RADFORD, George Kent (1826-1908), active in London, England, then Toronto, Ont., and later in New York City. He was a member of the following firms, either with his younger brother Edward Radford, or under his own name, or in association with others:
Edward Radford & George K. Radford, Architects, London, England 1853-54
G.K. Radford, Architect & C.E., Toronto, 1856
Edward Radford & George K. Radford, Architects & C.E., Toronto, Ont., 1857 to July 1858
G.K. Radford, Toronto, Ont. August 1858 to Dec. 1858
G.K. Radford, England, 1859-64
G.K. Radford, associate to Olmsted & Vaux, Chicago, Ill., 1868-70, for development of Riverside, Ill.
G.K. Radford, associate to Olmsted & Vaux, Buffalo, N.Y., 1870-73, for development of Delaware Park
G.K. Radford, associate to Olmsted & Vaux, New York City, 1873-74
Vaux & Radford, Architects & Engineers, New York City, 1874-1892
Born at Plymouth, Devon Co., England in September 1826, he was the son of William Manly Radford (1790-1865), a well-known civil engineer active in London. His early years as a professional engineer are carefully documented in the detailed Application for Membership which George K. submitted to the Institution of Civil Engineers in London in 1863. He stated that he had been “…educated partly under his father, and partly under his brother for 6 years, having charge, as Resident Engineer, of the construction of works on the Regent’s Canal, including the New Entrance and other locks, the enlargement of the Basin and Reservoirs, hydraulic machinery, and works of the same character”. He stated he was also engaged “…..in connection with my brother, on Parliamentary surveys for Railways, water supplies, and docks for the late James M. Rendel (1799-1856) who was the Past President of the Inst. of Civil Engineers” in 1852-53. Both of the Radford brothers opened an architectural office at 11 Buckingham Street, Strand, London in early 1853 (Watkins London Directory for 1853, 456).
When Edward Radford decided to emigrate to Canada in 1854, both brothers closed their London office and moved to Toronto, Ontario. Just weeks after his arrival, George K. entered and won the competition for the design of the Toronto Water Works (Globe [Toronto], 1 Dec. 1854, 2, descrip.; OA, Diary of John G. Howard, entry for 23 Sept. 1854). This commission was accompanied by a Premium of £ 100 awarded to Radford. By 1856 he had attained the appointment of Manager of the Toronto Waterworks, and was listed as an architect and civil engineer (W.R. Brown, Toronto General Directory, 1856, 207). In 1857 the Radford Brothers opened an architectural office in Toronto (see list of works under Edward Radford). Their collaboration lasted until July 1858 , and it was during this period that they completed their most significant work in Canada, the refined Gothic Revival design for St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Bloor Street East, Toronto, 1857-58, still standing in 2017 and now a national historic site. For unknown reasons, Edward decided to return to England in July 1858, leaving his brother George to work on his own in Toronto until December 1858.
George K. followed his brother back to England in late 1859 and remained there until 1864 when he emigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. He was employed by the leading firm of Olmsted & Vaux as an associate and local supervisor of their major project in Riverside, Illinois (1868-70). By 1870, Radford had moved to Buffalo, N.Y. and opened an office as an engineer there at 1316 Delaware Avenue where he assisted Olmsted & Vaux with the layout and construction of Delaware Park. They recommended him for that job because he was “…a gentleman of superior ability in his profession [and] is well-known and was engaged as engineer” (Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, 7 March 1871, 1). In 1873-74, Radford worked in the New York City office of Olmsted & Vaux, and in 1874 Vaux offered a full partnership to Radford. During the next 18 years Vaux & Radford collaborated on a variety of institutional and residential projects, and also pursued work through the competition process.
Radford left New York in 1893 and moved to Berkeley, Calif. where he died on 31 March 1908 at the age of 82 years (death notice San Francisco Chronicle, 3 April 1908, 11). He was later buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, Calif.
G.K. & Edward RADFORD
TORONTO, ONT., residence on the Elmsley Villa estate for William T. Ince, 1857 (Globe [Toronto], 6 July 1857, 2)
TORONTO, ONT., two wholesale stores at Wellington Street East at Front Street East for William T. Ince, 1857; demol. (Globe [Toronto], 6 July 1857, 2)
TORONTO, ONT., St. Paul's Anglican Church, Bloor Street East near Church Street, 1858-60; still standing 2017 (Globe [Toronto], 6 July 1857, 2, descrip.; 5 Aug. 1858, 3, descrip.; Montreal Transcript, 26 Aug. 1858, 2, descrip.; Builder [London], xvi, 24 April 1858, 278-9, illus. plate; Canadian Ecclesiastical Gazette, vii, 15 Dec. 1860, 192-3, descrip.; C.A.B., iv, Oct. 1891, illus. plate; Eric Arthur, Toronto - No Mean City, 1964, 146, illus.)
VAUX & MOULD, with G.K. RADFORD
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, Eighth Avenue at 77th Street, 1874-78 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 202-03, illus. )
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, Fifth Avenue opposite E. 79th Street, designed 1868-69; built 1874-80 (New York Times, Letter to the Editor by J. Wrey Mould, 1 May 1880, 5). Mould described Radford as “an engineer of high scientific attainments to whom we entrusted the constructive portions of the iron work [i. e. the steel structure] of the building” (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 206-09, illus. & descrip.)
VAUX & RADFORD
(works in New York City)
IMPROVED TENEMENT HOUSE ASSOCIATION, First Avenue, at East 71st and East 72nd Street, a block of 13 tenement houses containing 218 small tenement units on East 71st Street, on First Avenue, and on East 72nd Street, 1880-81; demol. 1960 (New York Times, 1 Sept. 1880, 8, descrip.; 11 April 1881, 8, descrip.; William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 210-13, illus. )
EAST SIDE BOYS’ LODGING HOUSE & INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, East Broadway near Gouverneur Street, 1880 (Daily Graphic [New York], 29 May 1880, 763, illus. & descrip.; William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 209-10, illus. & descrip.)
GRAMERCY PARK, major addition to the mansion for Samuel J. Tilden, at 15 Gramercy Park, 1881, and now The National Arts Club (New York Times, 7 July 1881, 8, descrip.; Burlington Free Press [Burlington, Vermont], 24 March 1882, 2, descrip.; American Architect & Building News [Boston], xxxiii, 5 Sept. 1891, 155 with Plate illus.)
WEST SIDE LODGING HOUSE & INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, Seventh Avenue at West 32nd. Street, 1882 (American Architect & Building News [Boston], xvi, 29 Nov. 1884, 259, with plate illus.; William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 220-21, illus. & descrip.)
TRINITY CEMETERY, Amsterdam Avenue to Riverside Drive, at West 153rd Street to West 155th Street, Gatehouse and Keeper’s Lodge, 1883; suspension bridge over Broadway linking both halves of the cemetery, by Vaux, Withers & Co. and George K. Radford, engineer, 1881; bridge demol. 1911 (E. Willensky & N. White, A.I.A. Guide to New York City, 1988, 459, illus.; William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 196-97, illus.)
THE HEALTH HOUSE, for the Children’s Aid Society, at Coney Island overlooking Gravesend Bay, 1884; demol. after 1921 (New York Times, 13 June 1884, 8, descrip.; William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 230, illus.)
CYPRESS HILLS, LONG ISLAND, Cemetery Chapel for the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue, 1885 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 229, illus.)
TOMPKINS SQUARE LODGING HOUSE & INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, Tompkins Square at East Eighth Street, 1886-87 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 222-23, illus. & descrip.)
NEWS BOYS LODGING HOUSE & SCHOOL, for the Children’s Aid Society, Second Avenue at East 44th Street, 1887 (New York Times, 7 Aug. 1887, 9, descrip.; William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 214-15, illus. & descrip.)
RHINELANDER INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, East 88th Street, 1890 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 225, illus.)
JONES MEMORIAL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, East 73rd Street, 1890, demol. 1965 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 226, illus.)
MOTT STREET INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, Mott Street, 1890 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 227, illus.)
HOUSE OF RECEPTION - NEW YORK JUVENILE ASYLUM, West 27th Street, 1890; demol. (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 228, illus.)
SIXTH STREET INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, East 6th Street near Avenue B, 1891 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 224, illus.)
(works outside New York City)
ELMIRA, N.Y., Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital, 1888; demol. c. 1950 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 231, illlus. & descrip.)
RONDOUT, N.Y., residence for Samuel D. Coykendall, 1890-92 (William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 240, list of works)
COMPETITIONS
TORONTO, ONT., Toronto Water Works, 1854. G.K. Radford was awarded first premium of £100 for the design of a waterworks system and ancillary buildings submitted under the pseudonym "Red Cross" (Globe 1 Dec. 1854, 2, descrip.; OA, J.G. Howard Diary, entry for 23 Sept. 1854). Second prize of £50 was given to Sandford Fleming, and John G. Howard was given £25 for his professional advice.
HAMILTON, ONT. Market & Public Building, 1857. The Radford brothers were among fourteen firms who sought this commission (Semi-Weekly Spectator [Hamilton], 21 March 1857, 1). Their scheme was not among the finalists.
QUEBEC CITY, QUE., Federal Customs House, 1856. The Toronto firm of G. Kent Radford & Edward Radford were one of 14 different firms who submitted a design for this major government project. They were awarded the Second Prize of £ 100.00 for their effort. The winner was William Thomas of Toronto (NAC, RG11, Vol. 90, File No. 3, list of competitors dated 25 March 1856)
PHILADELPHIA, PENN., Centennial Exhibition Hall, Fairmount Park, 1876. In 1873 the New York firm of Vaux & Radford were one of 43 architects who submitted competitive designs for a large Exhibit Hall to be erected in Philadelphia to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. The jury selected 10 finalists, including the design from Vaux & Radford, who submitted a breathtaking proposal (New York Times, 25 Oct. 1873, 1, illus. & descrip.; 5 Nov. 1873, 3, descrip.; William Alex, Calvin Vaux - Architect & Planner, 1994, 198-201, illus.). Surprisingly, their scheme was not among the four prizewinners, and the Selection Committee then proposed that their design should be “blended” with the best features of the design submitted by Henry A. Sims (formerly of Ottawa). The following year, in 1874, the Centennial Committee drastically slashed the budget for the Main Building from $4.5 million to a paltry $1.3 million, and the concept by Vaux & Radford was greatly modified by Henry Pettit, the Engineer for the Commission (New York Times, 6 July 1874, 1, descrip.; Philadelphia Enquirer, 22 Jan. 1875, 2, descrip.)
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., Harlem River Bridge, 181st Street at the Harlem River, 1886. Vaux & Radford were one of several architects and engineers who submitted a proposal for a major steel bridge spanning the Harlem River at the north end of Manhattan. The estimated cost was $1.5 million, but the scheme by Vaux & Radford was rejected, presumably for cost reasons, but not before a detailed architectural description of their design for the bridge had been published in the New York Times, 17 July 1886, 3, descrip..