Frederick S. Holmes - Misplaced Pages

American vault engineer (1865 to 1941)

Frederick S. Holmes

Born	Frederick Stacy Holmes August 27th, 1865 in Boston, MA
Died	November 10th, 1948 (age 84) in Hathorne, MA
Education	Boston High School in Boston, MA Private Engineering Instruction in Exeter, NH
Occupation	Vault Engineer
Era	Early 1900s
Known for	Designer of the world's largest vaults Pioneer in the vault engineering field Designer of jamb-controlled vaults
Political party	Republican / Independent
Spouse(s)	Katherine E. Vincent, married on March 27th, 1886 in Chelsea, MA
Children	None
Parents	George W. Holmes (father) Frances A. Stacy (mother)
Engineering career
Discipline	Mechanical Engineering
Practice name	Frederick S. Holmes 2 Rector St. New York, NY
Significant design	Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland vault Federal Reserve Bank of New York vault One King West Hotel & Residence vault Sun Life Insurance vault

Signature

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. 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.

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 is known to have collaborated with all these vault engineering greats except for Strauss.

Holmes collaborated with prominent architects such as Cass Gilbert and Alfred Bossom and 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 from 1900-1904 where he designed the Maiden Lane Safe Deposit Company vault among others. Frederick S. Holmes started his company of the same name in 1901 and by 1910 was designing jamb-controlled vaults for which he was known. He was in private practice for 40 years where he designed his most notable vaults: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, One King West Hotel & Residence in Toronto, and Sun Life Insurance in Montreal.

1879 to 1883	1883 to 1887	1887 to 1891	1891 to 1895	1895 to 1900	1901 to 1941
Pattern Maker and Machinist	Mechanical Draftsman	General Superintendent for Chicago Safe & Lock in Chicago, IL	General Superintendent for Damon Safe & Iron Works in Boston, MA and Philadelphia, PA	Co-Owner / Bank Vault Engineer at Hoyer & Holmes, a Partnership with Isaiah W. Hoyer in Philadelphia, PA	Owner / Bank Vault Engineer at Frederick. S. Holmes, a private practice in New York, NY. Bank Vault Engineer was his most commonly used title, but similar combinations were used in his published works and advertisements

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.

Year	Item
1890	Patent - US Patent 438,236 Electric Safe-Lock (electric controlled combination locks) with William H. Hollar
1891	Patent - US Patent 459,226 Safe or Vault (soft metal joint packing) Signature Witness for William H. Hollar
1892	Patent - US Patent 467,465 Electric Lock (electric controlled combination locks)
1892	Patent - US Patent 477,897 Electric Lock (electric controlled combination locks) with William H. Hollar
1892	Patent - US Patent 477,898 Electric Lock (electric controlled combination locks) with William H. Hollar
1896	Patent - US Patent 557,389 Removable Sill for Vaults or Safes
1899	Patent - US Patent 620,073 Safe (drill resisting construction) Assignor to William H. Hollar
1905	Article - The Design and Construction of Modern Bank Vaults
1908	Patent - US Patent 901,710 Movable Ventilator for Vaults with George L. Damon
1910	Court Testimony - Mosler Safe Co. vs. Maiden Ln Safe Deposit Co. (trial witness)
1911	Article - Vault Building - The Backward State of the Art, the Reason and the Remedy
1911	Article - Vault Building Problems with portrait photograph at 46 years old
1911	Article - Why Insure Against Anything that Never Happens?
1912	Article - A Renaissance of Vault Design
1912	Article - Uncle Sam to Build the World's Largest Treasure Vault
1912	Interview - World’s Largest Treasure Vault (P. Harvey Middleton interview)
1913	Article - Vault For Treasure
1913	Article - That $70,000 New York Bank Vault Robbery
1913	Article - Impregnable Safes (Spanish)
1913	Article - Vaults - A Criticism
1916	Article - Modern Practice in the Design of Bank Vaults Part 1 - Protective Principles and Construction Methods
1916	Article - Modern Practice in the Design of Bank Vaults Part 2 - The Requirements of Small Banks
1916	Speech - New Vault Construction to Resist the Cutter-Burner (NY State Safe Deposit Association Convention speech)
1916	Article - Reliability in Vaults and Safes
1916	Article - The Construction of Bank Vaults (a synopsis of the Brickbuilder articles listed above)
1917	Article - A New Concrete for Bank Vaults (describes Holmes's testing methods)
1917	Article - The Oxy-Acetylene Cutting Torch
1917	Article - Thoughts as to Erection, Arrangement and Fitting Up of a Safe Deposit Vault
1921	Article - Vault Construction for Small Communities
1923	Article - Harris, Forbes & Company's New Vault
1923	Article - Protecting Our Great Banks (by Edward H. Smith with Holmes contributions)
1923	Article - The World's Greatest Bank Vaults (by Edward H. Smith with Holmes contributions)
1923	Article - Vault Protection
1924	Article - The Romance of the Lock (by Edward H. Smith with Holmes contributions)
1924	Article - Safeguards that are Required Against the Modern Yegg
1924	Article - Vault Weaknesses that must be Overcome
1925	Article - There Are No Jimmy Valentines
1925	Article - New York Savings Bank Problems - Safety Deposit Vaults for All
1926	Copyright - Copyright with Ralph M. Hooker
1927	Article - Guarding America's Wealth - A Renaissance of Bank Burglary
1928	Article - Bank Vault Construction and Equipment
1991	Article - The Lure of The Lock (includes the abridged article 'Bank Vault Construction and Equipment', see above)
2005	Article - Monuments to Money: The Architecture of American Banks by Charles Belfoure, (Holmes article excerpts)

References

External links

v t e Federal Reserve Banks
The Federal Reserve Banks of Boston and Philadelphia have no branches.
New York branches	Buffalo (closed) East Rutherford Operations Center
Cleveland branches	Cincinnati Pittsburgh
Richmond branches	Baltimore Charlotte
Atlanta branches	Birmingham Jacksonville Miami Nashville New Orleans
Chicago branches	Detroit
St. Louis branches	Little Rock Louisville Memphis
Minneapolis branches	Helena
Kansas City branches	Denver Oklahoma City Omaha
Dallas branches	El Paso Houston San Antonio
San Francisco branches	Los Angeles Portland Salt Lake City Seattle

Financial District

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

West of Broadway/ State Street	1 Broadway 21 West Street 65 Broadway 90 West Street 88 Greenwich Street 94 Greenwich Street 125 Greenwich Street 130 Cedar Street 195 Broadway American Stock Exchange Building Barclay–Vesey Building Bowling Green Offices Building Castle Clinton City Pier A Cunard Building Downtown Athletic Club Empire Building Firehouse, Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10 James Watson House New York County Lawyers' Association Building Old New York Evening Post Building Robert and Anne Dickey House St. George's Syrian Catholic Church St. Paul's Chapel St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church Transportation Building Trinity and United States Realty Buildings Trinity Church Trinity Court Building Whitehall Building World Trade Center One 2 3 4 7 Perelman Performing Arts Center St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Vehicular Security Center Westfield Mall
East of Broadway/ State Street	1 Hanover Square 1 New York Plaza 1 Wall Street 1 Wall Street Court 1 William Street 2 Broadway 2 New York Plaza 5 Beekman Street 14 Wall Street 15 Broad Street 15 William 17 State Street 19 Dutch 20 Exchange Place 23 Wall Street 25 Water Street 26 Broadway 28 Liberty Street 32 Old Slip 37 Wall Street 40 Wall Street 45 Broad Street 48 Wall Street 52 Broadway 55 Broad Street 55 Wall Street 55 Water Street 56 Beaver Street (Delmonico's) 56 Pine Street 60 Wall Street 63 Wall Street 63 Nassau Street 70 Pine Street 75 Wall Street 90–94 Maiden Lane 116 John Street 120 Wall Street 130 William 140 Broadway 150 Nassau Street 161 Maiden Lane 161 Water Street 170–176 John Street 250 Water Street Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House American Bank Note Company Building American Surety Building Bennett Building Broad Exchange Building Chamber of Commerce Building Continental Bank Building Continental Center Corbin Building Down Town Association Equitable Building Excelsior Power Company Building Federal Hall National Memorial Federal Reserve Bank of New York Building Fraunces Tavern Home Insurance Plaza John Street Methodist Church Keuffel & Esser Company Building Lee, Higginson & Company Bank Building Liberty Tower Morse Building New York City Police Museum New York Stock Exchange Building New York Times Building Park Row Building Potter Building
Former buildings	Alexander Macomb House Astor House Barnum's American Museum Blair Building City Hotel City Investing Building Equitable Life Building Gillender Building Gilsey Building Government House Hanover National Building Howard Hotel Kemble Building Knickerbocker Trust Company Building Manhattan Life Insurance Building Mills Building Mortimer Building New York Produce Exchange New York Tribune Building New York World Building Pearl Street Station St. Paul Building Singer Building Stadt Huys Tontine Coffee House Tower Building Western Union Telegraph Building World Trade Center 3 4 5 6 7

Other points of interest

Arts and culture	Charging Bull China Chalet Fearless Girl Four Continents The Sphere Titanic Memorial
Parks and plazas	Austin J. Tobin Plaza‎‎ (former) The Battery Bowling Green Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza Hudson River Park Imagination Playground Liberty Park Louise Nevelson Plaza Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden Vietnam Veterans Plaza Zuccotti Park
Food and drink	Brasserie Les Halles China Chalet Crown Shy Delmonico's Fraunces Tavern Rolfe's Chop House Saga The Dead Rabbit

Education

Schools	High School of Economics and Finance Leadership and Public Service High School Léman Manhattan Preparatory School Millennium High School New York Film Academy Pace University Pine Street School New York
Museums	China Institute Federal Hall National Memorial Fraunces Tavern George Gustav Heye Center Mmuseumm Museum of American Finance Museum of Jewish Heritage New York City Police Museum Skyscraper Museum South Street Seaport

Transportation

Public transport	Subway Bowling Green Broad Street Fulton Street Rector St/Greenwich St Rector St/Trinity Pl South Ferry/Whitehall St Wall St/William St Wall St/Broadway WTC Cortlandt PATH World Trade Center Ferries Pier 11/Wall Street South Ferry Battery Maritime Building Whitehall Terminal
Other transport	Downtown Manhattan Heliport Wall Street Skyport
Streets	Albany Beaver Bridge Broad Broadway Church/Trinity Place Cortlandt Dey Exchange Fulton Greenwich John Liberty Maiden Lane Marketfield Nassau Pearl South Spruce State Stone Theatre Alley Vesey/Ann Wall Washington West Whitehall William

See also: Manhattan Community Board 1

v t e Locks, locksmithing, lock picking, and security alarms
Fundamental concepts	Access control Authentication Key control Key duplication Key relevance Master keying Password Physical security Rekeying
Components and hardware	Bitting Interchangeable core Key blank Key code Key retainer Lockrod Lockset Bored cylindrical lock Mortise lock Rim lock Single-point locking Three-point locking
Keys	Berlin key Car key Keychain Skeleton key Smart key
Mechanical locks	Warded lock Pin tumbler lock Disc tumbler lock Lever tumbler lock Magnetic keyed lock Padlock Combination lock Rotary combination lock Time-delay combination locks Time lock Tubular pin tumbler lock Wafer tumbler lock
Electronic locks	Electromagnetic lock Electronic lock Electric strike Keycard lock
Other lock types	Bicycle lock Bramah lock Chubb detector lock Child safety lock Crash bar Dead bolt Door chain Kensington Security Slot Knox Box Latch Luggage lock Night latch Power door locks Protector lock Real-estate lock box Steering-wheel lock The Club
Lock picking	Lock bumping Locksport Slim Jim Snap gun
Security alarms	Alarm device Alarm monitoring center Car alarm Card reader Closed-circuit television Door security Dual loop Fingerprint scanner Glass break detector Heat detector Key switch Keypad Miniature snap-action switch Motion detector Occupancy sensor Passive infrared sensor (PIR) Perimeter intrusion detection Photoelectric sensor Piezo switch Pressure switch Proximity card Reed switch Tripwire Ultrasonic transducer Vandal-resistant switch Water detector Window security
Miscellaneous	Glossary of locksmithing terms Electromagnetic door holder Exit control lock John M. Mossman Lock Museum Key to the City Lock Museum Lock Museum of America Musée de la Serrure Puzzle lock
Category:Locksmithing Keys Locks Book

Portal:

Banks

Portal:

National Register of Historic Places

Categories: