Matthew Sullivan (May 7, 1868 – August 11, 1938) was an American architect whose practice specialized in ecclesiastical design.

Life and career Matthew Sullivan was born May 7, 1868, in Boston to Daniel Sullivan and Mary (Deasy) Sullivan. He was educated in the Boston public schools, and as a young man worked in the office of architect Edmund M. Wheelwright. Sullivan then lived for several years in St. Louis, working for Eames & Young."Matthew Sullivan, 70, Boston Architect, Dead," Boston Globe, August 12, 1938, 15. In 1891, Sullivan returned to Boston and joined the office of the City Architect, then under Wheelwright's leadership. By 1893, he was Assistant City Architect under Wheelwright.Dennis J. De Witt, Arthur H. Vinal; Edmund March Wheelwright and the Chestnut Hill Pumping Station (Boston: Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, 2016): 55. In 1895, when the office of City Architect was abolished, Sullivan became head of the architect's division of the school-house department, which replaced some of the duties of the old office. In 1898, Sullivan resigned to form a partnership with architects Charles Donagh Maginnis and Timothy Walsh."Matthew Sullivan Resigns," Boston Daily Globe, January 9, 1898, 17. This firm, Maginnis, Walsh & Sullivan, became very successful. Sullivan was involved in the design of several of Maginnis, Walsh & Sullivan's influential early works, which included the churches of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge and St. Catherine of Genoa in Somerville.

The partnership was dissolved effective December 31, 1907. It was succeeded on January 1, 1908, by the partnership of Maginnis & Walsh and of the private practice of Sullivan.Georgina Pell Curtis, The American Catholic Who's Who (St. Louis: B. Herder, 1911): 385. Both would maintain their offices at 100 Boylston Street.Boston directories As a private practitioner Sullivan continued to focus on projects for the Catholic church. His work included parish churches and schools as well as larger projects like Harkins Hall, the main building of Providence College. Sullivan practiced architecture in Boston until his death in 1938.

Sullivan frequently utilized the services of woodcarver Johannes Kirchmayer of Irving & Casson in his designs.

Personal life Sullivan was married to Kathrine Louise Lally, and they had four children: Mary Sullivan (1899–1985),"Mary Sullivan, 85," Boston Globe, February 18, 1984, 23. Katharine Sullivan (1901–1976),"Katharine E. Sullivan, Parole Official, Author," Boston Globe, February 22, 1976, 91. Matthew Sullivan Jr. (1901–1984)"Matthew Sullivan," Boston Globe, June 8, 1986, 109. and James C. Sullivan (1909–1996). Sullivan served terms on the Canton School Committee and the Canton Planning Board. He was a member of several fraternal and professional organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, which he joined in 1907.Matthew Sullivan Kathrine Sullivan was involved in anti-suffragist activism in MassachusettsGeorge T. Comeau, "True Tales from Canton Past: New Vistas for Women," thecantoncitizen.com, Canton Citizen, May 15, 2020. Accessed October 12, 2021. and later was a trustee of Westborough State Hospital.

The Sullivan family moved to Canton around 1899, after the formation of Maginnis, Walsh & Sullivan. In 1906, Sullivan designed and built a large suburban house on upper Washington Street north of the town center in what was then a relatively undeveloped part of the town. Sullivan's house was designed in the Arts and Crafts style and was structurally unique. It was built using a structural system of specially designed terra cotta blocks which offered protection from fire as well as insulation."A Terra Cotta Lumber with Plaster Finish House," Brickbuilder 16, no. 1 (January 1907): 11. Located at 1973 Washington Street, the house was sold out of the family and demolished in the 1980s.Boston Globe, September 4, 1988, a102. The property is now the location of a small residential development called Sullivan Way.

Matthew Sullivan died unexpectedly in his Boston office on August 11, 1938. His wife died August 23, 1947, in Canton."Mrs. Katherine Sullivan," Boston Globe, August 23, 1947, c39.

Both Sullivan and his wife were parishioners of the church of St. John the Evangelist in Canton. They and their children were buried in the parish cemetery.

Architectural works Parish churches St. Agnes, Reading, Massachusetts (1908–09)"REA.245." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. St. John the Baptist, New Bedford, Massachusetts (1909–13)Travis Andersen, "New Bedford church says its last Mass," bostonglobe.com, Boston Globe, November 4, 2012. Accessed October 13, 2021. St. Joseph, Taunton, Massachusetts (1909–10)Boston Architectural Club Year-Book (Boston: Boston Architectural Club, 1908) Sacred Heart, Taunton, Massachusetts (1911–12)Brickbuilder 21, no. 7 (July 1912) St. Augustin, Newport, Rhode Island (1911–12)James L. Yarnall, Newport Through Its Architecture (Hanover and London: University Press of New England, 2005) Blessed Sacrament, Walpole, Massachusetts (1912)"WLP.144." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Our Lady of Lourdes (former), Wellfleet, Massachusetts (1912)"WLF.470." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Our Lady of Hope, West Barnstable, Massachusetts (1915)"BRN.792." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. St. Benedict, Warwick, Rhode Island (1915, demolished)"Conimicut, R. I.," American Contractor 36, no. 15 (April 10, 1915): 48. St. Joseph (upper church), Holbrook, Massachusetts (1916, altered 1972)"HLB.67." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. St. Leo the Great, Pawtucket, Rhode Island (1916–17)"Massachusetts," American Contractor 37, no. 28 (July 8, 1916): 53. St. Rita, Marion, Massachusetts (1916)"MRN.195." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Our Lady of Mount Carmel (upper church), East Boston, Boston, Massachusetts (1917–20)"BOS.26." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. St. Lazarus, East Boston, Boston, Massachusetts (1922–23)"BOS.1." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. St. Mary, Franklin, Massachusetts (1923–27)"FRN.18." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. All Saints, Haverhill, Massachusetts (1925)"HVR.1056." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. St. Therese, Everett, Massachusetts (1928–29, demolished 2020)"EVR.70." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. St. Mary, Walpole, Massachusetts (1929–31)"WLP.145." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Holy Family, Lynn, Massachusetts (no date)

Other parish buildings Parochial school, St. Rose of Lima, Chelsea, Massachusetts (1911)"CLS.34." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Rectory, St. John the Baptist, New Bedford, Massachusetts (1913)"Boston, Mass.," American Contractor 34, no. 24 (June 14, 1913): 60. Rectory, St. Lazarus, East Boston, Boston, Massachusetts (1916)"Building News," American Architect 108, no. 2088 (December 29, 1915): 10. Rectory, Our Lady of Lourdes, Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts (1920)"BOS.15290." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Parochial school, St. Mark the Evangelist, Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts (1922–23)"BOS.5951." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Parochial school (former), St. Mary, North Attleborough, Massachusetts (1924)"NAL.170." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Convent, St. John the Evangelist, Swampscott, Massachusetts (1926)Domestic Engineering 117, no. 10 (December 4, 1926): 92. Convent, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Boston, Massachusetts (1926)"BOS.5401." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Rectory (former), St. Joseph, Everett, Massachusetts (1926–27)"EVR.189." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Parochial high school (former), St. Thomas Aquinas, Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts (1927)American School and University 1 (New York: American School Publishing Corporation, 1928) Parochial school, Our Lady of Grace, Everett, Massachusetts (1927)"EVR.188." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Rectory, St. Mary, Franklin, Massachusetts (1932)"FRN.17." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021.

Institutional projects Mount St. Mary Academy (former), Fall River, Massachusetts (1909)"Building News," American Architect 94, no. 1720 (December 9, 1908): 16. Bishop Stang Day Nursery, Fall River, Massachusetts (1910, demolished)"Editorial Comment and Miscellany," Brickbuilder 19, no. 10 (October 1910): 240. Harkins Hall, Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island (1918–19)William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson, Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, ed. David Chase (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986) Memorial Dining Hall, St. John's Preparatory School, Danvers, Massachusetts (1926) Italian Home for Children, Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts (1927)Domestic Engineering 119, no. 12 (June 18, 1927): 102.

Secular buildings House for Roger Williams, Canton, Massachusetts (1915)"CAN.137." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021. Canton Police Station (former), Canton, Massachusetts (1931)"CAN.96." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed October 13, 2021.

Gallery of architectural works

Notes

References

Bibliography Hayman, Robert W. (1995). Catholicism in Rhode Island and the Diocese of Providence Volume Two, Providence: Diocese of Providence. Library of Congress Number: 94-69200 page 410, 419, 445, 586–587, 598, 592