Napoleon LeBrun
| Napoleon LeBrun | |
|---|---|
(c.1899)
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| Born | January 2, 1821 |
| Died |
July 9, 1901 (aged 80) New York City, New York |
| Nationality | United States |
| Known for | architect |
Napoleon Eugene Charles Henry LeBrun (January 2, 1821 – July 9, 1901) was an American architect known for several notable Philadelphia churches, in particular St. Augustine's Church on Fourth Street and the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul on Logan Square. He also designed the Academy of Music at Broad and Locust Streets. LeBrun later moved to New York City, where he established the firm Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, which designed numerous notable buildings.
LeBrun was a son of the Napoleonic ambassador to the United States who, after the downfall of that regime, remained in the United States and settled in Philadelphia. LeBrun's early architectural training began at the age of 15 when he was placed in the offices of Thomas Ustick Walter in Philadelphia; Walter later became architect of the United States Capitol. After six years with Walter, LeBrun left to set up his own office in 1841, eventually receiving as his major commissions the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul (1846–64) and the Academy of Music (1857).
As a young man in his twenties, LeBrun found opportunity in the booming industrial development of the Schuylkill Valley of Pennsylvania in the 1840s. His other early work includes the original version of Trinity Episcopal Church, Pottsville (1847), still standing though much altered by later revisions. His design for the church led to the commission for the Schuylkill County Prison (1851) when the county seat moved from Orwigsburg to Pottsville. He also designed the first Columbia County Courthouse in Bloomsburg and the 1854 Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. Although both were later extensively redesigned and expanded, the notable marble facade of the Montgomery County Courthouse remains his outward and identifying creation.
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