The Beautiful Necessity

Claude Fayette Bragdon (1866-1946) was an American architect, writer, and stage designer. Bragdon was born in Oberlin, Ohio. He was raised in Watertown, Oswego, Dansville and Rochester, New York, where his father worked as a newspaper editor. Bragdonâs principal work was in the Rochester area. He was most proud of his designs for Rochesterâs New York Central Railroad Station, the Rochester First Universalist Church, and the Rochester Italian Presbyterian Church, among many others. In his books on architectural theory, The Beautiful Necessity (1910), Architecture and Democracy (1918), and The Frozen Fountain (1938), he advocated a theosophical approach to building design, urging an âorganicâ Gothic style (which he thought of as reflective of the natural order) over the âarrangedâ modern abstract style that was coming into its own in the early 20th Century. He had yet another overlapping career as an author of books on spiritual topics, including Eastern religions. These books include: New Lamps for Old (1925), The Eternal Poles (1931), Four Dimensional Vistas (1930) and An Introduction to Yoga (1933). His autobiography More Lives Than One (1938) alludes to both his belief in reincarnation and his varied career paths.