William A. Boring
William Alciphron Boring (September 9, 1859 – May 5, 1937) was an American architect noted for co-designing the Immigration Station at Ellis Island in New York harbor.
Also recorded as William Alciphron Boring · William Boring
William A. Boring

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume XIV, 1910, page 316 · Public domain
- Name
- William Boring
- Born
- 9 September 1859
- Birthplace
- Carlinville, Illinois
- Died
- 5 May 1937
- Place of death
- New York City
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- architect
- Education
- Columbia University · Columbia Graduate School of Architecture and Planning and Preservation
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William Alciphron Boring (September 9, 1859 – May 5, 1937) was an American architect noted for co-designing the Immigration Station at Ellis Island in New York harbor.
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wikidata · Q8003907 · wikipedia · William A. Boring
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — William Boring • Born — 9 September 1859 • Birthplace — Carlinville, Illinois • Died — 5 May 1937 • Place of death — New York City • Practice — Boring and Tilton • Significant Buildings — Ellis Island
Career
Career
• Illustration — Ellis Island • Illustration — The American Seamen's Friend Society Sailors' Home and Institute, now "The Jane", a boutique hotel Boring studied first at the University of Illinois, then spent an additional year (1885) as a student at Columbia University. In 1886, he maintained a partnership in Los Angeles with architects Solomon I. Haas (1857–1945) and E.L. Caukins. From 1887 to 1890, Boring studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris along with his friend Edward Lippincott Tilton. Boring and Tilton returned to New York in 1890 to work in the office of McKim, Mead, and White. In 1891, Boring and Tilton left McKim, Mead, and White to form their own architectural partnership. Among their notable works were the Casino in Belle Haven, Connecticut (1891) and the Hotel Colorado in the resort town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado (1891). The partnership's work culminated in the 1897 design for the new federal Immigration Station at Ellis Island. This work was honored with a gold medal for Architecture at the Exposition Universelle, Paris (1900); a gold medal at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo (1901); and a silver medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis (1904). The partnership of Boring & Tilton ended in 1904. The men started working independently of one another but continued to share offices and equipment until 1915. In 1913, Boring was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member. In 1916, Boring joined the faculty of the Columbia School of Architecture, where he eventually became Director in 1919 and Dean from 1931 to 1932. As dean of architecture at Columbia Boring, and especially his successor Joseph Hudnut, encouraged the then-nascent modernism and incorporated studies in town planning.
Early works
Early works
• Fire House Number 1, now a state historic site known as the Old Plaza Firehouse; Los Angeles, California, 1884
With Edward Lippincott Tilton
With Edward Lippincott Tilton
• 1891: Casino, Belle Haven, Connecticut • 1891–1893: Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs, Colorado (placed on the List of Registered Historic Places in Colorado) • 1896: Morristown School, Morristown, New Jersey (Morristown–Beard School today) • 1897–1901: United States Immigrant Station, on Ellis Island in the Port of New York (added to the Statue of Liberty National Monument on May 11, 1965, placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966 • 1899: Town Hall, East Orange, New Jersey • 1902–1903: Astor Warehouse, 29–35 Ninth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City • 1900–1905: Tome School for Boys, Port Deposit, Maryland • 1901: Marine barracks, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York City • 1904–1905: Brooklyn Heights Casino, Fort Hill Estate, Brooklyn, New York City • 1917: Lemmonier Library, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
Solo designs
Solo designs
• 1906: apartment building at 520 Park Avenue in Manhattan (demolished in 1932) • 1907–1908: American Seamen's Friend Society Sailors' Home and Institute, 505 507 West Street, Manhattan • 1907–1908: St. Agatha's School for Girls, later St. Agnes Boys High School, 555 West End Avenue, Manhattan (landmark, 2016 condos) • 1909: apartment building at 540 Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York City • 1910: Casino Mansion Apartments, 200 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, New York City • 1911: apartment building at 521 Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York City
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Carlinville.
Birth place
New York City.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q8003907: William A. Boring
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “William A. Boring”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Citations
References
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Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q8003907: William A. BoringWikimedia 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 17 August 2026.
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