Lucius W. Briggs

The Frances Perkins Branch Library in Worcester, designed by Briggs in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and completed in 1913. The Katz and Leavitt Apartment House in Worcester, designed by Briggs in the Venetian Gothic style and completed in 1926. The Worcester Memorial Auditorium, designed by associated architects Briggs and Frederic Charles Hirons in the Neoclassical style and completed in 1933. The Leicester Town Hall, designed by Briggs in the Colonial Revival and completed in 1939. Lucius W. Briggs (August 26, 1866 – September 10, 1940) was an American architect in practice in Worcester, Massachusetts from 1896 until his death in 1940. During that period he was the city's leading architect.

Life and career Lucius Wallace Briggs was born August 26, 1866, in Worcester to Cornelius Winters Briggs, a mechanical engineer, and Lucy Ryder Briggs, née Wallace. He was educated in the Worcester public schools and as a special student in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked as a drafter for Worcester contractors Norcross Brothers and architects Barker & Nourse and Fuller & Delano. In 1896 he left to open his own office. His early practice was chiefly residential, and he was a runner-up in the competition to design the new Worcester County Courthouse.

In 1899 he formed the partnership of Frost, Briggs & Chamberlain with Howard Frost and C. Leslie Chamberlain, former colleagues from the office of Fuller & Delano. The new firm quickly outpaced Worcester's other architects and became the city's most prominent architects. This firm was, among other projects, responsible for the design of such landmarks as the Slater Building. In 1912, after thirteen years, the partnership was dissolved. Frost & Chamberlain continued their practice, and Briggs incorporated the L. W. Briggs Company. He continued in his former success, and at the time of his death was Worcester's best known architect. The work of the younger Briggs includes the Worcester County Courthouse annex (1954, with Cornelius W. Buckley) and Burncoat High School (1964) He died in 1968.

At least three buildings designed independently by Briggs have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, in addition to three designed by Frost, Briggs & Chamberlain. Others contribute to listed historic districts.

Works 1898 – George Gabriel House, 31 Lenox St, Worcester, Massachusetts 1913 – Frances Perkins Branch Library, 470 W Boylston St, Worcester, Massachusetts 1914 – Frank O. Woodland house, 1 Drury Ln, Worcester, Massachusetts 1914 – Worcester Country Club, 2 Rice St, Worcester, Massachusetts 1917 – Worcester Technical High School expansion, 34 Grove St, Worcester, Massachusetts 1925 – Worcester Fire Alarm Station, 230 Park Ave, Worcester, Massachusetts 1926 – Katz and Leavitt Apartment House, 53 Elm St, Worcester, Massachusetts 1931 – South High School annex, 14 Richards St, Worcester, Massachusetts 1933 – Worcester Memorial Auditorium, 1 Lincoln Sq, Worcester, Massachusetts 1936 – Auburn High School, 99 Auburn St, Auburn, Massachusetts 1939 – Leicester Town Hall, 3 Washburn Sq, Leicester, Massachusetts