Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge

Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge
Company type	Architectural firm
Industry	Architecture
Predecessor	Henry Hobson Richardson's practice
Founded	1886 in Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
Founder	George Foster Shepley, Charles Hercules Rutan, Charles Allerton Coolidge
Defunct	1914 (original partnership ended)
Fate	Evolved into Coolidge & Shattuck and later firms; since 2000 operates as Shepley Bulfinch
Successor	Coolidge & Shattuck, Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbott, Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson & Abbott, Shepley Bulfinch
Headquarters	Boston, United States
Area served	United States (notably Boston and Chicago)
Key people	George Foster Shepley, Charles Hercules Rutan, Charles Allerton Coolidge
Products	Civic, religious, academic buildings; railroad stations; architectural design services

Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge was a leading American architectural firm based in Boston. As the direct successor to Henry Hobson Richardson's practice, the firm completed his unfinished commissions and built a notable body of work encompassing civic, religious, and academic buildings. The original partnership ended in 1914, subsequently evolving through iterations such as Coolidge & Shattuck, Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbott, and Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson & Abbott. Since 2000, it has operated under the name Shepley Bulfinch.

History

The firm's origins trace back to Richardson's office. After his passing, Richardson entrusted the continuation of his practice to his three principal assistants—George Foster Shepley (1860–1903), Charles Hercules Rutan (1851–1914), and Charles Allerton Coolidge (1858–1936). Within the team, Shepley was responsible for drafting and client engagement; Rutan managed construction oversight and engineering; Coolidge served as chief designer and business developer. Both Shepley and Coolidge were educated at MIT and had prior experience working with Ware & Van Brunt.

With financial backing from clients Edward W. Hooper and Frederick Lothrop Ames, the trio established Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge in 1886 at the former Richardson studio in Brookline. Their initial focus was to complete Richardson’s pending projects such as the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh and the John J. Glessner House in Chicago. By 1887, they moved their operations to downtown Boston to broaden their clientele. The organizational structure designated Shepley and Coolidge as designers while Rutan acted as superintendent and manager. Coolidge emerged as the principal business strategist, securing significant commissions.

Following Richardson’s death, their early designs adhered to the Richardsonian Romanesque style but gradually evolved toward Neoclassical and other revival styles inspired by firms like McKim, Mead & White. This stylistic shift began with an unrealized design for the Rhode Island State House (1891) and was realized in projects such as the Art Institute of Chicago (1893) and the Chicago Cultural Center (1897). The firm also became a dominant architectural presence at Harvard University during President A. Lawrence Lowell’s administration, beginning with Conant Hall (1894). Branch offices were opened in Chicago—led by Coolidge until 1900—and St. Louis—managed by John Lawrence Mauran until 1900.

After Shepley’s death in 1903 and Rutan becoming incapacitated in 1912, Coolidge assumed sole active leadership. In 1914 he dissolved the original partnership and established separate firms: Coolidge & Shattuck in Boston and Coolidge & Hodgdon in Chicago, both operating independently under his guidance. Following Shattuck’s death in 1923, Coolidge formed a new partnership with Henry R. Shepley (his nephew), Francis V. Bulfinch (a descendant of Charles Bulfinch), and Lewis B. Abbott, creating Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbott in 1924. Coolidge retired from managing the Chicago office in 1930.

Coolidge directed the Boston firm until his death in 1936; Henry R. Shepley then became senior partner. In 1952 Joseph P. Richardson—grandson of H. H. Richardson—joined as partner, prompting a renaming to Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson & Abbott. Over subsequent decades, leadership expanded to include principals such as James Ford Clapp Jr., Sherman Morss, Jean Paul Carlhian, Hugh Shepley, and Otis B. Robinson.

The firm incorporated in 1972, transitioning governance from family ownership to a corporate model with elected officers. George R. Mathey was appointed as the first long-term president in 1978, signaling a shift away from founding family leadership.

Among its many honors, the firm received the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture Firm Award in 1973. Henry R. Shepley earned recognition from Queen Juliana of the Netherlands for designing the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten. Under leaders like Carlhian, the firm adeptly integrated Bauhaus functionalism with Beaux-Arts planning principles during its evolution from traditional to modernist approaches. Its extensive portfolio spans over a century of architectural styles and innovations.

Since 2000, it has operated under the name Shepley Bulfinch, maintaining its position as a prominent architectural design practice with strategic industry leadership.

Employees

Richardson's firm functioned as a foundational training environment for architects who eventually gained significant recognition, a legacy that continued under Shepley and Coolidge. Among the distinguished professionals who worked there were:

Work

Image	Building	Location	Year	Notes
	Franklin MacVeagh Residence	Chicago, Illinois	1885–1887	Finished the project initially begun by Richardson; demolished in 1922.
	Stanford University Main Quad	Stanford, California	1887–1906	Also responsible for Encina Hall and the Leland Stanford Residence.
	Bell Telephone Building	St. Louis, Missouri	1889
	Hartford Union Station	Hartford, Connecticut		Constructed following George Keller's design.
	New London Public Library	New London, Connecticut	1889
	Warder Public Library	Springfield, Ohio	1890
	Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh	1890
	Williams Memorial Institute, New London	1891
	Chicago Public Library (currently Chicago Cultural Center)	Chicago, Illinois	1892
	Flour and Grain Exchange Building, Boston	1892
	Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Station, Sandusky	Ohio	1892
	Medfield State Hospital, Massachusetts	1892
	Montreal Board of Trade Building	Montreal, Quebec	1892	Demolished in 1902.
	Ames Building, Boston	1893
	"World's Congress Auxiliary Building" for World's Columbian Exposition (now Art Institute of Chicago)	Chicago
	"North Union Station"	1893	Demolished 1927.
	"Conant Hall", Harvard University	Cambridge, Massachusetts	1894
	"Trinity Church", Boston (completed Richardson's design)	Boston	1894–1897
	"Tilden-Thurber Building", Providence	Rhode Island	1895
	"Coraopolis Station", Pennsylvania	1896
	"Guardian Bank Building", Cleveland	Ohio	1896
"Glassport P&LE Railroad Station"	Glassport, Pennsylvania	circa 1896
"Medill/McCormick Residence"	Cantigny Park, Illinois	1896
"New Castle Junction P&LE Railroad Station"	New Castle, Pennsylvania	circa 1896	No longer standing
"Third St. Joseph County Courthouse"	South Bend, Indiana	1897
"Congregational Library & Archives"	Boston	1898
"South Station"	Boston	1898
"Albany Union Station"	Albany, New York	1899
"Chestnut Hill Pump Station"	Boston	1900 Constructed for the Metropolitan Water Board.
"Sedalia Public Library"	Sedalia, Missouri	1900
"Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building and Agriculture Building"	Buffalo, New York	1901 Built for the Pan-American Exposition.
"University of Chicago"	Chicago	1901–1915 Provided master planning and designed over fifteen structures.
"Bartlett Gymnasium"	Chicago	1904 Facility within the University of Chicago.
"John Carter Brown Library"	Providence	1904 Commissioned by Brown University.
"All Saints Episcopal Church"	Appleton, Wisconsin	1905
"Hildene Mansion"	Manchester Center, Vermont	1905 Constructed for Robert Todd Lincoln.
"Harvard Medical School"	1906
"Langdell Hall", Harvard Law School	1907 Commissioned by James Barr Ames.
"Corn Exchange Bank Building" (National Republican Bank)	Chicago	1908 Demolished circa 1985.
"Boston Safe Deposit Building"	Boston	1908–1911
"Hampden County Courthouse" additions	Springfield, Massachusetts	1908–1912 Based on Richardson's original plans.
"John Hay Library", Brown University	Providence	1910
"Union Station", Springfield	Massachusetts	1910
"Harper Memorial Library", University of Chicago	Chicago	1910–1912
"YMCA Boston"	Boston	1911
"First Congregational Church of Fall River"	Massachusetts	1912
"Dallas Hall", Southern Methodist University campus	University Park, Texas	1915
"Ida Noyes Hall", University of Chicago campus	Chicago	1916
"Rockland Station", Maine (as Coolidge and Shattuck)	Rockland, Maine	1917
	"Freemason's Hall"	Pittsburgh	No longer extant
	"Washington Building"	Washington, D.C.	1927 Part of Financial Historic District

Boston & Albany Railroad stations

Between 1886 and 1894, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge were responsible for designing 23 stations along the Boston & Albany Railroad, marking a notable contribution to the firm's expertise in transportation-related architecture. Among the prominent stations that still stand today are:

Newton Highlands station, located in Newton, Massachusetts
Union Station in Chatham, New York
Brighton station in the Brighton, Massachusetts area
Ashland station situated in Ashland, Massachusetts
Dalton station in Dalton, Massachusetts
Springfield Union Station found in Springfield, Massachusetts
Wellesley Square station within Wellesley, Massachusetts
Newton Centre station, also in Newton, Massachusetts
Warren station located in Warren, Massachusetts
Brookline Hills station in Brookline, Massachusetts
Riverside station serving the Auburndale, Massachusetts neighborhood
Longwood station situated in Brookline, Massachusetts
Wellesley Farms station based in Wellesley, Massachusetts

Sources

University of Nebraska biography
Lyndon, Donlyn. The City Observed: Boston, A Guide to the Architecture of the Hub. Vintage Books, 1982
Pridmore, Jay and Kiar, Peter. The University of Chicago: An Architectural Tour
Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl. H.H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works
Photos of 1890 Bell Telephone Building, St. Louis

External links