Henry Greene Overview

Henry Mather Greene and his brother, Charles Sumner Greene who established the architectural firm of Greene and Greene, were influential American architects. Active primarily in California, their bungalow houses and larger-scale ultimate bungalows are prime exemplars of the Arts and Crafts... [more]

Henry Mather Greene and his brother, Charles Sumner Greene who established the architectural firm of Greene and Greene, were influential American architects. Active primarily in California, their bungalow houses and larger-scale ultimate bungalows are prime exemplars of the Arts and Crafts movement. As a teenager, Henery studied at the Manual Training School of Washington University, in St Louis, Missouri, graduating in 1887-1888 primarily studing metalwork and woodworking. Charles received a 'certificate for completion of partial course', a special two year program at MIT's School of Architecture, in 1891 Studing classical building styles, intending at that time only to gain certification for apprenticeships with architecture and construction firms upon graduation. After M.I.T., in the Spring of 1890, Henry Greene apprenticed first with the firm of Chamberlin & Austin, and then briefly went to work with Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. All of the firms that the brothers worked for were located in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1893 their parents requested that the sons move out to Pasadena, California, where they had moved to a year before. Charles and his brother agreed and while traveling by train from Boston they stopped at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and saw a few examples of Japanese architecture, which made a lasting impression on both of them, according to a late-in-life interview with brother Henry Greene. The Architectural firm of Greene and Greene was established in Pasadena in January of 1894, eventually building toward the crescendo of their "ultimate bungalows", such as the Gamble House in Pasadena, generally considered one of the finest examples of residential architecture in the United States. Such ultimate bungalows were completely custom affairs, where the vast majority of ingredients – light fixtures, furniture, even woven textiles – were created for a specific space in the home. The firm of Greene & Greene was officially dissolved in 1922. Henry remained in Pasadena, doing architecture projects on his own. [show less]