Gideon Shryock


Gideon Shryock was Kentucky's first professional architect, known for his work in the Greek Revival style. His name has frequently been misspelled as Gideon Shyrock.

Biography

Shryock was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, the son of a housebuilder and contractor, Mathias Shryock, who had moved to Kentucky from Maryland and who would father 10 other children in Kentucky besides Gideon. One of Gideon's younger brothers, Cincinnatus Shryock, would also become an architect.
Shryock studied at Lancastrian Academy in Lexington, worked in the family business, and then was apprenticed to architect William Strickland of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for one year. While in Philadelphia, Shryock acquired a copy of the American edition of Swan's British Architect, which he brought back to Lexington.
Shryock is cited as the most influential architect in Kentucky from 1827 to 1837. Among his apprentices were John McMurtry.
Shryock is buried in the Shryock family plot at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.

Notable designs

Shryock is credited on a Kentucky historical marker as the builder and designer of the important Old Bank of Louisville, though it was actually designed by architect James Dakin; Shryock superintended the construction of Dakin's design.

Influence

Shryock is one of the namesakes of Greathouse/Shryock Traditional Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky.