Henry J. Blauvelt was born December 31st,1854. He appears in the Philadelphia PA city directories from 1884 to 1899 under various construction industry occupations including builder, contractor, and lumber supplier, with various company affiliations, all between 1894-98. He is not present in the directories from 1900-1907, but reappears in 1908 as an architect and remains listed as such until his final listing in 1911. Blauvelt died January 25th, 1912.
The American Institute of Architects archives indicate that Blauvelt practiced as an architect in Winston between 1899 and 1907 and maintained an office in the Gray Block in 1901. His application for membership in the AIA in 1901 asserts that he had been in the profession for approximately 25 years, but had only been located in North Carolina for about two and one-half years.
The William B. Taylor House (160), one of the finest Colonial Revival mansions in the West End, was designed by the Greensboro firm of Blauvelt and Gates in 1900. It is the only building in the West End known to have been designed by these architects. The Architects’ Directory for 1903 and 1904 lists an Blauvelt as an architect in Winston, but Gates is not listed at all. The Winston City Directories for those years do not list Blauvelt while Gates is listed in the Greensboro Directory for 1901 but Blauvelt is not.