Baker Memorial Chapel, Trudeau Sanatorium 
St. Luke's Parish House Born: June (or January) 3, 1854
Died: May 16, 1936
Married: Mary Morris Carnochan, 1859-1892
Children: n/a
Starting in 1875 James Lawrence Aspinwall was the junior partner of James Renwick in the New York City firm of Renwick, Aspinwall and Renwick; he was a partner in the firm from 1880 to 1925. As Renwick, Aspinwall and Tucker they designed the American Express Building in New York City, and as Renwick, Aspinwall and Guard after 1925, Aspinwall and William Renwick worked out much of the detail of St. Patrick's Cathedral and of the stone spire of Grace Church, which James Renwick had designed. Later he designed buildings for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, and the American Express Building. He was a member of the Union and Engineers Clubs. 1
He was also Dr. E.L. Trudeau's cousin. He donated plans for many of the buildings at the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium, including the Baker Memorial Chapel, with William L. Coulter; he designed the Saranac Laboratory, St. Luke's Parish House, St. Luke's Rectory, and he added a transept on each side and enlarged the chancel of St. John's in the Wilderness. 2 According to his personal card presented at the cornerstone laying, J. Lawrence Aspinwall was the architect for Stony Wold Sanatorium. Trudeau encouraged Elizabeth Newcomb to build Stony Wold Sanatorium, and helped set out the plan for its buildings. The design for Stony Wold was done by the firm Renwick, Aspinwall and Owen, and Aspinwall was present for the cornerstone ceremony on September 11, 1902; he was probably the chief architect for the Sanatorium. Another card presented at the cornerstone laying was another one of Aspinwall’s, with “W.L. Coulter Supervising Archit Sept 11 1902” written on the back. William L. Coulter was a well known architect of Saranac Lake, for whom Aspinwall had served as a mentor. Aspinwall was honored as a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1914, and was the executor of his cousin E. L. Trudeau's will when he died in 1915.
Sources:
- Aspinwall, J. Lawrence, Personal cards. Adirondack Collection, Saranac Lake Free Library.
- Brescia, Chris, Historian.
- Hotaling, Mary. “Architects and Builders of the Adirondacks.” Adirondack Architectural Heritage Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1. Adirondack Collection, Saranac Lake Free Library.
- Marquis, A.N. Who’s Who In America, Vol. 15, 1928-29. Adirondack Collection, Saranac Free Library.
- “The Story of Stony Wold.” Pamphlet, Adirondack Collection, Saranac Lake Free Library.
Comments
Footnotes
1. Archinform.net
2. St. Johns in the Wilderness, Town of Brighton
