That Time When an NJIT Grad Designed the Most Beautiful Buildings in D.C.
Well, no, not quite. He — they were all “he” then — technically graduated from Newark Technical School. But it counts.
His name was Maj. George Oakley Totten, Jr. He was born in New York City on December 5, 1866, to George Oakley and Mary Elizabeth (Styles) Totten. George’s family had a long history in New York; his ancestors fought in the American Revolution and his great-grandfather founded Tottenville in Staten Island. George’s father (“senior” to his “junior”) was a New York-based businessman who became a chief real estate investor in Newark.
George was born by coincidence in the same year as Newark’s bicentennial. Founded in 1666 by conservative Puritans, the city was undergoing an enormous expansion. Trade boards, hospitals, schools and group homes were constructed at extraordinary speed as the population grew exponentially. As Allan Cullimore, NCE’s President from 1920 to 1949, wrote in his history of the college, “[Newark] was the home of what was, in the middle of the last century, probably the most highly-industrialised center in the United States. She recognized that to retain her position of eminence she must have ways and means of developing men who would carry on what might be called the ‘industrial tradition.’ ” To educate the citizens who would carry on this work, especially the engineers and architects, the city chartered in 1881 the Newark Technical School.
Although the exact dates are murky, George enrolled at NTS sometime between 1882 and 1883, and graduated between 1884 and 1886, after which he graduated from Columbia University with a Ph.B in 1891 and an A.M. in 1892. He was awarded a prestigious fellowship, and for the next two years studied in France at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and Atelier Daumet-Esquie.
Upon his return to the United States and in 1896, was he appointed chief designer in the Office of the Supervising Architect, Department of the Treasury, which inspired him to establish his own firm, Totten & Rogers, founded with his college roommate.
By 1908, George had designed the American chancery in Turkey, and a private residence for Prime Minister Issez Pasha. The Turkish Sultan, Abdul Hamid, admired George’s work so much that he asked him to serve as his private architect, which he apparently accepted. Before he took the position, the Sultan was overthrown.
George’s interest in diplomatic residences was piqued, and he found the sponsorship of Mary Foote Henderson, a wealthy Washington socialite and suffragette who sought to develop the Meridian Hill area into a center for the city’s elite ambassador corps. With her backing, George built more than a dozen residences in the area, including the residences of Turkish, Polish, Belgian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, and Danish legations, and the former French embassy.
Between 1897 and 1939, George served as delegate to the International Architects in Brussels, and during World War I he served as a major in the Army Engineers Corps — keeping “Maj.” as a prefix for the rest of his life.
Among George’s most notable contributions was his design and construction of the Newark Courthouse and Post Office, now known as the Frank R. Lautenberg Newark Post Office and Courthouse.
George was a distinguished contributor to his field throughout his life. He was secretary and vice president of the American section of the permanent committee of the International Congress of Architects and President of the Washington Architectural Club and the Washington Chapter of the AIA.
This is just a short summary of the many distinguished works and efforts that George proposed or accomplished in his life. Make sure to look at our custom Google Search to read more about his life and work.
Note: This article first appeared on Medium