Furness, Evans & Co.

Furness, Evans & Co. was the architectural firm of Walter Rogers Furness, son of Horace Howard Furness.

From the description of Letter to Horace Howard Furness, 1894. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155883302

Frank Furness practiced architecture in Philadelphia under the firm names Fraser, Furness & Hewitt (1867-1871), Furness & Hewitt (1871-1875). Frank Furness (1876-1880), Furness & Evans (1881-1885) and Furness, Evans & Co. from1886 until death in 1912. His partner Allen Evans continued the firm under that same name. Furness's work, known for his distinctive personal style, included railroad stations, banks, residences, office buildings and churches. He was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Institute of Architects in 1869 and was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

From the description of Furness, Evans & Co. architectural drawings for the Arcade Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, . 1900. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 230827669

From the description of Furness, Evans & Co. architectural records for the office building for the Pennsylvania Railroad at Wilmington, Delaware, . 1904-1905. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 230815269

The Library of the University of Pennsylvania was designed in 1888 by Frank Furness, in consultation with Melvil Dewey and the librarian of Harvard University, Justin Winsor. The building was constructed 1889-1890 and dedicated 1891. In the following years and decades the library was repeatedly expanded. A gallery was added in the reading room (1903-1905). After Frank Furness died in 1912, his firm, Furness, Evans & Co., added the Duhring Memorial Stacks (1914-1915) to the south of the existing stacks. Further proposed additions and alterations by Furness, Evans & Co. beginning in 1918 resulted in two major expansions. The vaulted main reading/reference room was divided by the insertion of a floor (1922-1923) which doubled its capacity at the sacrifice of much of its original grandeur. And in 1923 the Henry Charles Lea Library and Reading Room filled the space between the library and 34th Street. The next major addition to the Furness Building was designed by Robert Rodes McGoodwin. He proposed an expansion of the library building which would have constructed a larger Collegiate Gothic building around Furness's original library. Remaining exterior walls would have been reclad to match the new construction. The Horace Howard Furness Memorial (1930-1931) was the only part of McGoodwin's larger design to be built.

In 1962 the University built a new library building for the School of Arts and Sciences, designed by Harbeson, Hough, Livingston? and the Furness Building became the home of the Fine Arts Library. The Furness Building (excluding the Duhring Memorial Stacks) underwent a major renovation/restoration by Venturi, Rauch, and Scott Brown 1985-1991. It was rededicated in 1991 as the Jerome and Anne Fisher Fine Arts Library.

From the description of Furness, Evans & Co. architectural records for the Library of the University of Pennsylvania Building, 1888-1991. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122477415