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Hutchins & French
A 1924 advertisement for Hutchins & French, featuring the new building of the Indian Head National Bank in Nashua, New Hampshire, typical of the firm's bank buildings.
Practice information
FoundersFranklin H. Hutchins;
Arthur E. French
Founded1910
Dissolved1989
LocationBoston
The Kennebunk Free Library in Kennebunk, Maine, designed by Hutchins in the Colonial Revival style and completed in 1907.
The Manufacturer's National Bank Building in Lewiston, Maine, designed by Hutchins & French in the Neoclassical style and completed in 1914.
The World War I Memorial in Uxbridge, designed by Hutchins & French in the Neoclassical style and completed in 1921.
The Old Kennebunk High School, designed by Hutchins & French in the Colonial Revival style and completed in 1923.
The William Parker Straw House in Manchester, New Hampshire, designed by Hutchins & French in the Tudor Revival style and completed in 1923.
The Wakefield Trust Company Building in Wakefield, designed by Hutchins & French in the Neoclassical style and completed in 1924.
The Hampden Savings Bank Building in Springfield, designed by Hutchins & French in the Moderne style and completed in 1950.

Hutchins & French was an American architectural firm based in Boston. It was established in 1910 as the partnership of architects Franklin H. Hutchins and Arthur E. French. The firm specialized in the design of bank and school buildings.

Firm history

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Hutchins & French was formed in Boston in 1910 by architects Franklin H. Hutchins and Arthur E. French, who had met while employed in the office of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. They quickly developed a specialty in the design of bank and school buildings. In 1914, increasing work in northern New England allowed them to open a branch office in Manchester, New Hampshire,[1] which operated until the mid-to-late 1920s. After the deaths of French in 1929 and Hutchins in 1934, the firm was managed by partners Francis Whitten, who joined the office in 1920, and Evander French, French's son, who had joined in 1927.[2][3] Evander French died in 1960, and Gordon C. Mallar, who had also joined the firm in 1927, became a partner.[4] Whitten and Mallar retired in the 1970s,[5] and the firm was continued by the surviving partner, Sam G. Gountanis. Gountanis died in 1989.[6]

Legacy

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Cleveland architect Philip Lindsley Small worked for the firm in 1914. His work includes Karamu House (1949) and the Huntington Museum of Art (1952).[7]

At least five buildings designed by Hutchins & French have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and others contribute to listed historic districts.

Founders

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Franklin H. Hutchins

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Franklin Henry Hutchins (1871 – February 14, 1934) was born in Boston. He worked in the offices of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge and Parker, Thomas & Rice. Prior to establishing Hutchins & French he had also designed the Kennebunk Free Library in his mother's hometown of Kennebunk, Maine, which was completed in 1907.[8] He was senior partner of the firm of Hutchins & French until his death.[9]

Hutchins never married. He died at home in Boston at the age of 63.[10][8]

Arthur E. French

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Arthur Eugene French (1876 – February 26, 1929) was born in Wayland, Massachusetts, and was raised in Weston. He was trained as an in architect in the office of Cabot, Everett & Mead, and also worked for Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge for three years.[11][12]

French and his wife, Charlotte, had four children, two sons and two daughters. He died at home in Winchester at the age of 53.[11]

Architectural works

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References

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  1. ^ "Personal" in The American Contractor 35, no. 23 (June 6, 1914): 124.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Whitten, Francis," American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 601.
  3. ^ "Evander French," The Winchester Star, October 6, 1960.
  4. ^ "Mallar, Gordon Cranton," American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1962): 458.
  5. ^ "Francis Whitten, 87," The Boston Globe, March 8, 1979.
  6. ^ "Sam Gountanis, 70," The Boston Globe, December 11, 1989.
  7. ^ "Small, Philip L(indsley)" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 512.
  8. ^ a b c George A. Gilpatric, Kennebunk History (Kennebunk: Star Print, 1939)
  9. ^ Henry F. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey, "Hutchins, Franklin H." in Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) (Los Angeles: New Age Publishing Company, 1956): 313-314.
  10. ^ "Franklin Hutchins, architect, dead," The Boston Globe, February 14, 1934.
  11. ^ a b "Arthur E. French, architect, dead," The Boston Globe, February 27, 1929.
  12. ^ Henry F. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey, "French, Arthur E." in Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) (Los Angeles: New Age Publishing Company, 1956): 221-222.
  13. ^ a b c William Parker Straw House NRHP Registration Form (1987)
  14. ^ The American Contractor 34, no. 36 (September 6, 1913): 70.
  15. ^ Bankers Magazine (November 1916): 450.
  16. ^ Engineering News 71, no. 6 (February 5, 1914): 83.
  17. ^ American Architect 111, no. 2162 (May 30, 1917): 12.
  18. ^ Historic Building Detail: UXB.902, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed November 17, 2024.
  19. ^ Historic Building Detail: NAL.83, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed November 17, 2024.
  20. ^ The American Contractor 43, no. 38 (September 23 1922): 43.
  21. ^ "To build fine home," The South Bend Tribune, March 10, 1924.
  22. ^ Historic Building Detail: LOW.91, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed November 17, 2024.
  23. ^ "New First National Bank Building ready for opening," The South Bend Tribune, March 20, 1925.
  24. ^ "First National, New Bedford" in United States Investor 35, no. 26 (June 28, 1924): 42.
  25. ^ Bryant F. Tolles Jr. and Carolyn K. Tolles, New Hampshire Architecture: An Illustrated Guide (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1979): 111.
  26. ^ Historic Building Detail: WNT.1836, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed November 17, 2024.
  27. ^ Waltham city report for 1926
  28. ^ Historic Building Detail: BKL.471, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed November 17, 2024.
  29. ^ Historic Building Detail: EVR.17, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed November 17, 2024.
  30. ^ Architectural Forum (1928): 146.
  31. ^ William H. Jordy, Buildings of Rhode Island (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004): 331.
  32. ^ Bryant F. Tolles Jr. and Carolyn K. Tolles, New Hampshire Architecture: An Illustrated Guide (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1979): 142.
  33. ^ Historic Building Detail: NAL.74, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed November 17, 2024.
  34. ^ Domestic Engineering (July 16, 1927): 96.
  35. ^ "Medford Savings Bank begins demolishing old bank nuilding," Boston Globe, April 15, 1928.
  36. ^ Glenn M. Andres and Curtis B. Johnson, Buildings of Vermont, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013): 83-84.
  37. ^ "New school in Medford to be completed next month," Boston Globe, March 6, 1932.
  38. ^ Historic Building Detail: QUI.32, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, no date. Accessed November 17, 2024.
  39. ^ "A school designed for neighborhood use" in American School Board Journal 120, no. 2 (February 1950): 47-49.
  40. ^ David W. Dunlap, Building Provincetown: A Guide to its Social and Cultural History (Provincetown: Provincetown Historical Commission, 2015)
  41. ^ Engineering News-Record 150, no. 10 (March 5. 1953): 91.
  42. ^ a b "Whitten, Francis," American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1962): 758.
  43. ^ "Mallar, Gordon C(ranton)," American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1962): 458.
  44. ^ a b "Mallar, Gordon Cranton," American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 590.
  45. ^ "Masons in Saugus order bldg. plans," Daily Evening Item, November 18, 1961.
  46. ^ Engineering News-Record (May 8, 1975): 58.
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