Francis Hatch Kimball (September 24, 1845 – December 20, 1919) was an American architect practicing in New York City, best known for his work on skyscrapers in lower Manhattan and terra-cotta ornamentation. He was an associate with the firm Kimball & Thompson. His work includes the Empire Building, Manhattan Life Insurance Building, and Casino Theatre. All but one of Kimball's works were in the United States.

Life

Kimball was born in Kennebunk, Maine. He went on to study architecture in England. In 1879 he joined forces with Thomas Wisedell, with whom he designed the 1882 Casino Theatre on Broadway, and other projects. Wisedell died in 1884. Kimball practiced independently until 1892, when he formed Kimball & Thompson with G. Kramer Thompson. That partnership ended in 1898.

Kimball's Victorian Gothic Catholic Apostolic Church in New York City (1897) was praised by influential architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler as there being "no more scholarly Gothic work in New York." Kimball was also a pioneer in the use of ornamental terra-cotta in the United States, evident on the Corbin Building; on a striking row of townhouses that he designed at 133–143 West 122nd Street in Harlem; and on the Montauk Club in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Contemporaries described Kimball as the "father of the skyscraper".

A 1917 article in The New York Times noted his bankruptcy. Kimball died in 1919 in New York City and buried at Linwood Cemetery in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts.

Works before 1892

right|thumb|250px|[[Reading Terminal Headhouse, 1115–41 Market St., Philadelphia, PA (1891–93). Now part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.]]

  • 26 Broadway (1885), Manhattan, New York; later extensively renovated
  • Emmanuel Baptist Church (1887), NW corner of Lafayette Ave and St. James Place, Brooklyn, New York
  • Corbin Building (1888), Manhattan, New York
  • Reading Company freight depot (1888), 260 Willow Street, Trenton, New Jersey
  • 133–143 West 122nd Street townhouses in Harlem, Manhattan, New York
  • The Garrick Theater (1890; razed 1932), 67 West 35th Street, Manhattan, New York
  • The Montauk Club (1891) Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York
  • The Reading Terminal Headhouse (1891–93), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; housed the offices of the Reading Railroad.
  • Fifth Avenue Theatre (1892; razed 1939), 31 West 28th Street Manhattan, New York
  • Victorian residence (1889–1890), 2 Mecklenburg Street at Sydney Street, Saint John, New Brunswick; for Robert Thompson Jr (owner of shipping company William Thompson and Company)

Works as part of Kimball & Thompson (1892–1898)

thumb|[[Empire Building (Manhattan)|Empire Building]]

From 1892 to 1898, he was part of Kimball & Thompson which built:

  • New York Architectural Terra-Cotta Works Building (1892), 42-16 Vernon Boulevard, Queens, New York
  • The Empire Building (1895), 71 Broadway, Manhattan, New York
  • Manhattan Life Insurance Building (1894; demolished 1930), 64–70 Broadway, Manhattan, New York
  • The former Catholic Apostolic Church (1897), 417 West 57th Street, Manhattan, New York;
  • 513–515 West 161st Street (1905), Manhattan, New York; a "3-sty brk and stone engine house", for the city of NY at a cost of $62,000.