Richards, McCarty & Bulford was an American architectural firm. It was active in Columbus, Ohio, from 1898 until 1943 and was for much of that period the leading architectural firm in the city. They were responsible for a wide range of public and private buildings built in Ohio and elsewhere in the Southern and Midwestern United States.
History The firm was established in 1898 under the name Richards & McCarty by Clarence Earl Richards (February 22, 1865 – February 21, 1921) and Joel Edward McCarty (December 9, 1856 – July 22, 1952), employees of the leading local architectural firm, Yost & Packard. McCarty, the elder of the partners, was born in Macomb, Illinois. He was raised in Iowa and attended public schools before entering the Iowa State Normal School; after graduating in 1880 he taught for two years. In 1883 he moved to Columbus and joined the office of architect Joseph W. Yost, his mother's brother.Opha Moore, History of Franklin County, Ohio (Topeka and Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Company, 1930) Richards was born in Jackson, Michigan. In 1871 Richards's father moved the family to a homestead in Butler County, Kansas; after ten years they moved into the county seat of El Dorado, where Richards completed his public school education. He then went on to the Kansas State Normal School to train as a teacher, which profession he followed until 1886. Richards had always wanted to be an architect or engineer and to that end he obtained a position as an assistant engineer with the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In that role he worked as a superintendent of buildings and bridges for the railroad's southwestern division. In 1889 he moved to Cincinnati, where he joined the office of established architect Edwin Anderson. After two years with Anderson he moved to Newark, Ohio, where he formed a partnership with his brother, an engineer, under the name Richards Brothers. In 1893 this was dissolved and Richards moved to Columbus, where he joined McCarty in the recently-reorganized firm of Yost & Packard.Osman Castle Hooper, History of the City of Columbus, Ohio (Columbus and Cleveland: Memorial Publishing Company, 1920)
In 1899 they were joined by George Henry Bulford (January 19, 1870 – April 23, 1942) and the firm was reorganized under its familiar name. Bulford was born in Worcester, England, and came to Columbus in 1886 with his widowed mother and siblings. There, he joined McCarty in Yost's office and stayed until joining his former colleagues in partnership. By 1920 the firm had emerged as the leading architects in Columbus and its partnership was recognized as being the longest-lasting in the profession in Ohio. By this time they had also completed notable works in Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. In 1921 Richards died, though his partners continued under the same name.
Bulford became active in the Columbus Chamber of Commerce during the presidency of his former employer, Frank L. Packard, in 1919–20. Packard appointed Bulford chair of the chamber's Civic Center committee, which was responsible for developing proposals for what became the Columbus Civic Center. After Bulford's committee made its report the influential Packard took over leadership of the project. Major planning did not begin until after Packard's death; to execute the project local architects, including McCarty and Bulford, formed the Allied Architects Association of Columbus in 1924. Bulford was president of the association for its entire existence and his firm was responsible for the last of the civic center buildings to be built, the Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse (1934, NRHP-listed). The association was voluntarily dissolved in 1936.
In December 1940 McCarty, aged 84, and Bulford, aged 70, were noted as two of Ohio's oldest and most respected architects."Buckeye architects: number five" in Ohio Architect (December 1940): 2. Bulford died in the spring of 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II."George H. Bulford, architect" in Ohio Architect (November-December 1942): 6-7. After Bulford's death McCarty apparently ceded control to two employees of the firm, Wilfred A. Paine and George D. Crumley, who formed a successor partnership under the name Paine & Crumley. With Crumley away on defense work during World War II, Paine's sudden death in October 1943 concluded the firm's 45 years of continuous operation."Passing of W. A. Paine. A distinct loss to the profession" in Ohio Architect (Third quarter 1943): 15.
Legacy In 1945, shortly before the end of the war, the firm resumed as Tibbals, Crumley & Musson under the leadership of Todd Tibbals, Crumley and Noverre Musson.Weekly Bulletin of the Michigan Society of Architects 19, no. 19 (March 6, 1945): 12. In 1975 the firm, now led by Musson, merged with the practice of Wolfgang Doerschlag to form Doerschlag/Musson. Doerschlag withdrew only a year later and Musson continued the firm as Noverre Musson Associates until his retirement in 1987.Who's Who in America, 45th ed., vol. 2 (Wilmette: Marquis Who's Who, 1988) Musson donated his records to the Ohio Historical Society in 1986.Tibbals, Crumley and Musson records, Ohio History Connection, no date. Accessed May 31, 2026.
Richards, McCarty & Bulford has been described by historians at the General Services Administration as the "preeminent" architectural firm in Columbus."Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse," General Services Administration, no date. Accessed January 22, 2011. The firm's partners were local leaders in the architectural profession. In 1913 McCarty and Bulford were among the charter members of AIA Columbus, the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), with Bulford serving as inaugural chapter president."New Columbus chapter of A.I.A." in Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder (July 1913): 63. McCarty served as chapter president in 1914, Richards in 1916 and Bulford served for a second term in 1921."Past presidents," AIA Columbus, April 20, 2025. Accessed May 31, 2026.
A number of the firm's works, listed below, are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Architectural works Indiana 1902: Marion Public Library (former), Marion, Indiana"Marion's Carnegie library building," Marion Daily Leader, May 8, 1901. A Carnegie library; as of 2026, the History Center 1904: First Presbyterian Church (former), Marion, Indiana"Presbyterians to dedicate beautiful home this morning," Marion News-Tribune, December 11, 1904. 1904: Grant County Jail and Sheriff's Residence, Marion, Indiana"Marion's new jail to be modern affair," Marion News-Tribune, July 15, 1902. NRHP-listed 1905: Carnegie Public Library (former), Anderson, Indiana"Work on the library at Anderson," Indianapolis News, July 12, 1902. As of 2026, the Anderson Museum of Art; NRHP-listed
Kansas 1910: Beacon Building, Wichita, Kansas"Architects for the skyscraper. Work on the Beacon building will start at once," Wichita Daily Beacon, August 21, 1909. Demolished 1911: The Forum, Wichita, Kansas"Contractors will commence work on auditorium soon. Contract for new convention hall and market house formally let to Dieter & Wenzel yesterday," Wichita Daily Beacon, May 25, 1910. Demolished and replaced by Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center 1911: One Main Place, Wichita, Kansas"Plans being made. No more delay on the Beacon building," Wichita Daily Beacon, August 31, 1909. Originally known as the Schweiter Building 1913: Wiley Building, Hutchinson, Kansas"Hutchinson's skyscraper. A. O. Rorabaugh, of Wichita, interested in a new building in a neighboring city," Wichita Beacon, November 17, 1913. Originally known as the Rorabaugh Building 1918: Lassen Hotel, Wichita, Kansas"Hotel to open, it has cost one million. Nothing better in entire middle west," Wichita Beacon, December 30, 1918. NRHP-listed 1920: Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, KansasArchitectural Forum 37, no. 6 (December 1922) 1921: Wheeler-Kelly-Hagny Building, Wichita, KansasOld Wheeler-Kelly-Hagny Building National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form (1982) NRHP-listed 1922: INTRUST Bank Building, Wichita, KansasO. C. Emery, "First National Bank formally opens tomorrow. First National Bank construction sets a new building record. Total cost of building without bank equipment is $1,450,000," Wichita Beacon, March 14, 1922. Built for INTRUST's predecessor, the First National Bank of Wichita 1924: Citizens National Bank Building, Emporia, Kansas"Bank building designed for stability and service," Emporia Weekly Gazette, June 28, 1923. Designed by Richards, McCarty & Bulford, architects, with Ben H. Byrnes of Salina, associate architect
Kentucky 1904: Security Trust Building, Lexington, Kentucky"Plans of the new S. T. & S. V. building," Lexington Herald, June 10, 1903. 1904: YMCA (former), Lexington, Kentucky"To push work. New YMCA building to be ready to occupy by June 1 next year," Lexington Leader, June 7, 1903. As of 2026, occupied by LexArts as ArtsPlace 1905: Lexington City National Bank Building, Lexington, Kentucky"Bank moves to handsome home. Property of City National transferred to new building last night," Lexington Herald, December 17, 1905. As of 2026 known as the Court Square Building; NRHP-listed 1907: Lexington Union Station, Lexington, KentuckyBettie L. Kerr, Lexington: A Century in Photographs (Lexington: Lexington-Fayette County Historical Commission, 1984) Demolished in 1960 1909: First United Methodist Church, Lexington, Kentucky"Proposed Hill Street church which will occupy site of old church now being razed," Lexington Herald, September 22, 1907."New First Methodist Church on High Street, which will be dedicated next Sunday morning," Lexington Herald, January 3, 1909. 1911: Phoenix Hotel, Lexington, Kentucky"$500,000 Phoenix Hotel. Eight-story addition to be erected at eastern side of the present building," Lexington Leader, March 27, 1910. Demolished in 1987 1919: Broadway Christian Church, Lexington, Kentucky"Cornerstone laid for new Broadway Christian Church," Lexington Leader, September 12, 1917."Broadway church. Will be dedicated with impressive services Sunday," Lexington Leader, May 2, 1919. 1922: Eleventh District School, Covington, KentuckyWalter E. Langsam, Eleventh District School National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form (1983) NRHP-listed
Missouri 1915: United States Post Office (former), Boonville, Missouri"Our new post office," Central Missouri Republican, January 1, 1914."In new post office," Central Missouri Republican, June 3, 1915. As of 2026, the Boonville City Hall
Ohio Columbus 1899: School Building, Ohio Institution for the Deaf and Dumb (former), Columbus, OhioJeffrey T. Darbee and Nancy A. Recchie, The AIA Guide to Columbus (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2008) Now the Cristo Rey Columbus High School; NRHP-listed 1906: Johnson-Campbell House, Columbus, OhioJohnson-Campbell House National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form (1986) NRHP-listed 1909: Lazarus Building, Columbus, Ohio 1911: Hartman Building and Theater, Columbus, OhioBrickbuilder (December 1910): 285. Demolished 1911: Ohio National Bank, Columbus, Ohio NRHP-listed 1913: White–Haines Building, Columbus, Ohio NRHP-listed 1914: St. Joseph Cathedral alterations, Columbus, Ohio NRHP-listed 1915: Frederick A. Miller House, Columbus, OhioKathy Mast Kane, Frederick A. Miller House National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form (1985) NRHP-listed 1916: Athletic Club of Columbus, Columbus, Ohio Designed by Richards, McCarty & Bulford, architects, with Frank L. Packard, consulting architect; NRHP-listed 1917: Citizens Building, Columbus, Ohio 1924: South High School, Columbus, Ohio 1927: Congregation Tifereth Israel, Columbus, Ohio 1927: Knights of Columbus Building, Columbus, Ohio NRHP-listed 1931: Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio