and Influences
Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia, Viollet-le-Duc, Frank Furness

Connection to Bucks County
Even though Addison Hutton was not a Bucks County resident, his influence is keenly felt in the buildings he designed in the Bucks County area which include:
First Presbyterian Church, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1871
Town Hall, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1872
Lenape Building, with architect Thomas Cernea, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1874
Bucks County Intelligencer Building, co-designed with Thomas Cernea, 1876
Courthouse, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1877
Bucks County Prison, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1884
John M. George School, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1893

Colleagues and Affiliations
Bucks County architect Thomas L. Cernea

Architecture
Selected Buildings in Bucks County:
First Presbyterian Church, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1871
Town Hall, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1872
Lenape Building, with architect Thomas Cernea, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1874
Bucks County Intelligencer Building, co-designed with Thomas Cernea, 1876
Courthouse, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1877
Bucks County Prison, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1884
Pennsylvania Hospital, Farmer's Cottage, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1892
John M. George School, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1893
John M. George School, Hospital Building, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1895
John M. George School, Principal's House, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1901

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Fairview School, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 1857-1861
Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1902

Affiliations and Memberships
American Institute of Architects, Philadelphia Chapter