Brognard Okie developed a very diverse clientele in his 45 years of practice. Some of his best works are small residences, but at the same time, the Pews, du Ponts, and other Philadelphia gentry came to him to create sprawling farms with prize livestock collections. He designed both the manor houses and agricultural buildings based on his experience at his own 90 acre dairy farm near Newtown Square. Many of these farms also contained historically significant residences which he enlarged for his clients' social and business needs.
Okie developed a very personal vocabulary of architectural details and also had a deep knowledge of the vernacular architecture of the Middle Atlantic. He did not write many pieces or have his larger work extensively published, but it was well known to his clientele. His introductory essay to Eleanor Raymond’s 1930 book “Early Domestic Architecture of Pennsylvania” is an important window into his work, along with the photography of his long time Philadelphia colleague Philip Wallace. This program will explore the roots of his architecture and it’s development in several large Chester County estates.
About the Speaker: James B. Garrison, registered architect, graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University with a degree in architecture. For over forty years, he has worked on projects like the Historic American Buildings Survey, the Pennsylvania State Capitol, the Academy of Music, Philadelphia City Hall, the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, and the National Gallery of Art. He is the author of "Stone Houses: Traditional Houses of R. Brognard Okie," "Houses of Philadelphia," and "At Home in the American Barn," among many others. He currently serves as Chairman of the East Pikeland Historical Commission, and was President of the Chester County Historic Preservation Network from 2017-2023.
Admission is Pay as You Wish! Your donation is greatly appreciated. All proceeds benefit the development of future programming and the preservation of the History Center and its collections. The History Center is home to over 750,000 manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, and 70,000 artifacts. Your donation helps us to preserve and share those resources.
Presentation is via Zoom, and will be recorded and available for 7 days for all registered participants. We will email out a Zoom link the day of the presentation, and email a link to the recording within 24 hours. Note: the Zoom link emailed out the day of the presentation only takes you to the live presentation; the link emailed out the day after will contain the recorded version.
The History Matters Speaker Series is made possible through the generous support of The Haverford Trust Company.
Reserve your spot here:
https://buytickets.at/chestercountyhistorycenter/1763465
You may also like the following events from Chester County History Center:
- This Wednesday, 13th August, 06:00 pm, Architectural History Walking Tour in West Chester
- Next Saturday, 23rd August, 12:30 pm, Cartooning Chester County: The Art of the Story (Family Event) in West Chester
- Next month, 5th September, 06:00 pm, True Crime on Trial (Exton, PA) in West Chester
Also check out other
Nonprofit events in New Hampton,
Arts events in New Hampton,
Literary Art events in New Hampton.
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