Incidental Architect

William Thornton and the Cultural Life of Early Washington, D.C., 1794-1828

By: Gordon S. Brown

Narrated by: Greg Littlefield

While the majority of scholarship on early Washington focuses on its political and physical development, in Incidental Architect Gordon S. Brown describes the intellectual and social scene of the late 1700s through the lives of a prominent couple whose cultural aspirations served as both model and mirror for the city’s own.

When William and Anna Maria Thornton arrived in Washington, DC, in 1794, the new nation’s capital was little more than a raw village. The Edinburgh-educated Thornton and his accomplished wife brought with them the values of the Scottish Enlightenment, an enthusiasm for the arts, and a polished urbanity that was lacking in the little city emerging from the swamps along the Potomac. Thornton’s talents were manifold: He is perhaps best known as the original architect of the Capitol building, but he also served as a city commissioner and as director of the Patent Office, where his own experimentation in steam navigation embroiled him in a long-running dispute with inventor Robert Fulton.

In spite of their general preoccupation with politics and real estate development, Washington’s citizens gradually created a network of cultural institutions - theaters, libraries, and booksellers, music venues, churches, schools, and even colleges and intellectual associations - that began to satisfy their aspirations. Incidental Architect is a fascinating account of how the city’s cultural and social institutions were shaped by its earliest citizens.

The book is published by Ohio University Press.

©2009 Ohio University Press (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Convincingly argued and gracefully written account of early Washington, D.C., and one of its most memorable residents.” (The Journal of Southern History)

Great, engaging storytelling

Really interesting story that's so well-narrated by Greg Littlefield - he marries a deft touch for lightness and humor with an appropriate gravity for the material. Such a pleasurable listen!