The story
History
Architect Francis R. Allen established his Boston practice in 1879. Circa 1880 he formed the partnership of Allen & Kenway with Welsh-born architect Herbert P. Kenway. Kenway had been trained in Manchester and immigrated to the United States in 1874. Before joining Allen, he had worked for city architect George A. Clough after briefly practicing in Auburn, Maine, where his works included the William A. Robinson House. Their work included Sonnenberg, the Canandaigua, New York, country house of Frederick Ferris Thompson and Mary Clark Thompson. The Thompsons attended the First Congregational Church in Canandaigua, where Allen's brother, Frederick Baylies Allen, was pastor. Mrs. Thompson would become a major client of the Allen firm. In the late 1880s Kenway's health declined and he died in July 1890 while visiting Wales. Allen continued independently until January 1897, when he formed the partnership of Allen & Vance with Joseph McArthur Vance, a former employee then practicing in Pittsfield. They designed Lathrop House and Davison House at Vassar College and in 1899 won a competition to design Woman's Hospital in New York City. Mrs. Thompson was a prominent supporter of the hospital. A change of site meant that their design was not built, but Allen was retained as architect and completed the project on a new site in 1906.
In the meantime the Allen & Vance partnership had been dissolved, and in January 1903 Allen formed Allen & Collens with Charles Collens, an employee recently returned from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1925 Allen retired from the partnership. About the same time J. Lawrence Berry and Harold Buckley Willis became partners, though the firm continued as Allen & Collens. Berry had worked for Allen at the turn of the century before opening his own office, though he frequently associated with the firm on individual projects, such as the Marlborough City Hall. His independent works included the North Hampton Library and St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church, the latter as a member of the firm of Berry & Davidson. He rejoined the firm sometime after World War I. Willis, a decorated veteran of the war, joined the firm in 1920. Berry died in January 1931 followed by Allen in November. The firm was renamed Allen, Collens & Willis c. 1934 when they were joined by architect Edward A. Hubbard, a former partner of Henry Forbes Bigelow. In 1940 Willis, who had served with the American Field Service during World War I, returned to service with that organization. In his absence the firm was renamed Collens, Willis & Hubbard. After the war Willis returned and Hubbard was replaced by Carl A. Beckonert, the firm being renamed a final time to Collens, Willis & Beckonert. Collens died in September 1956, followed by Willis in April 1962. The firm was thereafter dissolved.
Francis R. Allen, 1879–1880, 1890–1897 and 1901–1903
1880 – Charles G. Wood Jr. and Mary Knight Wood house, 274 Marlborough St, Boston
Built for Allen's brother-in-law and his wife. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1893 – Main Building annex, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
Funded by trustee Frederick Ferris Thompson. The first of the Allen firm's projects for Vassar College. Demolished when the Main Building was restored.
1893 – Strong House, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
Funded by trustee John D. Rockefeller and named for his daughter.
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1893 – Thompson Biology, Chemistry and Physical Laboratories, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Funded by Frederick Ferris Thompson. After a fire Thompson Chemistry Laboratory was replaced by Allen & Collens in 1916. All three now incorporated into the Science Center.
1894 – Frederick Baylies Allen house, 45 Brewster St, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Built for Allen's brother.
1894 – Grove Hall Universalist Church (former), 70 Washington St, Dorchester, Boston
1895 – Berkshire County Savings Bank Building, 28 North St, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
A contributing resource to the Park Square Historic District.
1895 – St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church chapel and rectory, 5 St Lukes Rd, Allston, Boston
NRHP-listed.
1897 – Raymond House, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
1902 – Christ Church, 105 Christ Church Rd, Dark Harbor, Maine
NRHP-listed.
1903 – Walpole Public Library (former), 65 Common St, Walpole, Massachusetts
Designed by Francis R. Allen and J. Lawrence Berry, associated architects.
Allen & Kenway, 1880–1890
1881 – Daniel C. Knowlton house, 344 Beacon St, Boston
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1882 – Lucien Carr house, 346 Beacon St, Boston
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1882 – Charles A. Kidder house, 269 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1883 – James Wentworth Brown house, Brownleigh Hall, Grove and Charles River Sts, Needham, Massachusetts
Destroyed by fire in 1926.
1883 – Robert Dawson Evans house, 324 Beacon St, Boston
Demolished.
1883 – Charles Eustis Hubbard house, 386 Marlborough St, Boston
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1883 – Albert Metcalf house, 170 Chestnut St, West Newton, Massachusetts
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed West Newton Hill Historic District.
1885 – William Henry Allen house, 291 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1885 – Alexander Moseley house, 282 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1887 – Costello C. Converse house, 348 Beacon St, Boston
Built for the son of Elisha S. Converse, donor of the Converse Memorial Library in Malden. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1887 – Richard Hodges house, 408 Beacon St, Boston
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1887 – Frederick Ferris Thompson and Mary Clark Thompson house, Sonnenberg, 250 Gibson St, Canandaigua, New York
Originally designed in the Queen Anne style. A circa 1900 remodeling for Mrs. Thompson by Allen & Vance changed it to the Tudor Revival style. NRHP-listed.
1888 – Gardiner Greene Hubbard house, Twin Oaks, 3225 Woodley Road NW, Washington, D.C.
NRHP-listed, also a contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Cleveland Park Historic District.
1890 – Hopkins Hall, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Funded by Frederick Ferris Thompson as a memorial to Mark Hopkins. The first of the Allen firm's projects for Williams College.
1892 – Talbot Building additions, Boston University medical campus, Boston
Allen & Kenway completed wings along East Concord and Stoughton Streets in 1884 and 1892, respectively.
Allen & Vance, 1897–1901
1899 – Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 15 Newbury St, Boston
A near total rebuilding of the church, originally completed in 1861 by Alexander Rice Esty. The only significant part of Esty's design to remain was the main facade. The first major ecclesiastical project completed by the Allen firm. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1899 – Hallowell City Hall, 1 Winthrop St, Hallowell, Maine
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Hallowell Historic District.
1900 – Richmond Hotel, Main St, North Adams, Massachusetts
Demolished.
1901 – Lathrop House, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
1902 – Aspinwall Hotel, Kennedy Park, Lenox, Massachusetts
Destroyed by fire in 1931.
1902 – Davison House, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
Funded by trustee John D. Rockefeller and named for his mother.
Allen & Collens, 1903–1934
1904 – First Church of Christ, Scientist, 33 School St, Concord, New Hampshire
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Downtown Concord Historic District.
1905 – Thompson Memorial Chapel, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Funded by Mary Clark Thompson.
1905 – Thompson Memorial Library, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
Funded by Mary Clark Thompson. Allen, Collens & Willis added Van Ingen Hall in 1937.
1906 – Robert Dawson Evans house, 34 Welch Rd, Brookline, Massachusetts
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Brookline Town Green Historic District.
1906 – Fitch House, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
1906 – Marlborough City Hall, 140 Main St, Marlborough, Massachusetts
Designed by Allen & Collens and J. Lawrence Berry, associated architects. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Marlborough Center Historic District.
1906 – State Street Trust Company, Back Bay branch, 130 Massachusetts Ave, Boston
Now occupied by the Berklee College of Music.
1906 – Woman's Hospital, W 110th St and Amsterdam Ave, New York City
Demolished.
1910 – Flatbush-Tompkins Congregational Church, 424 E 19th St, Brooklyn
Designed by Allen & Collens, architects, with Louis E. Jallade, associate architect. Allen & Collens completed an adjacent parish house in 1925. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Ditmas Park Historic District.
1910 – Chandler Hovey house, 32 Lawrence Rd, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Built for Allen's daughter and son-in-law. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Old Chestnut Hill Historic District.
1910 – Thompson Hall, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Funded by Mary Clark Thompson.
1910 – Union Theological Seminary campus, New York City
Designed by Allen & Collens, architects, with Louis E. Jallade, associate architect. NRHP-listed, also a New York City Landmark.
1911 – Swartz Hall, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Originally named Andover Hall for its original occupant, the Andover Theological Seminary.
1911 – United States Post Office (former), 28 N Main St, Canandaigua, New York
The Treasury selected Allen & Collens as architects for this building on the condition that Mary Clark Thompson paid the architect's fee. NRHP-listed.
1912 – Charles Collens houses, 78–82 Southbourne Rd, Jamaica Plain, Boston
Built as part of Woodbourne, a model working-class neighborhood developed by Robert Winsor that never achieved its goals. Winsor was a first cousin of Collens's wife. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Woodbourne Historic District.
1912 – Josselyn House, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
1912 – Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, 365 Montauk Ave, New London, Connecticut
1912 – William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Originally known as the Main Library and unrelated to Mary Clark Thompson.
1912 – Mary Pickard Winsor house, 160 Dudley Rd, Newton, Massachusetts
Winsor was the founder of the Winsor School and a daughter of Robert Winsor, a first cousin of Collens's wife.
1913 – Knox United Church, 506 4 St SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Designed by Lawson & Fordyce, architects, with Allen & Collens, consulting architects. Allen & Collens were chiefly responsible for the design. A Calgary Municipal Historic Resource.
1913 – Sargent Gymnasium, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
Designed by Allen & Collens and Felix A. Burton, associated architects.
1914 – St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 351 Main St, Ridgefield, Connecticut
Designed by Allen & Collens and W. Kerr Rainsford, associated architects. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Ridgefield Center Historic District.
1915 – Arthur Curtiss James House, 39 E 69th St, New York City
Demolished. Allen & Collens also completed outbuildings at James's Newport, Rhode Island, estate, which survive.
1915 – Taylor Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
1916 – Mead Memorial Chapel, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont
1916 – Second Church in Newton, 60 High St, West Newton, Massachusetts
NRHP-listed.
1917 – Dudley Coe Building, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
Designed by Allen & Collens and Felix A. Burton, associated architects.
1917 – First National Bank Building, 106 Maine St, Brunswick, Maine
Designed by Allen & Collens and Felix A. Burton, associated architects. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Brunswick Commercial Historic District.
1918 – Hyde Hall, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
Designed by Allen & Collens and Felix A. Burton, associated architects.
1918 – Vincent and Nancy Marturano Youth YMCA, 465 Main St, Brockton, Massachusetts
1921 – Augustus H. Fiske house, Kickemuit, 1 Barton Ave, Warren, Rhode Island
One of Willis's earliest designs for the firm.
1921 – United Congregational Church of Holyoke, 300 Appleton St, Holyoke, Massachusetts
Incorporating the tower of the former church, completed in 1885 to a design by Henry F. Kilburn and destroyed by fire in 1919. Allen & Collens designed the adjacent Skinner Memorial Chapel in 1912. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed North High Street Historic District.
1922 – Park Avenue Baptist Church, 593 Park Ave, New York City
Sold to the Central Presbyterian Church in 1928 as the Baptists were building their new home, Riverside Church. Designed by Allen & Collens and Henry C. Pelton, associated architects.
1923 – Reformed Dutch Church of Poughkeepsie, 70 Hooker Ave, Poughkeepsie, New York
NRHP-listed.
1924 – Christ Episcopal Church (former), 25 The Green, Watertown, Connecticut
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Watertown Center Historic District.
1924 – Church of the Redemption (former), 1105 Boylston St, Boston
Acquired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in 1935 and known as the St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine since 1945.
1924 – Emmanuel Episcopal Church Leslie Lindsey Memorial Chapel, 15 Newbury St, Boston
The chapel's decorative scheme was developed by Ninian Comper. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Back Bay Historic District.
1924 – Russell Hall, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City
1924 – Webster Memorial Building, 36 Trumbull St, Hartford, Connecticut
NRHP-listed.
1925 – First Congregational Church parish house, 21 Church St, Winchester, Massachusetts
Designed by Robert Coit, architect, with Allen & Collens, associate architects. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Winchester Center Historic District.
1925 – Leslie Buswell house, Stillington Hall, Stillington Dr, Gloucester, Massachusetts
This house incorporates extensive architectural salvage from English and American Colonial homes. Harold B. Willis, the principal designer, served with Buswell in the American Field Service during World War I. Buswell was a close friend and probable lover of John Hays Hammond Jr., for whom Allen & Collens also built Hammond Castle in 1929.
1926 – Hartford Seminary Foundation (former campus), Hartford, Connecticut
Now home to the University of Connecticut School of Law. NRHP-listed.
1926 – United Congregational Church (former), 877 Park Ave, Bridgeport, Connecticut
This building is now home to the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center. NRHP-listed.
1927 – Cushing House, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
1927 – Wimpfheimer Nursery School, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
1928 – Wallington Presbyterian Church, 9 Bond St, Wallington, New Jersey
1929 – Golden Hill United Methodist Church, 210 Elm St, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Designed by Allen & Collens, architects, with Ernest G. Southey, associate architect. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Golden Hill Historic District.
1929 – John Hays Hammond Jr. house, Abbadia Mare, 80 Hesperus Ave, Gloucester, Massachusetts
This house incorporates a large amount of architectural ormanent salvaged by Hammond from Europe. It was designed principally by Harold B. Willis with input from Henry Davis Sleeper. Hammond was a close friend and probable lover of Leslie Buswell, for whom Allen & Collens built Stillington Hall in 1925. Commonly known as Hammond Castle. NRHP-listed.
1929 – Trinity United Methodist Church, 361 Sumner Ave, Springfield, Massachusetts
1930 – Kenneth Barnitz Gilbert Parson house, 5 Concord Rd, Weston, Massachusetts
Based on Westover Plantation.
1930 – Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Dr, New York City
Designed by Allen & Collens and Henry C. Pelton, associated architects. Funded by John D. Rockefeller Jr. NRHP-listed, also a New York City Landmark.
1930 – Universalist National Memorial Church, 1810 16th St NW, Washington, D.C.
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Sixteenth Street Historic District.
1931 – Christ Episcopal Church parish house, 470 Maple St, Winnetka, Illinois
1931 – Huguenot Memorial Church parish house, 901 Pelhamdale Ave, Pelham Manor, New York
1931 – Skinner Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
Winner of the Harleston Parker Medal for 1936. NRHP-listed.
1932 – Newton City Hall and War Memorial, 1000 Commonwealth Ave, Newton Centre, Massachusetts
NRHP-listed.
1932 – St. Peter's Episcopal Church parish house, 838 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Central Square Historic District.
1932 – United Parish in Brookline rebuilding, 210 Harvard St, Brookline, Massachusetts
Originally designed by Edward Tuckerman Potter and completed in 1873. Gutted by fire in 1931, reconstruction and new interior by Allen & Collens.
1933 – First Parish Church, 50 Church St, Waltham, Massachusetts
NRHP-listed.
1933 – Kenyon Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
1933 – Old South Church parish house, 645 Boylston St, Boston
1933 – St. Paul's Episcopal Church rebuilding, 80 Pleasant St, Brockton, Massachusetts
Originally designed by Ralph Adams Cram and completed in 1893. Gutted by fire in the early 1930s, reconstruction and new interior by Allen & Collens.
Allen, Collens & Willis, 1934–1940
1935 – Forest Hills Covenant Church, 455 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Boston
1936 – Hope Central Church, 85 Seaverns Ave, Jamaica Plain, Boston
A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Sumner Hill Historic District.
1937 – Chapman Hall, Milwaukee-Downer College, Milwaukee
1937 – Old South Church campanile, 645 Boylston St, Boston
The original, leaning, campanile was removed in the early 1930s due to structural damage discovered during the construction of the parish house.
1938 – Abbey Memorial Chapel, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Incorporating the existing Mary Lyon Chapel, completed by Gardner, Pyne & Gardner in 1897, as the chancel.
1938 – Frances Clark house, 3 Swallow Cave Rd, Nahant, Massachusetts
An early example of Modernism in the firm's work. Altered.
1938 – The Cloisters, 99 Margaret Corbin Dr, New York City
The interior incorporates extensive architectural salvage from Europe. The exterior is modern in construction and based on the church at Monsempron-Libos in France. NRHP-listed, also a New York City Landmark.
1939 – First Baptist Church, 111 Park Ave, Worcester, Massachusetts
Collens, Willis & Hubbard, 1940–1945
1941 – Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church remodeling, 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Collens, Willis & Beckonert, 1945–1962
1950 – Quincy Point Congregational Church, 444 Washington St, Quincy, Massachusetts
1950 – Weston High School, 16 Alphabet Ln, Weston, Massachusetts
Later the Field Elementary School, demolished in 2015.
1952 – Abbey-Appleton Hall, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts
1955 – Trinity Episcopal Church education wing, 131 W Emerson St, Melrose, Massachusetts
1958 – Downes Memorial Clock Tower, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
Modeled on the Trinity College Clock of Trinity College, Cambridge. A contributing resource to the NRHP-listed Trinity College Long Walk historic district.
1959 – Riverside Church Martin Luther King Jr. wing, 490 Riverside Dr, New York City
1960 – Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Dr, New York City
Designed by Collens, Willis & Beckonert and Voorhees, Walker, Smith, Smith & Haines, associated architects.
From Wikipedia’s article on Allen & Collens, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3