James Bogardus

Infobox Scientist |name =James Bogardus
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caption =James Bogardus
birth_date =March 14, 1800
birth_place =Catskill, New York
death_date =April 13, 1874
death_place =New York City
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known_for =cast-iron
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James Bogardus (born March 14, 1800 in Catskill, New York; died April 13, 1874 in New York City) was an American inventor and architect, the pioneer of American cast-iron architecture, for which he took out a patent in 1850. In the next two decades he demonstrated the use of cast-iron in the construction of building facades, especially in New York City, where he was based, but also in Washington, DC, where three cast-iron structures erected by Bogardus in 1851 were the first such constructions in the capital. The success of the cast-iron exteriors from 1850-1880 led to the adoption of steel-frame construction for entire buildings.

Bogardus attached plaques to his cast-ironwork that read: "James Bogardus Originator & Patentee of Iron Buildings Pat' May 7, 1850." [Streetscapes/75 Murray Street; Bought for Its Site, the Rundown Loft Is a Gem, by CHRISTOPHER GRAY, New York Times, October 30, 1994 [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E6DE113FF933A05753C1A962958260] ]

Bogardus quit school at the age of fourteen to start an apprenticeship at a watchmaker.

He married Margaret McClay.

A small park in TriBeCa, where Chambers Street, Hudson Street and West Broadway (Manhattan) intersect is named "James Bogardus Triangle."

Notable inventions

* A cotton-spinning machine called a "ring flier" (1828)
* A mechanized engraving machine (1831), employed for engraving dies for bank notes
* The eccentric mill (1832), still used in principle for fine finish of ball bearings, and, with variable eccentricity, for lens grinding.

Bogardus buildings

Buildings still standing

* 63 Nassau Street
* 254 Canal Street
* 75 Murray Street
* 85 Leonard Street
* Iron Clad Building, Cooperstown, New York

Further reading

*Margot Gayle and Carol Gayle. "Cast-Iron Architecture in America: The Significance of James Bogardus" (New York: Norton) 1998.