Uncovering the White House’s Irish Architectural Roots

The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences will open its 2010–2011 Faculty Lecture Series with “The White House Architect: James Hoban and Transatlantic Identity,” a presentation by David Kilroy, Ph.D., associate professor. The talk will take place on Thursday, Sept. 23, from noon to 1:00 p.m., in the Alvin Sherman Library, second-floor gallery.

James Hoban was born in 1758 in humble circumstances in County Kilkenny, Ireland; but with the support of a rich local benefactor, he was able to study architecture at the Royal Dublin Society. At the time of Hoban’s training, Dublin was the second city of the British Empire and experiencing a golden age of architecture.

Influenced by the latest trends in Georgian, Palladian, and Neo-Classical architecture, Hoban emigrated to America shortly after the revolution and established himself as an architect, first in Philadelphia and then in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1792, Hoban won a competition to design the new presidential mansion in Washington, D.C.

Kilroy’s lecture will examine the transatlantic influences that are evident in his design for what is, without doubt, the most recognizable building in the United States and an enduring symbol of the Republic.

The annual Faculty Lecture Series draws from the knowledge and expertise of more than 120 full-time faculty members within the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. The series explores the faculty’s diverse areas of interest in the arts, humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, and biological sciences.

These talks are free and open to the public. For more information on the college’s Faculty Lecture Series, contact Jim Doan, professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, at (954) 262-8207 or visit www.fcas.nova.edu/articles/fls.

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