Arthur C. Jackson

Arthur Cornelius Jackson (September 19, 1866 – April 7, 1941) was an American architect, based in New York City. He is best known today as the architect of Lasata, the childhood summer home in East Hampton, New York of a future First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Early life

Jackson was born in Utica, New York on September 19, 1866.^[1] He was the son of William Bennett Jackson (1820–1890) and Elizabeth Blake Jackson (1824–1874). His sister, Angeline Sherwood Jackson, married Alvin W. Krech, chairman of the board of the Equitable Trust Company who was also Treasurer of the Century Opera Company.^[2][3]

He was educated at Utica Free Academy before attending Harvard University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1888. He then went to Paris, studied in the Atelier Durer, before graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts.^[1]

Career

Utica Public Library, designed by Jackson while he was at Carrère and Hastings

Lasata in 2007

From 1898 to 1907, he was employed by the firm of Carrère and Hastings in New York and performed important work in preparing the successful entry for the design of the New York Public Library. He also designed the Utica Public Library in his hometown of Utica, New York.^[4]

He became a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1907.^[5] Between 1909 and 1911, he worked in the office of LaFarge & Morris. He had worked with Benjamin Wistar Morris at Carrère and Hastings on the designes for the New York Public Library. Christopher Grant LaFarge, the eldest son of artist John La Farge, had previously been a partner of George Lewis Heins in Heins & LaFarge until Heins' death in 1907. In 1911, he started his own firm, "devoting himself principally to the design of city and country private homes".^[1] His office was at at 501 Fifth Avenue.^[6]

In 1917, he designed Lasata in East Hampton, New York for George W. Schurman and his wife, Helen (née Munro) Schurman. The home was later owned by John Vernou Bouvier Jr., Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's grandfather.^[7]

Notable buildings

119 East 64th Street

• Utica Public Library, Utica, New York (1901)^[4]
• Alvin W. Krech Townhouse, 17 East 70th Street, New York City (1909)^[8]
• 11 East 89th Street, New York City (1912–3)^[9]
• Arthur Ryle House, 787 Park Avenue, New York City (1913)^[10]
• Dexter Blagden Townhouse, 41 East 51st Street, New York City^[11][a]
• Lawrence York Spear House, New London, Connecticut^[11]
• Henry E. Meeker Townhouse, 119 East 64th Street, New York City (1917).^[b]
• George W. Schurman House ("Lasata"), 121 Further Lane, East Hampton, New York (1917)^[11]
• National Surety Building, 4 Albany Street, New York City (1921)^[13][14][c]
• Dexter Blagden House, 713 Navesink River Road, Middletown Township, New Jersey (1927)^[16]
• Shepard Kretch House ("Briar Patch"), 100 Briarpatch Road, East Hampton, New York (1931)^[17]

Personal life

He lived at 124 West 55th Street in Manhattan.^[1] He was interested in Polo and attended matches at the Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury, New York.^[18] A member of the University Club of New York, he served as Chairman of the Art Committee in 1917.^[19]

Jackson, who never married, died at Useppa Island, an island located near the northern end of Pine Island Sound in Lee County, Florida, in 1941. He was buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica.^[1] He was visiting at the home of Albert Rathbone (a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury).^[20]

References

Notes

1. The Blagden townhouse was located at 41 East 51st Street,^[12] but has since been torn down and replaced by the Blackrock headquarters.
2. The house was originally built between 1876-77 with a neo-Grec facade designed by John McCool. Jackson replaced the facade with a neo-Federal in 1917 for Henry E. Meeker.
3. The National Surety Building, a small 130,000 sq. ft. neo-classical building at 4 Albany Street, was damaged and contaminated in the Collapse of the World Trade Center, and was demolished in 2005.^[15]

Sources

1. "ARTHUR C. JACKSON; New York Architect Dies on a Visit in Florida". The New York Times. April 8, 1941. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
2. "ALVIN W. KRECH DIES SUDDENLY AT DESK; Heart Attack Fatal to Chairman of Board of Directors of the Equitable Trust Company. UNERAL SERVICES MONDAY Notable Figure in Financial and Industrial World Was Director of Many Organizations. Had Been in Good Health. Heads Equitable Trust in 1903. Friends Pay Tributes". The New York Times. May 4, 1928. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
3. "A.W. KRECH WILLED FORTUNE TO FAMILY; Widow Gets Income of Estate --Four Children Share It After Her Death. SON ASKED TO BE LEFT OUT Robert L. Hastings Made Bequest to Convent--Daughter's Share Mrs. Haskins's Estate". The New York Times. May 16, 1928. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
4. "New York Architect Wins". The New York Times. July 26, 1901. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
5. "Arthur C. Jackson architect". www.archinform.net. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
6. "Arthur C. Jackson (1866-1941)". americanaristocracy.com. American Aristocracy. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
7. "Lasata". americanaristocracy.com. American Aristocracy. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
8. Commission, New York (N Y. ) Landmarks Preservation (1974). 17 East 70th Street House, Borough of Manhattan: Built 1909-11; Architect Arthur C. Jackson. NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
9. "11 East 89th Street". friends-ues.org. Friends of the Upper East Side. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
10. "New York". The American Architect. Swetland Publishing Company: 138. 1913. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
11. "Interior Architecture: The Sun Porch--Its Decorations and Furnishings". American Architect. American Architect: 61. 1924. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
12. "DEXTER BLAGDEN". The New York Times. Nov 22, 1948. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
13. "NEW BUILDINGS.; Downtown Building for National Surety Co. to Cost $700,000". The New York Times. Aug 30, 1921. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
14. Architecture and Building. W.T. Comstock Company. 1922. p. 7. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
15. Kaysen, Ronda (20 January 2005). "After demolition begins, Deutsche presents 4 Albany St. plan". amNewYork. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
16. Saretzk, Gary D., ed. (October 2018). "Dexter Blagden House, Middletow" (PDF). BUILDINGS In Monmouth: Stories & Styles. Manalapan, NJ: Monmouth County Archives. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
17. "Inside a Timeless East Hampton Compound". www.sothebysrealty.com. Sothebys. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
18. "SOCIETY MAINTAINS INTEREST IN POLO; Enthusiasm at Second Game Parallels That of Opening Day at Meadow Brook. ELECT ASSEMBLE EARLY Many Luncheons at Clubhouse Precede Match -- Mrs. George Rose Entertains Party of Friends". The New York Times. Sep 15, 1927. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
19. Club, New York (City) University (1917). Charter, Constitution, Officiers, and Roll of Members of "the University Club" in the City of New York. University Club. p. 4. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
20. "POST FOR ALBERT RATHBONE; New York Lawyer Appointed Assistant Secretary of Treasury". The New York Times. 30 August 1918. Retrieved 6 December 2021.