William J. Beardsley


William J. Beardsley was a Poughkeepsie, New York-based architect.

Biography

He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of one of Poughkeepsie’s leading sash and blind manufacturers. He studied architecture in New York City for two years and opened his practice at Poughkeepsie in 1893. He designed public and private buildings throughout New York State in a variety of popular late-19th and early-20th century architectural styles including the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Shingle Style. In addition to private dwellings, he designed courthouses in ten counties, tuberculosis hospitals for Oneida and Nassau Counties, a welfare home for Erie County, and the Attica State Prison. In 1909, he won an architectural competition for his design for the proposed prison in Bear Mountain State Park for a relocated Sing Sing Prison, but the project was never carried through.

Selected works