Franklin Wellington Caulkins was a prominent architect in Buffalo, New York.
Caulkins was born in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, to Dr. Russell Caulkins and Jane Whitbeck and later moved with his family to Toledo, Ohio, where he studied architecture from 1865 to 1870. From that time until he went to work at the Buffalo office of
Milton Beebe
Milton Earle Beebe (November 27, 1840 – February 3, 1923) was an American architect who designed numerous buildings in Buffalo, New York, in Fargo, North Dakota, and elsewhere.Rochester, New York, and then at the offices of A.C. Bruce in Knoxville, Tennessee, before returning to Rochester to work briefly for Coots. He established himself as an architect and superintendent in room 8 of the Townsend Block, located at the corner of Main and Swan Streets in Buffalo, in April 1879 and relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1882 to 1885, during which time was a partner (separately) with John L. Telford and O.P. Dennis. Caulkins returned to Buffalo in 1885, and moved his office into the Chapin Building, where he remained until 1903.
In 1878 Caulklins married Jennie Louise Van Slyke (1858–1904) of Rochester, New York, with whom he had a son and a daughter. He moved to Missouri in 1903, became a widower in 1904 and then married Gertrude B. Smith (1880-1938), with whom he had two more sons and another daughter before they were divorced. From 1905 he worked in Missouri, Texas and Louisiana until his retirement in 1930. After retiring he lived at the National Elks Home in Bedford, Virginia. He died in Bedford in 1940."Franklin Wellington Caulkins, Architect," by John H. Conlin in Spring 2007 issue of Western New York Heritage
In 1886 he became a founding member of the Buffalo Society of Architects, which was incorporated as the Buffalo chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1890. Between 1876 and 1881
Louise Blanchard Bethune
Louise Blanchard Bethune (July 21, 1856 – December 18, 1913) was the first American woman known to have worked as a professional architect. She was born in Waterloo, New York. Blanchard worked primarily in Buffalo, New York and partnered with h ...
, one of few female professional architects at the time, worked in his office and for
Richard A. Waite
Richard Alfred Waite (May 14, 1848 – January 7, 1911) was a British-born American architect in the late 19th century.
Early years
Richard Waite was born in London in 1848 as one of seven children (surviving included William T, Helen and Jennie ...
.
Designs
* c.1878 - John F. Kamman Building, 755 Seneca Street
* 1878 - Residence for Malcom J. McNiven, 69 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY
* 1879 - Residence for Mrs. Ira S. Bennett, 51 Symphony Circle Buffalo, NY
* 1880 - Residence for Frank Porter, 55 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY
* 1880 - Residence for James A. Smith, 741 W. Ferry St., Buffalo, NY
* 1880 - Title Guarantee Company building (also known as the Austin Building or Ticor Building), 110 Franklin St., Buffalo, NY. The First Unitarian Church (1833, by Benjamin Rathbun) was torn down except for the Franklin St. facade, raised one story to make three and redesigned by Caulkins, at which time the building was extended in length along Eagle Street and converted to offices. Located in the
Joseph Ellicott Historic District
Joseph Ellicott Historic District is a local historic district in Buffalo, New York. It is in the vicinity of Niagara Square, which was designed by Joseph Ellicott as the centerpiece of the city's street plan in 1805.
History
The district was ...
, the conversion was carried out after the congregation relocated to a new church and Stephen G. Austin purchased the property in 1880. The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy was housed in the building from 1881 to 1886.
* 1881 - (Dr. James P.) White Building from Main Street to Erie Street (replaced in 1906 with a taller White Building though some of the cast iron columns of the earlier building remain on the Erie Street façade). Circa 1880 he designed the Chapin Building (demolished 1926).
* 1882 - Caulkins Building at 85-87-89 Genesee Street at the corner of Ellicott (collapsed and demolished after long period of disrepair)
* 1882 - F.W. Caulkins house, 415 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY.
* 1882 -
Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...
.
* 1910 - Jane Chinn Hospital (after 2006 Jane Chinn Heights senior apartments), 1400 Austin St., Webb City, Missouri
Other projects included a remodel of the Linwood Avenue house on the southeast corner of Linwood and West Ferry; design of the building at 410 Delaware Ave. (demolished in 1966); 430 Delaware Avenue building for Thomas Ramsdell; building at 85 Genesee Street (demolished); State National Bank at 8 Webster Street in
North Tonawanda
North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek, its south bo ...
; and the 1888 Maple Street Baptist Mission Church (demolished early 1980s).; Brick house for W.C. Francis; O.P. Rainsdell (sp?) double brick with brownstone trimming house on Delaware Street; *J.M. Richmond House near Ellicott and Seneca Streets