James Lull was a Vermont-born, Philadelphia-trained architect who was responsible for many of the most impressive buildings in mid-19th century Columbus.
He introduced to Columbus the correct formal use of Greek Revival style in the design of structures. The Columbus First Baptist Church, for which he began design work in 1835, was considered one of the most beautiful churches in the South. The brick dormitory he designed for the Columbus Female Institute in 1860 is one of the first High Victorian Gothic style buildings constructed in America. It survives as Calloway Hall on the Mississippi University for Women campus.
Lull was active in the building trades in Columbus from the mid-1830s to 1871. The severe masculine style of Greek Revival architecture, in which he excelled, was actually closer to his Northern roots than to the Greek style more commonly found in the South. According to Ken P’Pool, “Lull demonstrated in his work such a skillful understanding of architectural proportion that he could well have been the author of any of Columbus’ finer buildings constructed between 1840 and 1870.”
The surviving residences in Columbus that are known, or thought, to have been built, remodeled, or designed by Lull include his own residence, Camellia Place (Seventh Street North), the Lee Home (Seventh Street North), Leighcrest (Seventh Street North), Wisteria Place (Eighth Avenue North), Riverview (Second Street South), Whitehall (Third Street South), Belle Bridge (Fourth Avenue South), Amzi Love (Seventh Street South) and Ashlawn (Fifth Avenue South).
Lull was also responsible for many of the most important public buildings in Columbus. Those buildings included the now lost 1839 First Baptist Church, the also lost 1846 City Hall and the now greatly altered and enlarged 1847 courthouse, and Calloway Hall, which was completed in 1861.
In 1847 Lull built a residence for himself, Camellia Place. It is a heavy classical and masculine expression of Greek Revival style. It was a version of Greek Revival uncommon in Mississippi, which set the tone for Greek Revival in Columbus. Riverview, which was occupied in 1852, though not totally completed until 1853, is simply a larger, more ornate version of Camellia Place.
Typical of houses built in Lull’s design style, but without concrete evidence that he was the architect, is Whitehall, which was constructed in 1843.
Not all of Lull’s residential designs were strictly Greek Revival. The Lee Home which was completed in 1847 was designed by Lull. The house appears to be a mixture of the Greek and Roman Revival styles.
The First Baptist Church in Columbus was completed in September 1839. In a letter dated Feb. 29, 1840, he wrote, “I am very busy at present. I have several contracts on hand which I shall have to complete before I can take time to visit my friends. I employ from eight to 10 hands. I have built one of the best churches in the Southern states erected at the expense of $27,000. I commenced it April 1835 and completed it last Sept.” The church bore a striking resemblance to the National Landmark ca. 1752 St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Lull’s classic structure was torn down to make way for the former First Baptist Church in 1908.
On April 27, 1860, a fire destroyed the boarding house of the Columbus Female Institute. The fire was apparently started by a paper balloon illuminated by a candle, which after being released by a student landed on the roof of the building catching it on fire. Lull, a trustee of the school, was given the job of preparing plans for a new $40,000 building that could properly serve the school. His design was for the largest Gothic building to ever be constructed in Columbus.
P’Pool has described the building as being “of High Victorian Gothic design and was one of the first buildings of that style to be constructed in America. … The focal point of the new structure was to be a large ‘gothicized’ tower, the inspiration for which was probably taken from the tower of the Packer Collegiate Institute (ca. 1854-1856) in Brooklyn, New York.” According to Ken, Callaway’s High Victorian Gothic Style is often called “Ruskinian Gothic,” as it was largely based on Italian Gothic models introduced to America in two books by English social critic and architectural theorist John Ruskin between 1849 and 1853.
Lull was not just an architect, and the range of his activities in Columbus is fascinating. From January 1856 until his death in 1871, he took weather observations for the Smithsonian Institution at Camellia Place. He also frequently served as a city selectman in Columbus. His other projects included draining swamps, designing bridges, and designing and building an above-ground cistern in downtown Columbus.
Prior to the Civil War he also served as a trustee of the Columbus Female Institute (now MUW).
I have often quoted a 1917 article Julian Street wrote about Columbus in Collier’s Weekly. The article, written over a century ago, still rings true today. After visiting Columbus as part of a writing tour of American cities, he wrote of two structures designed by Lull: “Columbus may perhaps appreciate the charm of its old homes, but there is evidence to show that it did not appreciate certain other weather-worn structures of great beauty. I have seen photographs of an old Baptist Church with a fine (and not at all Baptist-looking) portico and fluted columns … and I have seen pictures of the beautiful old town hall which was recently supplanted. … The destruction of these two early buildings represents an irreparable loss to Columbus, and it is to be hoped that the town will someday be sufficiently enlightened to know that this is true.”
Thanks to Carolyn Kaye and Ken P’Pool for assistance.
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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