Alexander Parris: Difference between revisions

The boom would end, however, with [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson's]] [[Embargo Act of 1807|Embargo of 1807]], which lasted 14 months and devastated Portland's mercantile base. Merchants went bankrupt. The Portland Bank, its building designed by Parris, failed. By 1809, construction in the city had come to a halt. Parris left for [[Richmond, Virginia]], where he designed the [[Wickham House]] and the [[Executive Mansion (Virginia)|Executive Mansion]]. But architect [[Benjamin Latrobe]] examined Parris' preliminary plans for the Wickham House, which resembled his previous Federal style works in Portland, and gave it a blistering review. Latrobe's advice left a profound imprint on the future work of Parris, beginning with the building's revised design. Consequently, the Wickham House is considered a watershed design by Parris, marking the shift from his earlier [[Adamesque]] period towards his later, more severe, monumental and [[wikt:architectonic|architectonic]] period. In the [[War of 1812]], he served in [[Plattsburgh (city), New York|Plattsburg, New York]] as a Captain of the Artificers (engineers), gaining knowledge of military requirements for engineering.