John A. Wood
The leading architect of the mid-Hudson region throughout the middle years of the nineteenth century, John A. Wood began his practice in Poughkeepsie, where he established himself in the early 1860s with several buildings around the Vassar College campus. In addition, Wood designed the Grand Hotel of Highmount, New York, in the Catskills—a rival to the Mizzen Top, which he also designed. Wood was known for his Moorish Revival style, featuring ornate minarets, domes, and cupolas—as with the Tampa Bay Hotel, his most famous work. In addition to the Mizzen Top, Wood was selected by Albert Akin to design the Akin Free Library, which would also feature his Moorish Revival style in its ornate copper dome for its roof