Horace William Castor – Oil on masonite by Lazar Raditz

HORACE WILLIAM CASTOR - A notable contributor to the life of the city of Philadelphia, Horace William Castor has come to occupy a position of leadership and standing in his profession of architecture. His son, Edwin H. Castor, a registered professional engineer, (C. E.) University of Pennsylvania, 1915, is associated with him. Mr. Castor was born August 17, 1870, in Frankford. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of Thomas Ellwood and Mary Jane (Rymond) Castor. The Castor family has played an important role in Philadelphia affairs. John George Castor, who came to this country in 1710, became a prominent figure in the affairs of Frankford, and was one of the founders of the Frankford Presbyterian Church. [His son, George Castor, worked with Archibald Alexander and the Rev. William Tennent to merge the Frankford church (a German Reformed church) into the Presbytery of the Log College — the first Presbytery on American Soil] Of his [John George's] eight children, three sons fought in the Revolutionary War, and the third son, Lieutenant Jacob Castor, was the progenitor of that branch of the family of which Horace William Castor, the third son of a third son through six generations, is the present representative. His grandfather. Thomas Castor, a leading citizen in the life of Frankford, established the Castor Carriage Works about 1833. He was an inventor of no mean ability. He not only built and equipped the first double-decked horse cars to run on steel rails, but patented a method of central ventilated lighting of the cars; improvements and arrangement of a lever by which the driver could open and shut the doors at both ends of the car without leaving his station; the spiral ladder giving access to the upper part of the double deck cars; the construction of the roof and seats which did not increase the weight of the roof (this patent was sold in England [and evolved into the iconic double-decked omnibus]) ; a safety dog to go on the front wheels for removing obstructions on the tracks. He also patented a machine for making the round tenons of spokes; also the first dump or tilt- wagon, the fore runner of the present chute wagon. His shop was noted also for its manufacture of fine wagons and carriages; he made most of the wagons and circus cages for such showmen as Barnum & Bailey, Adam Forepaugh. John O'Brien, Bachelor & Doris, Buffalo Bill. Many of his fine carriages were shipped to the English possessions on the island of Barbadoes. Thomas Castor was much interested in civic affairs, was a charter member of the Cedar Hill Cemetery Company, organized in 1849; a charter member of the Frankford Mutual Fire Insurance Company, organized 1843; he was a director of the Oxford Plank Road Company, and a member of the Washington Fire Company, instituted in 1793. Thomas Ellwood Castor, father of Horace William Castor, with his brothers continued the carriage works business begun by his father, Thomas Castor, maintaining the same high standard of workmanship and design. Thomas Ellwood Castor was a captain of the Washington Fire Company in volunteer days, and like his father, Thomas Castor, was a member of the Grounds Committee of the Cedar Hill Cemetery Company. His son, Horace William Castor, succeeded his father on this same committee. an unbroken service by this family to the company of over ninety years. The story of the "Castor Family of Pennsylvania" has been written by George Castor Martin and published in 1910 by Martin & Allardyce. Horace William Castor received his first formal education in the Philadelphia public schools and was graduated in 1888 from Central Manual Training High School, a member of the first class, consisting of fifty-seven students, to be given such training in the United States. He was president of the Alumni Association of that school for many years. In 1890 he established the architectural firm of Steams & Castor,[with partner George Robinson Strearns, Director of public works for the city of Philadelphia] with offices in Frankford. This firm subsequently came to Philadelphia establishing offices in The Bourse, and later in the Stephen Girard Building. The partnership was dissolved in 1916. after which Mr. Castor continued as an architect, practicing under his own name, with offices in the same building. In 1930 he removed to the Architects Building, where he now has his professional offices. Mr. Castor has designed numerous schools, forty or more churches, including churches in China and Mexico City; institutional buildings for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the Administration Building for the city of Philadelphia, at the Municipal Airport; the Hackenburg and Fridenberg Memorial Buildings at the Jewish Hospital; groups of buildings for the Methodist Hospital; the Baptist Home of Philadelphia, and many classes of buildings for The Autocar Company in fourteen different states and twenty cities. Entirely aside from his architectural work, Mr. Castor has taken a lively interest in public affairs, having served for about six years as a public school director in the Thirty-fifth Ward of the city. He is a Republican in politics, and is affiliated with many organizations of importance, among them the Union League, the Manufacturers Golf and Country Club, the American Institute of Architects, and others. He is a trustee of the Pennington School for Boys, at Pennington, New Jersey; a director of the Cedar Hill Cemetery Company, of Frankford; vice-president of the Historical Society of Frankford; a member of the committee on membership of the Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution; chairman of the publication committee of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society. His interest in history and in the life of earlier times has manifested itself in his writings, "Colonial Frankford" prepared for the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society; and "Thomas Castor 1810-1844", written for the Historical Society of Frankford. Both these works were presented by Mr. Castor to the Historical Society of Frankford. Along with all his other activities, Mr. Castor takes a deep interest in fraternal affairs, being associated with all branches of the Free and Accepted Masons. including Radiant Star Lodge, No. 606, in which he has been a member since 1897; Melita Chapter, No. 84, Royal Arch Masons; Mary Commandery, No. 36, Knights Templar; Philadelphia Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he holds the thirty-second degree; and Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; he is also a member of Oxford Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, since 1891. He is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Castor was married (first), August 16. 1893, in Frankford, Philadelphia, to Elizabeth Frances Hormann. daughter of Ferdinand and Elizabeth F. (Hagenbucher) Hormann. They became the parents of three children: 1. Edwin Hormann Castor, born April 30, 1895, 2. Mary Elizabeth Castor, now Mrs. Mary Elizabeth (Castor) Simmerman, born July 18, 1898, 3. Horace William Castor, Jr., born October 3, 1900. Horace William Castor married (second), June 13, 1916, in Philadelphia, Mary Edna McDermott, daughter of Joseph and Alice F. (McGrath) McDermott. Philadelphia Architects & Buildings: www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/22845

Done