John Mead Howells
John Mead Howells (August 14, 1868 – September 22, 1959) was an American architect.
John Mead Howells

Pencil Points. an Illustrated Monthly Journal for the Drafting Room, January 1923 [1] · Public domain
- Name
- John Mead Howells
- Born
- 14 August 1868
- Birthplace
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Died
- 22 September 1959
- Place of death
- Kittery Point, Maine, U.S.
- Education
- * Harvard University
- Awards
- * Legion of Honor
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- architect
- Honours
- Fellow of the American Institute of Architects
- Languages
- English
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John Mead Howells (August 14, 1868 – September 22, 1959) was an American architect.
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wikidata · Q15463168 · wikipedia · John Mead Howells
In this article
Biography
Biography
John Mead Howells studied at Harvard University and Harvard Graduate School of Design. The recorded working language is English. Work by John Mead Howells is recorded in the collections of Art Institute of Chicago. Distinctions recorded are Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — John Mead Howells • Born — 14 August 1868 • Birthplace — Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. • Died — 22 September 1959 • Place of death — Kittery Point, Maine, U.S. • Practice — Howells & Stokes • Education — * Harvard University • École des Beaux-Arts • Significant Buildings — * St. Paul's Chapel • Chicago Tribune • Beekman Tower • Daily News Building • Awards — * Legion of Honor • Order of the Crown
Early life and education
Early life and education
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of author William Dean Howells, he earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1891 and completed further architectural studies there in 1894 before studying at the École des Beaux-Arts, in Paris, where he earned a diploma in 1897.
Career
Career
Howells moved to New York City and founded the architectural firm Howells & Stokes with Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes, who had also studied at Harvard and the École. The partnership designed such works as St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University and Stormfield, an Italianate villa commissioned by Samuel Clemens, a longtime friend of his father. Ending the partnership in 1916, Howells would focus his practice on office buildings in the Art Deco style, some of which he completed with Raymond Hood, whom he had met during his time at the École, and whom he had invited to become a partner when he was selected to enter the Chicago Tribune building competition in 1922. These projects include the prize-winning design of the Tribune Tower in Chicago and the American Radiator Building and Daily News Building in New York City. Howells also designed the Beekman Tower in New York and the plan for the University of Brussels in Belgium in 1922 at the request of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover. Howells's institutional works include the Engineering Quadrangle at Pratt Institute, built in phases from 1909 to 1928; Memorial Hall at Pratt Institute in 1927; and Willoughby Hall at Pratt Institute in 1957. Howells served as president of the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects and the Society of Architects Diplômes. He was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters, named a Chevalier by the French Legion of Honor and an officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium), and served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1933 to 1937. Howells wrote several books on architectural history. In 1944 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician.
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — Daily News Building, with Raymond Hood • Illustration — Engineering Quadrangle, Pratt Institute's • Illustration — Tribune Tower in Chicago • Illustration — Beekman Tower
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Cambridge.
Birth place
Kittery Point.
Death place
Reception and standing
The scholarly and documentary record stands as follows. It is also recorded that john Mead Howells is recorded as having received Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q15463168: John Mead Howells
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “John Mead Howells”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q15463168: John Mead HowellsWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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