Goldsmith, Goldwin, 1871-1962

Born in Paterson, New Jersey on June 12, 1871, Goldwin Goldsmith received his early education in New York City. Following his high school graduation, he worked as an office assistant and draftsman (1888-1890) at the firm of McKim Mead and White which introduced him to the principles of the Beaux-Arts tradition. While working there he decided upon architecture as his chosen profession and accordingly entered the School of Architecture at Columbia University. He graduated in 1896 with a Ph.D. degree. Immediately after graduation he married Gertrude Relief Sumner and took a year's honeymoon in Europe where he pursued graduate study at the Atelier Dusay in Paris. When Goldsmith took breaks from studying, he and his wife toured France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Holland and England riding a tandem bicycle. The Smithsonian Institution now houses that bicycle.

Upon his return to the United States, Goldsmith established a firm in New York with Joseph Van Vleck, Jr. The firm, Van Vleck and Goldsmith maintained an office at 156 Fifth Avenue and flourished from 1897-1913. Among its designs were: the Young Men's Christian Association (1899), the First Methodist Episcopal Church (1899) and the Madison Building (1906) in Montclair, New Jersey; the Copper Queen Hotel (1909) in Bisbie, Arizona; and residences at 1026, 1027, and 1028 Madison Avenue in New York City.

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