[[wiki-architecture]] · [[Biographies]] · [[ARCHITECTURE]] · [[000]] # Frederick S. Holmes Frederick S. Holmes was an American safe and vault engineer, and inventor who designed the largest vaults in the world. During his career, Holmes designed over 200 vaults throughout the United States, Canada and Japan from 1895 to 1941, considered to be the golden age of bank vault construction. The majority of Holmes designed vaults are located in New York's Financial District; many are publicly accessible and in buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. His name is engraved on the builder's plaques, typically located on the vault door's encased jamb controls. Holmes' vault designs evolved over time to keep up with attacks from safe-crackers or 'Yeggmen' adept at vault penetration. A Holmes advertisement from 1921 reads, "Newly discovered methods of attack necessitate radical departures from hitherto accepted standards of design". Holmes specialized in jamb-controlled vaults where the combination locks and bolt-throwing mechanism are located inside the vault creating a solid vault door with no spindle holes. Entry requires two points of attack (door and jamb), which doubles the time required for burglars to breach the vault.The culmination of vault door design and security resulted in combination viewers which were used on the largest vaults ever built. Holmes was an expert in his field and described as 'one of the leading, if not the leading vault engineer of America, and a man whose word is unquestioned by those who have had transactions with him'. In recognition of significant contributions to the field of bank vault engineering, a tribute was written in The Journal of the Franklin Institute stating, “Coincident with the modern development of the safe and bank vault industry was that of the profession of the Bank Vault Engineer. The industry owes much of its progress to the work done by the pioneers of this profession: William H. Hollar, John M. Mossman, George L. Damon, Emil A. Strauss, Frederick S. Holmes, Benjamin F. Tripp, and George L. Remington.” Holmes worked with all these vault engineering greats except Strauss. Holmes collaborated with prominent architects such as Alfed Bossom, Cass Gilbert, Darling, Pearson & Cleveland, Walker & Weeks, and York & Sawyer. He also worked with leading vault builders including Bethlehem Steel, Carnegie Steel, Damon Safe & Iron Works, Diebold, Herring-Hall-Marvin, J&J Taylor, LH Miller Safe & Iron Works, Mosler Safe, Remington & Sherman, and York Safe & Lock. == Early life == Frederick Stacy Holmes was born on August 27th, 1865 in Boston, MA to George W. Holmes and Frances A. Stacy. His father was from Maine and worked as a Pattern Maker and his mother was from New Hampshire and was a housewife. Holmes attended Boston High School and received private engineering instruction in New Hampshire. == Career == Homes first worked as a Pattern Maker like his father, a Machinist and then a Mechanical Draftsman. He worked his way up to General Superintendent for safe and vault manufacturers in Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia before venturing out on his own. Holmes was co-owner of Hoyer & Holmes with Isaiah Wellington Hoyer in Philadelphia that specialized in safe and vault design and construction. He worked as a Bank Vault Engineer for John M. Mossman where he designed the Maiden Lane Safe Deposit Company vault among others. Afterwards, Holmes started a company of the same name and by 1910 was designing jamb-controlled vaults for which he was known. He was in private practice for 36 years when he designed his most notable vaults: === Career Timeline === == Personal life == Frederick S. Holmes married Katherine E. Vincent from New Hampshire on March 27th, 1886 in Chelsea, MA. He was involved with industry groups such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1913-1930), the Bankers Club (1920-1930), the Investigating Committee of Architects & Engineers (1926), the Engineers’ Club (1920-1930), the Hardware Club of New York (1914), and the New York State Society of Professional Engineers (1936). Holmes had an active social life with membership in the American Club in Toronto (1920), the Brotherhood of Man (1924), the New York Athletic Club (1914-1941), and the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York (1920-1930). His political affiliations changed throughout his life; he was a registered Republican (1914-1930) and Independent (1924, 1926, 1931-1932). In 1932, Holmes was critically injured when struck by an automobile while walking home. He was 67 years old at the time and suffered a fractured skull from the hit-and-run driver. Holmes recovered and managed to work another nine years before retiring in 1941 at the age of 76. He died eight years later from arteriosclerotic heart disease on November 10th, 1948 in Hathorne, MA at the age of 84 and was buried at Exeter Cemetery in New Hampshire. == Published works == This list includes articles, copyrights, court testimony, interviews, patents, and speeches by Frederick S. Holmes in chronological order. == References == - [[Design/Building Typologies/Educational Architecture]] - [[Environmental Design/Life Cycle Assessment]] - [[Professional Practice/Codes & Standards/National Building Code of India/Part 09 - Plumbing Services/Section 3 - Solid Waste Management]] - [[Building Services]] - [[Professional Practice/Construction Management/Contract Administration]] - [[Professional Practice/Codes & Standards/National Building Code of India/Part 00 - Integrated Approach]] - [[Research, Analysis & Citations/Glossary]] - [[Professional Practice/Legal and Liability]] - [[Research, Analysis & Citations]] - [[Professional Practice]] == External links == Holmes Advertisements Holmes Biographical Info Jamb-Controlled Vault Evolution Vault Door Combination Viewers