November 10, 2014

Nicholas Clayton: Architect Extraordinaire of Galveston

written by Rosa Morgan

Born on November 1, 1840, in Cloyne, County Cork, Ireland, Clayton immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1848, after the death of his father. He learned the skills of a plasterer, a marble carver, and architectural draftsman, and moved to Galveston to take a position as a supervising architect. It was in his new hometown that he made his mark as an architect, creating some of the most beautiful and recognizable structures of the city. 

The following are a very small sampling of this gifted man's work.


1874-77 Saint Patrick's Cathedral 



1878-79 Eaton Memorial Chapel 


1881 Electric Pavillion


1881-83 Harmony Hall


1882 Beach Hotel


1885 Gresham House


1889 Lasker House


1891-95 Ursuline Academy


1891 University of Texas Medical Branch


Despite 25 years as Galveston's most prominent architect, Clayton ultimately filed bankruptcy. In 1916 when he died at age 76, his wife and five children could not afford a proper tombstone and so his grave was marked with one of his marble samples.

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