Fuller & Delano was an architectural firm in Worcester, Massachusetts, active from 1878 until 1942. It originally consisted of architects James E. Fuller and Ward P. Delano. The firm designed more than 20 buildings that were later listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Firm history Fuller & Delano was established in 1878 by James E. Fuller and Ward P. Delano II. Though trained as a carpenter, Fuller had been partner of architect Stephen C. Earle from 1866 to 1876. Fuller was formally associated with Delano after he had been a draftsman in his office for about a year. They were continuously associated until Fuller's death in 1901, though a third architect, Howard Frost, was a member of the partnership from 1895 to 1899.
After Fuller's and Delano's deaths, respectively, their sons, Robert L. Fuller and Ward P. Delano III were brought into the partnership. The younger Fuller and Delano worked together until Delano's suicide in 1940, and Fuller retired in 1942, ending the firm's sixty-four years of continuous practice.
Fuller & Delano initially kept their offices in the building of the Peoples Savings Bank, 452 Main Street, where Earle & Fuller had their office since they designed it in 1869. In 1911 they relocated to the Chase Building, 44 Front Street, which the firm had designed in 1886. They stayed there until Robert L. Fuller retired in 1942.
Biographies of partners
James Edward Fuller James Edward Fuller was born October 5, 1836, in Warwick, Massachusetts to James Fuller and Nancy (Lesure) Fuller."James E. Fuller, F. A. I. A." in Proceedings of the Thirty-Fifth Annual Comvention of the American Institute of Architects, ed. Glenn Brown (Washington: American Institute of Architects, 1902): 138.William Hyslop Fuller, Genealogy of Some Descendants of Dr. Samuel Fuller of the Mayflower (Palmer: William Hyslop Fuller, 1910) He was first trained in the building trades, being apprenticed to his brother, a carpenter. From 1858 to 1865 he was a carpenter on his own account in Athol.Charles Nutt, History of Worcester and its People, vol. 2 (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1919): 1105. Ultimately deciding to become an architect, in 1865 he moved to Worcester and entered the office of E. Boyden & Son, where he remained for a year. In 1866 he joined the firm of Stephen C. Earle as partner, forming the firm of Earle & Fuller. They worked together until the partnership was dissolved in 1876. In 1878, after two years of independent practice, Fuller formed a partnership with draftsman Ward P. Delano. Fuller and Delano continued their association until Fuller's death, which occurred in Worcester on July 31, 1901.
In 1859 Fuller married Clara Delia Gould, also of Warwick, and they had three children who lived to adulthood: Clara Gertrude (Fuller) Douglass, born 1861, James Edward Fuller, born 1865, a contractor affiliated with the George A. Fuller Company and Robert Lesure Fuller, detailed below. In 1890 Fuller purchased the Charles Newton House, built c.1846 in northern Worcester, where he lived for the rest of his life. His children built houses on the property as well.Caleb A. Wall, North Worcester: Its First Settlers and Old Farms (Worcester: Caleb A. Wall, 1890)Historic Building Detail: WOR.20, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System.
From 1892 until his death Fuller was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
The Fuller family of Warwick was descended from Samuel Fuller, who immigrated to North America in 1620 aboard the Mayflower.
Ward Parker Delano II Ward Parker Delano II was born January 12, 1851, in Marion, Massachusetts to Ward Parker Delano and Amanda F. (Delano) Delano.Joel Andrew Delano, The Genealogy, History and Alliances of the American House of Delano, 1621 to 1899, ed. Mortimer Delano de Lannoy (New York: Joel Andrew Delano and Mortimer Delano de Lannoy, 1901) He attended the public schools, and as a young man worked for a coal company, working in the South for several years during Reconstruction. When he returned north he worked for a number of architects and builders in Boston,Charles Nutt, "Ward Parker Delano" in History of Worcester and its People, vol. 4 (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1919): 512. ultimately entering the office of Ware & Van Brunt. He remained there until 1877, when he moved west to Worcester for a job with Fuller. They became business partners in 1878. They worked together until Fuller's death in 1901, when Delano brought Fuller's son into the business and incorporated the firm.
In 1881 he married Elizabeth Holmes Sparrow of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. They had five children, three of which lived to adulthood, including Ward Parker Delano III. Delano died in Worcester, September 23, 1915."Current Events" in Worcester Magazine 18, no. 10 (October, 1915): 250.
Though Delano became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects alongside his partner in 1892, he resigned his membership in 1902."Ward P. Delano", aiahistoricaldirectory.atlassian.net, AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, n.d.
The Delano family of Marion was descended from Philip Delano, who immigrated to North America in 1621.
Robert Lesure Fuller Robert Lesure Fuller was born June 29, 1871, in Worcester, the youngest child of James E. Fuller. He attended public schools and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 1896. After graduation he returned to Worcester and entered the office of Fuller & Delano. In 1900 he served as representative of his cousin's contracting firm, the George A. Fuller Company, at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Upon his father's death in 1901 he became a principal in the newly incorporated Fuller & Delano Company.Charles Nutt, "Robert Lesure Fuller" in History of Worcester and its People, vol. 4 (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1919): 658-659. After the death of Ward P. Delano II, Ward P. Delano III became a principal. Fuller and Delano remained associated until Delano's death in 1940. Fuller continued the firm for two more years, retiring in 1942."News from the Clubs and Classes" in Technology Review 53, no. 2 (December 1950): vi.
Fuller first married Mary W. White of Worcester. After her death, he married Luella Morrow of Holden, Massachusetts. Fuller had two children, both by his first wife. Fuller died October 18, 1950.
Fuller was affiliated with the Worcester (now Central Massachusetts) chapter of the American Institute of Architects, but was not a member of the national organization.
Ward Parker Delano III Ward Parker Delano III was born July 24, 1883, in Worcester, the eldest child of Ward Parker Delano II. He attended Tabor Academy in Marion and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 1905. He worked for a number of other architects in Boston and New York before entering his father's firm in 1908. He became a principal in 1915 upon his father's death. He never married. He died by suicide in his office, January 10, 1940."News from the Clubs and Classes" in Technology Review 42, no. 5 (March 1940): xi.
Legacy Fuller & Delano were the architects of at least twenty buildings that have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and others contribute to listed historic districts.
Architectural works In Worcester, Massachusetts House for George L. Robbins, 104 Vernon St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1880)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1407, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Worcester City Hospital, 26 Queen St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1880-81 et seq., partially extant)American Architect and Building News 7, no. 234 (June 19, 1880): 278. Sawyer Building, 60 Franklin St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1882)Historic Building Detail: WOR.797, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Robinson and Swan Blocks, 1 and 3 Irving St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1884, NRHP 1980)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1007, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. House for Moody E. Shattuck, 738 Main St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1885, NRHP 1980)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1812, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Cambridge Street Firehouse, 534 Cambridge St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1886, NRHP 1980)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1403, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Chase Building, 44 Front St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1886)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1003, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. House for Edwin A. Kelley, 45 Cedar St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1886)American Architect and Building News 20, no. 569 (November 20, 1886) xii. Woodland Street Firehouse, 36 Woodland St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1886, NRHP 1980)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1817, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. YMCA Building, 8 Elm St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1886–87, demolished)Alfred S. Roe, The Worcester Young Men's Christian Association (Worcester: Alfred S. Roe, 1901) Apartment building for Thomas H. Hall, 84 Murray Ave, Worcester, Massachusetts (1887)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1230, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. House for Otis E. Putnam, 25 Harvard St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1887, NRHP 1980)Historic Building Detail: WOR.458, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Receiving tomb, Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts (1887)Historic Area Detail: WOR.B, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Brightside Apartments, 2 King St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1888, NRHP 1980)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1801, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Worcester Armory (former), 44 Salisbury and 69 Grove Sts, Worcester, Massachusetts (1888–89 and 1907)Report of the Auditor of Accounts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the Fiscal Year Ending Nov. 30, 1907 (Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1908)Frank J. Morrill, William O. Hultgren and Eric J. Salomonsson, Worcester (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2005) Albion Apartments, 765 Main St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1889)Engineering and Building Record 20, no. 11 (August 10, 1889): 154. House for Philip W. Moen, 60 Elm St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1889, demolished)Engineering and Building Record 20, no. 7 (July 13, 1889): 98. Old South Congregational Church (former), 714 Main St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1889, partially demolished)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1206, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Salisbury Street School, 50 Salisbury St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1889)Engineering and Building Record 19, no. 23 (May 4, 1889): 308. Walker Hall, Worcester Academy, Worcester, Massachusetts (1889)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1342, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Worcester Theatre, 20 Exchange St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1889, demolished)Engineering and Building Record 20, no. 17 (September 21, 1889): 238. House for Edwin S. Pierce, 272 Highland St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1890)Historic Building Detail: WOR.329, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. O'Kane Hall, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts (1891–95)Engineering Record 24, no. 3 (June 20, 1891): 50. Dexter Hall, Worcester Academy, Worcester, Massachusetts (1892)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1345, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Greendale School, 130 Leeds St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1893)Historic Building Detail: WOR.2291, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. House for William H. Burns, 65 Cedar St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1893)Historic Building Detail: WOR.596, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Farmhouse, Worcester State Hospital (1894–95, NRHP 2017)Historic Building Detail: WOR.264, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System.