This article will address the issue of Adrian Janes, a relevant issue in the current context. Adrian Janes is a topic that has aroused the interest of many people, since it has profound implications in various areas. From a historical approach, Adrian Janes has been the subject of study and debate over the years, and its presence remains significant in contemporary society. This article seeks to provide a comprehensive view of Adrian Janes, exploring its many facets and offering an informed perspective on its importance and implications today. Through critical and reflective analysis, the aim is to generate greater understanding and awareness about Adrian Janes, thus contributing to the enrichment of the debate and reflection around this topic.
American businessman
Adrian Janes (February 4, 1798 – March 2, 1869) was the owner of a significant American iron foundry in the Bronx, New York.
The company name is sometimes misattributed to James Bebe or James Beebe.
Biography
Adrian Janes was the son of Mary Warren and Alfred Janes. Alfred worked in the shoe business, kept the City Hotel at Hartford, manufactured looking glasses and engaged in the house painting business. Adrian had a sister, Eliza (b. March 2, 1796), who was the mother of the landscape painter, Frederic Edwin Church. Adrian Janes married Adaline Root in 1823, and had six children: Julia E, Henry, Edward, George, Charles B, and Mary E. Adrian sold wallpaper and brushes in Hardford CT from 1821 to 1844; he was also an oil painter and presumably designed the wallpaper that he sold. “No doubt Frederic as a boy absorbed ideas about design, drawing and color from his Uncle Adrian .”
In 1844, Adrian Janes and William Beebe founded the foundry, Janes, Beebe & Co. at 356 Broadway, New York (at the corner of Reade and Center Street). In 1857, the firm moved from Manhattan to Morrisania (the Bronx). The firm was dissolved in 1859 due to the death of William Beebe. From 1859 to 1863, the firm operated as Janes, Fowler, Kirtland & Co. (Adrian Janes, Charles Fowler and Charles A. Kirtland). By 1870, the firm changed its name to Janes & Kirtland and was located at 725 6th Avenue.
In April 1857 Adrian and Adeline Janes purchased a tract of land from Gouverneur Morris II and lived in a mansion on the property. Adrian Janes named the property Mary's Park, after this daughter (it is now known as St. Mary's Park). A photo of the residence can be viewed here.
Adrian Janes died in 1869 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. The business was continued by Charles A Kirtland until 1880; who was succeeded by Adrian Janes' son, Edward E Janes; who was succeeded by Edward E Janes' two sons, Henry and Herbert Janes. The firm operated under the name of Janes & Kirtland at 725 6th Avenue until the early 1940s.
Wallpaper business (1821-1844)
Between 1821 and 1844, Adrian Janes and Edwin Bolles operated a wallpaper business, Janes & Bolles, in Hartford CT. The firm holds the distinction of assembling the earliest known book of American wallpaper samples that has survived to present day. The book resides in the collection of Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA.
Iron foundry (1844-c.1940)
Capitol Dome, Washington DC
Janes, Fowler, Kirtland & Co. was responsible for casting and erecting the cast iron Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The dome was designed by the architect Thomas Ustick Walter. Work started on the Dome in 1858 and continued into the Civil War. In 1863. President Lincoln proclaimed, “If people see the Capitol going on, it is a sign we intend the Union shall go on.” The Dome was completed in 1864, weighing nearly 9 million pounds and at a cost of $1 million.
Papers relating to the construction of the dome are archived at the Cornell University Library as Collection No. 3244 and correspondence can be found here.
Government Buildings
Ceiling of the Senate Chamber and House of Representatives
Congressional Library in the U.S. Capitol Building* (1852)
Patent Office, east wing furnace (1851) and west wing roof (1855)
General Post Office
Treasury Building
Court House and Post Office, Portland, Maine (1871)
Capitol building lanterns (1874)
Senate Chamber
House of Representatives
Grand stairs ceiling
Congressional Library
Patent Office
General Post Office
Treasury Building
Post Office, Portland ME
Brooklyn Bridge
Bow Bridge
Broadway Fountain
Plaza de Armas
Capitol Lanterns
St. Mary's Park
Brooklyn Bridge
The firm produced cast-iron railings for the Brooklyn Bridge
Bow Bridge
Bow Bridge is one of the most iconic and photographed features of Central Park. Built in 1862, the bridge spans 60 feet across the Central Park Lake and connects Cherry Hill and the Ramble. Bow Bridge is named for its arc shape which resembles that of an archer's bow. It is the oldest cast-iron bridge in Central Park, and it is the second-oldest cast-iron bridge in the United States. It was designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould.
Fountains were sent to Cuba, Haiti, the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), Mexico, South America and China. (To be confirmed - Haitian fountain could be at Place Madan Kolo in Gonaives, Haiti - see photo)
Advertisement for garden ornaments can be found here(1860)
Furniture
In 1859, Congress ordered forty-eight benches for the Hall of the House of Representatives (i.e., the House chamber). The sides of the benches were designed by Constantino Brumidi and cast by Janes, Beebe & Co. The benches were loaned to several sites over the years. 14 of the benches (and 2 reproductions) now reside in the Capitol Rotunda. A photo of the bench can be found here.
Cooking ranges in the late 19th century can be found in this catalog
St. Mary's Park
St. Mary's Park (and a Protestant Episcopal church that once stood on Alexander Avenue and East 142nd Street until 1959) takes its name from Adrian's daughter, Mary. In the park's north end is Janes’ Hill, where the Janes mansion once stood.
^Metals in America's historic buildings. Internet Archive. Washington : U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, Technical Preservation Services Division. 1980.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)