The year 1879 in architecture involved some significant events.

Events

• Autumn – Proposals to reconstruct the west front of St Mark's Basilica in Venice are criticised by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in Britain.

Buildings and structures

Buildings

• The Linderhof Palace in Bavaria, designed by Georg Dollman is completed.
• Grand Théâtre de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland opens on 2 October.
• St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan) in New York City, designed by James Renwick, Jr., is dedicated.
• The Votive Church, Vienna, Austria, designed by Heinrich von Ferstel, is dedicated.
• Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, Connecticut, designed by Richard M. Upjohn, is completed.
• Healy Hall at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., designed by Paul J. Pelz and John L. Smithmeyer, is completed.
• Provident Life & Trust Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed by Frank Furness, is completed.

Awards

• RIBA Royal Gold Medal – Marquis de Vogue
• Grand Prix de Rome, architecture: Victor-Auguste Blavette

Births

• June 6 – Patrick Abercrombie, English town planner (died 1957)^[1]
• July 1 – H. Craig Severance, American architect (died 1941)
• September 16 – Josep Maria Jujol, Catalan architect (died 1949)

Deaths

• May 15 – Gottfried Semper, German architect (born 1803)
• September 17 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect and architectural theorist (born 1814)