Massachusetts
Asher Benjamin (6/5/1771-6/25/1845) Boston, Massachusetts
An early New England architect, and a native of Greenfield, Massachusetts, he had an office in Boston in 1803, listed in the City Directory as an Architect. While Mr. Benjamin designed and built several churches and private homes, he is better known as the author of a series of books on building, which were published between 1799 and 1830. Filled with plans for houses, churches, and numerous building details, "The Country Builders Assistant", "The American Builders' Companion", "The Rudiments of Architecture", and "The Practical Home Carpenter" were widely read by builders and would-be architects of the period, and the popularity of the books called for several later editions.
In Windsor, Vermont, where he spend his early life, he designed his first buildings, the old South Congregational Church, and two residences. The First Congregational Church at Bennington, Vermont, formerly believed to have been his work is now attributed to Lavius Filmore of Vermont. In Boston his most important works were the Charles Street CHurch (extant), a brick structure at the corner to Mt. Vernon, completed in 1807, and the old West Church, 1809, on Cambridge Street, later remodeled as a branch Public Library. About the same time he built a home for himself at 9 West Cedar Street on Beacon Hill, and possibly others in the same block, as well as a row of residences, 92 to 98 Bowdoin Street. In addition, he is believed to have designed the two famous colonaded houses at 54 and 55 Beacon Street.
Elsewhere, at least two churches, possibly more, in Connecticut valley towns were built by Mr. Benjamin; the old Congregational at Agawam (destroyed by fire) and the First Parish Church at Bedford. Also in that area were the Carew and Alexander residences at Springfield, two-story mansion type residences designed in the Greek Revival style; the Captain Colton house at Longmeadow; and the Coleman-Holister residence, on Bank Row in Greenfield, in Early Republican style.