Bogardus, James

SUBJECT AREA: Architecture and building

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b. 14 March 1800 Catskill, New York, USA

d. 13 April 1874 New York, New York, USA

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American constructor of the first buildings composed entirely of cast iron, and inventor of engraving and die-sinking machinery.

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James Bogardus was neither architect nor engineer but he manufactured iron grinding machinery and was known especially for inventing his engraving and die-sinking machinery. He completed his first iron-fronted building in 1848, the five-storeyed chemist shop of John Milhau at 183 Broadway in New York City, but the building for which he is best known was the slightly later example (begun in 1848) that was created as a factory for his own use. This four-storeyed structure was in Center Street, New York City, and its exterior consisted entirely of cast-iron piers and lintels. He went on to build other iron structures around the middle of the century, and these early examples were both functional and attractive, with their simple classical columns and plain architraves contrasting with the heavier and richer ornamentation of such buildings in the second half of the century.

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Further Reading

H.Russell-Hitchcock, 1958, Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Penguin, Pelican History of Art series (section on "Building with Iron and Glass").

D.Yarwood, 1985, Encyclopaedia of Architecture, Batsford (section on "Ironwork").

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