William D. Austin

William D. Austin (May 15, 1856 – May 25, 1944) was an American architect and author. Austin practiced architecture in Boston from until his retirement in 1930. From to 1892 he worked in partnership with William E. Chamberlin; from then until he worked with Frederick W. Stickney. Austin is best remembered for the work he completed for the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.

Early life and professional career William Downes Austin was born May 15, 1856, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, now annexed to Boston, to William Downes Austin Sr. and Catherine Downer Austin, née Austin. He was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studying with the class of 1876 from 1872 to 1875. Listings in the Boston Directory indicate that Austin worked as a draftsman for Ware & Van Brunt from 1876 to 1880 and for Carl Fehmer in 1882 before beginning to practice independently . By 1886 he had located at 6 Beacon Street, a building occupied by many architects including Chamberlin & Whidden, the partnership of William E. Chamberlin and William M. Whidden. Both overlapped with Austin at MIT: Chamberlin graduated as a member of the class of 1877; Whidden studied with that class in 1873–75. by 1890 Austin had joined Chamberlin to form Chamberlin & Austin. Stickney too had attended MIT, studying with the class of 1875 in 1874–75. The arrangement was such that Stickney managed the Lowell office while Austin managed the Boston office. It is not clear how design responsibilities were divided, especially for work outside of those two cities.

In the 1890s the firm was hired as architect for the recently established Metropolitan Park Commission, later the Metropolitan District Commission and a predecessor to the Department of Conservation and Recreation. For some twenty years, Austin embellished the commission's parks with park headquarters, boathouses, public toilets, stables, shelters and other buildings. Sometime after 1900 the partnership was dissolved, though Stickney and Austin kept both their names on their respective letterhead for years afterward. He concluded his career with an administration building (1930, demolished) for what is now Logan International Airport. He retired to his home in Cambridge in 1930.

Architectural works 1895: Peirce School, Newton, Massachusetts NRHP-listed 1897: Bathhouse, Revere Beach Reservation, Revere, Massachusetts Demolished 1898: The Cambridge Homes, Cambridge, Massachusetts Contributes to the NRHP-listed Revere Beach Reservation Historic District 1899: Charles River Reservation (Speedway)-Upper Basin Headquarters, Charles River Reservation, Brighton, Boston NRHP-listed 1899: Metropolitan District Commission Stable, Blue Hills Reservation, Milton, Massachusetts Demolished 1904: Blue Hills Headquarters, Blue Hills Reservation, Milton, Massachusetts NRHP-listed 1904: Charles River Reservation headquarters, Newton, Massachusetts NRHP-listed 1905: Arthur Holbrook Wellman house, Topsfield, Massachusetts 1907: Charlestown High School (former), Charlestown, Boston A studio building, tenants of which included William McGregor Paxton; then until 2022, the Wheelock College and Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development library 1921: Feline House, Franklin Park Zoo, Boston Demolished Demolished