Henry Clifford Boles (1910–1979), also known as Hank Boles, was an American architect. He had his own architecture firm, as well as being a part of the ''Associated Architect and Engineer'' firm from 1957 to 1969 with civil engineer

Paul Parks Paul Parks (May 7, 1923 – August 1, 2009) was an American civil engineer. Parks became the first African American Secretary of Education for Massachusetts, and was appointed by Governor Michael Dukakis to serve from 1975 until 1979. Mayor Raymo ...

. Early in his career Boles worked on designing buildings in Monrovia,

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, through a United States Department of State program. In his later life he primarily designed in Massachusetts and worked on many civic and community projects in Boston, in the town of

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

, and in the surrounding area.

Early life and education

Henry Clifford Boles was born on February 22, 1910, in Oxford, Mississippi, to parents Willa Wright Boles and William Robert Boles, a shoe cobbler. He graduated in 1927 from LeMoyne Junior College (now LeMoyne–Owen College) in Memphis, Tennessee; followed by a brief study at

Crane Junior College Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, is a two-year college located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded as Crane Junior College in 1911 and was the first of the City Colleges. Crane ceased operations at ...

in Chicago. Boles graduated with a

B.Arch The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world. Australia Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...

(1943) from Illinois Institute of Technology, where he studied under

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

. He returned to school many years later and graduated with a M.Arch (1949) from Harvard University, where he studied under Walter Gropius.

Career

From 1929 until 1943, while in school, Boles worked as a clerk for the United States Postal Service to support his family. After graduation he served for two years as an assistant plant engineer at the Aero Parts Manufacturing Company in Wichita, during the end of World War II. He worked under architect

Hilyard Robert Robinson Hilyard Robinson (1899 – July 2, 1986) was a prominent African-American architect and engineer. Biography Hilyard Robinson was born in Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top le ...

for 6 months in 1945. He returned to school to get a his master's degree in 1949, which was followed by a few years employment for the federal government. from February 1950 to November 1951, Boles worked at the United States Housing Authority and the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Boston. He moved to Monrovia, Liberia after, to work for the United States Department of State as the chief architect at the

Point Four Program The Point Four Program was a technical assistance program for "developing countries" announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address on January 20, 1949. It took its name from the fact that it was the fourth foreign ...

from late-1951 to 1954, a technical and economic assistance program for " developing countries" started in 1949. While in Monrovia he created housing for the U.S. technicians (1952–1954), an Agricultural Experiment Station (1953), and the Monrovia Elementary School (1954). He moved back to Massachusetts in 1954, in order to found his own Boston-based architecture firm. In 1957, he joined civil engineer

to form the partnership called ''Associated Architect and Engineer''. Early commissioned projects were the Methuen Junior High School and Saint Stephan's Episcopal Church Parish Hall (1961) in the

Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bosto ...

neighborhood of Boston. William Spilman, an engineer, later joined the firm. In 1969, the firm dissolved and after in which Boles created the bulk of his design work. Boles was the vice chairman of the town of Dennis' board of selectmen from 1973 until 1977. He also served as the chairmen of the Dennis

board of health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environment ...

. He was a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Death and legacy

Boles died on January 29, 1979, in

Hyannis Port Hyannis Port (or Hyannisport) is a small residential village located in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is an affluent summer community on Hyannis Harbor, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the south-southwest of Hyannis. Community It has ...

, Massachusetts. He was buried at Blue Hills Cemetery in Braintree. The Northeastern University Library holds archives that feature photographs of Boles and Parks from the 1960s. Boles' profile was included in the biographical dictionary '' African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945'' (2004).

Personal life

Boles married Myrtle C. Spralley in 1938, together they had 3 children. He served as the churchwarden of the Christ Church Episcopal Church in Harwich Port.

Works

Agricultural Experiment Station An agricultural experiment station (AES) or agricultural research station (ARS) is a scientific research center that investigates difficulties and potential improvements to food production and agribusiness. Experiment station scientists work with f ...

(1953), Monrovia, Liberia * Monrovia Elementary School (1954), Monrovia, Liberia * Boles residence (), 97 Great Western Road, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts * Knights of Columbus Home of Council (1961), 462 Broadway, Methuen, Massachusetts * Marksdale Gardens (1965), 96 Humboldt Avenue, Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts; created under ''Associated Architect and Engineer'' * Methuen Fire Station (1967), Methuen, Massachusetts * Saint David Episcopal Church (1970), South Yarmouth, Massachusetts * Student Union-Ely Library (1973), Westfield State College, Westfield, Massachusetts * Methuen Elderly Housing (1974), Methuen, Massachusetts * Dennis Elderly Housing (1974), Center Street, South Dennis, Massachusetts * U.S. Post Office (addition) (1975), Wakefield, Massachusetts * North Street Fire Station (1976),

Tewksbury Tewksbury may refer to: Places *Tewksbury, Massachusetts, USA *Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, USA *Tewksbury Heights, Contra Costa County, California, USA *Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England **Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency) **Borough of ...

, Massachusetts * Brewster Baptist Church (1976), 1648 Brewster Street, Brewster, Massachusetts * Brunswick Gardens (), Brunswick Street, Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts * Massachusetts Bureau of Building and Construction office and garage, Plymouth, Massachusetts

References