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George Perkins Bissell Alderman | |
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 Engraved portrait of Alderman, c. 1925 | |
| Born | September 20, 1862 Tariffville, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | November 3, 1942(1942-11-03) (aged 80)[1] Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Known for | Architect |
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| Children | 10 |
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George Perkins Bissell Alderman (September 20, 1862 – November 3, 1942), often referred to asGeorge P. B. Alderman was an Americanarchitect who was active inwestern Massachusetts and Connecticut during the late 19th and early 20th Century.
George Perkins Bissell Alderman was born September 20, 1862, to Eugene Clydon and Ellen Eliza (née Holmes) Alderman. His full name, including the two middle initials he displayed throughout his life, derived from his father'sCivil War service. Wounded in theBattle of Chancellorsville, Eugene Alderman was given up for dead until CaptainGeorge Perkins Bissell of the25th Connecticut Infantry noticed his movement. Picking up the soldier and strapping him to his horse, he rode him to the nearest hospital, and in a feeling of indebtedness, the elder Alderman chose to name his first-born son after the man who saved him.[2] As a young child he worked on the family farm and as a carpenter, and also attended school in East Granby, CT. The family moved toPlainville, Connecticut, where he attended school for a year, then worked at country store. In 1879 his family moved toHolyoke, Massachusetts, where he worked with his father as a carpenter.
Eventually Alderman realized that he really desired to be an architect and to that end he entered the office ofJames A. Clough, architect, of Holyoke, where he worked for 5 years. He then moved toChicago where he found work in the offices ofCass Chapman, a prominent architect.
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In 1885, Mr. Alderman returned to Holyoke and opened his own architectural office where he was later joined by his brother, Henry. The firm name wasGeorge P. B. Alderman & Company. The business was very active from the start building churches, schools and public buildings for a varied clientele.[3]
Among these he would construct religious and meetinghouse buildings for a wide variety of groups, including Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, and Baptist Churches, as well as at least one synagogue, a Freemason temple, a labor union hall, and spaces for various ethnic benefit societies such as the Alsatian-Lorrainian Union. He and his firm would design buildings in a number of architectural styles, including but not limited to, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Neoclassical,Richardsonian Romanesque, Victorian, and a few later examples of Art Deco.[4]
Alderman’s son,Bissell Alderman was also an architect who attended theMassachusetts Institute of Technology and had a long and distinguished career serving many New England clients. The younger Alderman would also serve two terms as president of the Western Chapter of theAmerican Institute of Architects.
Alderman was very active in civic affairs. He was a director of the Hadley Falls Trust Company, a trustee of thePeople's Savings Bank, and a member of the finance committee. He was a member of the Second Baptist Church of Holyoke, a member of the Holyoke Lodge of Odd Fellows, Mt. Tom Lodge,Free and Accepted Masons, and theEngineers' Society of Western Massachusetts.
The plans for the Senior building have been completed and Architect Alderman will be able to set the contractors figuring on them to-day or Monday. The change of plan to a fireproof building has caused a considerable delay as practically a new set of plans throughout had to be drawn, but the improvement is worth the delay. There is to be a bicycle room in the basement, entrance being afforded from the alleyway in the rear and from the bicycle room a swing door leads to the elevator. A neat iron fence is to be built around the roof garden of the Bay State club, which is to have the upper floor.
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