Charles Bulfinch, so deservedly revered in Boston and other New England cities for the graceful and enduring memorials of his skill there to be seen on every hand, will always occupy an exalted position among our early American architects. Probably no one man ever left a stronger impress upon the architecture of the community in which he lived. His influence in Boston and the vicinity is quite comparable to the influence of Sir Christopher Wren upon the appearance of London and we can readily understand this when we remember that during a half century of practice he designed in the neighbourhood of forty churches, libraries, theatres and other public structures in New England, besides his contributions to domestic work. A discussion of the characteristics of his individual style is to be found in Chapter X of this volume. Suffice it here to say that he represented and upheld all the best traditions and ideals that enter into the making of a worthy architect’s career. He was fortunate in his environment and made the utmost use of his opportunities. Born in Boston, in 1763, the son of Dr. Thomas Bulfinch, an eminent physician, he was educated in the city of his birth, graduating from Harvard in 1781. He afterwards travelled in Europe, pursuing, as he went, the study of architecture. This course he was well calculated to profit by to the fullest extent from naturally keen powers of observation and discriminating taste. In 1786 he returned to Boston and thereafter devoted himself to the practice of his profession. As elsewhere noted, the old Boston Library, the first Boston theatre, (1793), and the State House on Beacon Hill were among his early contributions of importance to architecture in his own city but the scope of his professional activities was not confined to Boston or New England for, in 1817, he was called to be supervising architect for the rebuilding of the national Capitol in Washington and retained that post until its completion in 1830. As one of the fathers of American architecture, Charles Bulfinch will always stand in a preeminently honourable place.