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Elbridge Boyden (1810–1898) was a prominent 19th-century American architect from Worcester, Massachusetts, who designed numerous civil and public buildings throughout New England and other parts of the United States. Perhaps his best known works are the Taunton State Hospital (1851) and Mechanics Hall (1855) in Worcester.
In about 1863 his son, George E. Boyden, joined his firm, then known as E. Boyden & Son. The younger Boyden died in 1885, but the firm's name remained until the elder Boyden's death. In 1892 Boyden was one of the founders of the Worcester Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and served as its president from then until his death."Elbridge Boyden, FAIA". Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects 1898. Boyden was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and served a term as vice-president of the Massachusetts Chapter. He died in Worcester on March 25, 1898. He married Louisa Davis of Royalston, Massachusetts.
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This was begun in 1851 with the Taunton State Hospital, a sprawling institutional complex. This was Boyden's first design to feature monumental classicism, in the Italianate style. The original campus was completed in 1854, and closed in 1975. The dome collapsed in 1999, and the remainder of the original complex was demolished in 2005."Taunton State Hospital - Main Bldg - Admin.". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. Boyden's success at Taunton was followed up by two major academic commissions. Both in 1852, Boyden designed the original campus of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and the Worcester Medical College. Both were symmetrical and monumental Romanesque buildings, modeled on the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington. Antioch's three original buildings still stand, but Worcester Medical was demolished in 1965. Prior to its demolition, it had served as the main building of Worcester Academy from 1869.Morrill, Frank J., William O. Hultgren, and Eric J. Salomonsson. Postcard History Series: Worcester. 2005.
Boyden also worked on at least three churches during this time. The first of these (1856), the Congregational Church at Brookfield, hangs on to the Romanesque, and has much in common with the slightly later work of John Stevens of Boston."Evangelical Congregational Church". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. He was also commissioned to build the 1858 Town House, which was originally the 1858 Townhouse, in Sherborn, Massachusetts, with a bequest from Thomas Dowse's will. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1859 Boyden remodeled the Baptist Church at Athol, designing a new facade and tower for the church. The tower was destroyed in 1938. History of Athol, Massachusetts. 1953. Also in 1859 they remodeled the First Congregational Church in Keene, New Hampshire. Like much of Boyden's work at the time, it featured a monumental Italianate facade.Tolles, Bryant F., Jr. New Hampshire Architecture: An Illustrated Guide. 1979. This would be only the first of Boyden's many works in Keene.
Also during this time, Boyden & Ball designed many commercial buildings in Worcester. Of these, the first significant one was Horticultural Hall at 18 Front Street. It was an unusual use of the Romanesque in a commercial setting. Transactions of the Worcester County Horticultural Society for A. D. 1886. 1887. The building's fate is not precisely known, and may have been incorporated into the current building on the site. Next came the Clark Block in 1854, at 401-409 Main Street. An impressive structure in its day, half of its Italianate facade has been replaced, and the other half is highly deteriorated."Clark Block". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. In 1855 came Mechanics Hall, perhaps Boyden's best-known work. Here, Boyden's classical work dwarfed its neighbors, both then and now."Mechanics Hall". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. It was a popular place for meetings and performances, and remains so today. In 1857 Boyden & Ball designed the Front Street Theatre, adjacent to Horticultural Hall. It was the first venue in Worcester designed specifically for theatre productions.Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Worcester County, Massachusetts. 1889. It was destroyed by fire in 1898. Engineering News 10 March 1898: 81.
Boyden & Ball also did a few more works further afield, including Denny Hall, Spencer's first high school in 1857,"Denny Hall". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. Larchmont, the country home of Ransom C. Taylor,"Larchmont". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. and the Town House at Sherborn, both in 1858."1858 Sherborn Town House". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web.
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Boyden and his son designed many churches, mainly in the High Victorian Gothic style. The first of these was St. Paul's Church, presently the Cathedral of St. Paul, in Worcester. It is a mostly monochromatic building, but maintains the "stripy bacon" aspect so criticized in such buildings. It was begun in 1868 and completed in 1874. Next was the First M. E. Church in Saratoga Springs, New York, now known as the Universal Preservation Hall. "Universal Preservation Hall". http://sacredsaratoga.weebly.com/. 2012. It is considered to be one of the finest High Victorian Gothic buildings in the region. In 1873 Boyden made his first foray into Rhode Island, designing L'Eglise du Precieux Sang in Woonsocket, an American center of French Canadian culture. The church's tower was significantly rebuilt in the early 20th century.Norton, Paul F. Rhode Island Stained Glass: An Historical Guide. 2001. In 1874 they designed All Souls Church in Brattleboro, Vermont. This church was the firm's first use of this unique tower, which would be repeated on other churches, including the Congregational Church at Gilbertville (1874)"Gilbertville Congregational Church and Chapel". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. and the Channing Memorial Church at Newport, Rhode Island (1880).Yarnall, James L. Newport Through its Architecture, 2005. Several years later in 1888 he designed St. Paul's in Rutland, Vermont, which attempts to unite the High Victorian Gothic and Queen Anne styles. Engineering and Building Record 20 Oct. 1888: ix.
The firm's next most common type of commission was for academic buildings. In 1867 they competed for the design of Boynton Hall on the campus of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but lost to Earle & Fuller. Boyden had to settle for the schools second building, Washburn Shops. Built in 1868, this was a long, brick building with a tall mansard roof."Washburn Machine Shops - Plunger Elevator Company". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. They designed two public schools for the city, the Cambridge Street"Cambridge Street School". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. and Grafton Street Schools,"Grafton Street Schoolhouse #1". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. in 1869 and 1879, respectively. Cambridge Street was solidly Second Empire, but Grafton Street showed a move towards the Queen Anne of the 1880s. In 1869 he designed the former Fitchburg High School on Academy Street in Fitchburg, which had much in common with the contemporary Cambridge Street School. Henry M. Francis may have been involved in the design. Boyden's final academic works were two buildings on the campus of Nichols College in Dudley. These were Academy Hall, an academic building, and Conant Hall, a dormitory, in 1880 and 1885. Engineering News 24 July 1880: 254. Both were solidly in the Queen Anne mainstream. Both have been altered, Academy Hall beyond recognition.
They also designed a number of public buildings, including several town halls. First was the one in North Brookfield, in 1864."North Brookfield Town House". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web. This was one of Boyden's last fully Italianate commissions. By the time Boyden & Son were commissioned to design the Town Hall in Orange in 1868, they had switched over to the Mansard Second Empire.Tuholski, Robert J. Images of America: Around Orange. 2006. This building was totally rebuilt in 1912, to designs by H. M. Francis & Sons of Fitchburg. Engineering and Contracting 21 Feb. 1912: 57. They also designed two Queen Anne town halls. The Upton Town Hall, still standing, was built in 1883. Sanitary Engineer 5 July 1883: 115. In 1884 they designed the town hall for Sutton, since demolished. American Architect and Building News 24 Jan. 1885: 48. In 1870 they designed a secondary Worcester County courthouse in Fitchburg."Court House for Fitchburg, Mass". Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal March 1870: 553. Like several of Boyden's public-oriented commissions of the 1860s and 70s, it was a monochromatic High Victorian Gothic building. It is now vacant. His last major public commission came in 1889, when he designed the Hospital Cottages for Children at Baldwinville. Engineering and Building Record 14 Sept. 1889: 223. Like his much earlier Taunton State Hospital, it was a sprawling medical campus, though now Queen Anne, not Italianate. The complex has been demolished. During this period Boyden designed many hotels, all in the Second Empire style. First, in 1868, came two in upstate New York. He built the massive Congress Hall in downtown Saratoga Springs,Dearborn, R. F. Saratoga, and How to See It. 1873. and rebuilt the much older Fort William Henry Hotel in Lake George.Halm, Gale J. and Mary H. Sharp. Images of America: Lake George. 2000. Both built of wood, they were destroyed by fire at different times. In addition to these tourist hotels, he also built a series of commercial hotels across New England. In 1870 he designed the Towns Hotel in Bellows Falls, Vermont, which burned.Collins, Anne L., Virginia Lisai, and Louise Luring. Images of America: Around Bellows Falls. 2002. His last two hotels, however, still stand. In 1871 he designed the Brooks House in Brattleboro, one of the largest in northern New England. The other was the Crocker House at New London, Connecticut in 1872."Pride of Place: Architecture Along State Street, New London, Connecticut". http://www.newlondonlandmarks.org/. n.d. Web.
Boyden's first commercial work with this partnership was a duo of office buildings in Keene, New Hampshire. These were the Bank Block and Colony's Block, both on Central Square. Designed to look like a single structure, this was ruined when the Bank Block was heavily remodeled. Regardless, the Colony brothers' building remains in near-original condition. In 1871 Boyden & Son designed the Savings Bank Block on Main Street in Fitchburg. This flamboyant Second Empire structure has been demolished. A decade later, they designed the Bank Block on High Street in Clinton, a polychromatic Queen Anne office building. Sanitary Engineer 1 June 1881: 315. In 1888 he designed the Lamb Block at 41 Pleasant Street in Worcester, one of Boyden's only works in the Neo-Grec style. Engineering and Building Record 3 March 1888: 224.
As before, Boyden did few residential buildings. During this period, though, he did at least two of note in Worcester. First, in 1867, was the Jerome Marble House on Harvard Street. This is considered to be one of the finest Second Empire buildings still standing in the city. Much later, in 1894, Boyden built an apartment block at Eden and George Streets for Pellett Brothers. American Architect and Building News 16 Dec. 1893: xiii. This was, in addition to being one of his last overall works, was his only design within the late-19th century Romanesque Revival mainstream. Boyden may have also designed the Henry Colony residence (now the public library) in Keene, New Hampshire, who built Colony's Block the following year. The Colony residence is similar to much of Boyden's other Second Empire work.
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E. Boyden & Son also competed for the designs of the New York (1867)Roseberry, C. R. Capitol Story. 1964. and Georgia (1883)"Georgia State Capitol, Capitol Square, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA". https://www.loc.gov/. n.d. Web. state capitols, and the Worcester City Hall (1895),Rice, Franklin P. The Worcester of 1898. 1899. but did not win.
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