Towle & Foster

John D. Towle
Born	Newtonville, Massachusetts
Died	1887 Kansas City, Missouri
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Architect
Buildings	Shawmut Congregational Church, Newton High School, College Street Congregational Church, William G. Fargo House

John D. Towle (d. 1887) was an American architect.

Towle's early life and training are unknown, but he was a native of Newtonville, Massachusetts. Otherwise, he first turns up in Albany, New York in 1839, when his son, James Augustus Towle, was born. He was married to Cordelia Shields of Brownville, New York. In 1843 he opened an office for the practice of architecture in Boston, Massachusetts.

For most of his life he made his home in Newton. In 1849 he partnered with Albert F. Bellows, an artist who had trained as an architect. The firm of Towle & Bellows dissolved in 1850, when Bellows turned back to painting. He remained in private practice until 1852 when he took Francis Foster, a surveyor, as partner. The firm of Towle & Foster was Towle's most productive partnership. In 1855 the two split, and Towle returned to private practice. In about 1867 Towle had taken his son, J. Edward Towle, into the firm of J. D. Towle & Son. After 1871 he once again practiced alone. In the late 1870s he relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, where he died in 1887. Towle was a member of the Missouri (now Kansas City) chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

He became noted during the 1850s for his designs of Italianate-style churches, which he built all across New England.

Architects Alfred Stone and Samuel J. F. Thayer trained in Towle's office.

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