Wallis Eastburn Howe

Wallis Eastburn Howe (1868-1960) was a notable American architect from Rhode Island.

Howe was born in Philadelphia in 1868, to a family with deep roots in Bristol, Rhode Island. He was the 18th and last child of Mark Antony De Wolfe Howe, a great-great-nephew of James De Wolf. Howe's father began his duties of bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania in January 1872, and moved his family to Reading the following year.

He first attended Reading's Selwyn Hall, the diocesan school. After graduation he attended Lehigh University ('89) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ('92). Howe went to Bristol (and opened an architect's office) by 1894. In about 1896 he joined the office of Providence architects Martin & Hall, though he continued to accept commissions in Bristol. He quickly gained a high level of responsibility in the office, and was given design duties on several projects. He remained with Martin & Hall until 1901, when he joined the office of Clarke & Spaulding. The firm became Clarke, Spaulding & Howe very briefly, but became Clarke & Howe a few months later upon Spaulding's retirement.

Clarke & Howe became of Rhode Island's leading firms. This was begun in 1903, when they won the commission for the U. S. Federal Building in Providence. By the time the building was completed in 1908, they had gained the commissions for many academic and public buildings. Eleazer B. Homer, another MIT alum, was partner from 1907 to 1913. Clarke retired in 1928, and the firm became Howe & Church. Samuel W. Church had been with the firm since at least 1908, when his family had the firm design the Benjamin Church Home in Bristol. Church retired in 1938, and Earle F. Prout, the firm's chief draftsman, became partner. In 1946 the partnership was expanded to include Edward O. Ekman, as Howe, Prout & Ekman. Ekman had been an associate with Howe & Church from 1928 to 1931, after which he had opened his own office. Ekman left in 1959, and the firm reverted to Howe & Prout in 1960. Donald J. Prout was substituted for Earle Prout, who died the same year. Howe also died that year, and the firm was succeeded by Donald J. Prout & Associates. Prout was only 29 years old at the time. Prout moved the office to Cranston in 1973, where it lived out its existence.

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