Joseph Evans Sperry

Who was Joseph Evans Sperry?

Architect Joseph Evans Sperry was born in 1854 in Georgetown, South Carolina. He later relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, where he partnered with James Bosley Noel Wyatt to form the architectural firm Wyatt and Sperry. Their affiliation lasted from 1878 to 1887. The two probably became acquainted while working in the office of Architect, E. Francis Baldwin, where he worked from 1872 until 1876. With Wyatt, he designed a number of buildings around Baltimore before breaking off on his own. Sperry became one of Baltimore's leading architects, designing many public buildings, including churches, hospitals, and banks. In 1914 he was named an AIA Fellow. Sperry also designed several buildings at Johns Hopkins University and one building at West Virginia University. Sperry's most famous building is probably the Emerson "Bromo-Seltzer" Tower in Baltimore. Sperry's buildings were designed in a variety of styles, but overall were eclectic. Sperry practiced architecture independently from 1888 until he died in 1930.