Otis A. Merrill (August 22, 1844 – September 14, 1935) was an American architect. In association with various partners he practiced architecture in Lowell, Massachusetts, from 1873 until 1900.
Life and career Otis Addison Merrill was born August 22, 1844, in Hudson, New Hampshire, to Benjamin Arnold Merrill and Mary Jane (Winn) Merrill. He was educated in the local schools. At the age of 18, during the American Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army with the 7th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment. He was awarded a Gillmore Medal for his conduct during the Second Battle of Charleston Harbor. He was discharged July 7, 1865, at Concord with the rank of sergeant. After the war he went to Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he learned the carpentry trade, moving to Lowell in 1869. After four more years and with some self-training in architecture, he established himself as an architect in Lowell in 1873. In 1878 he formed a partnership with Charles S. Eaton, a Lowell native who had just graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The partnership of Merrill & Eaton was dissolved in 1880."News From the Classes," Technology Review 19, no. 8 (November 1917): 699. Two years later in 1882 he formed a partnership with Arthur S. Cutler, an Andover native, who had joined Merrill's office as a draftsman in 1876. Merrill & Cutler was dissolved in 1897, and Merrill formed a new partnership, Merrill & Clark, with draftsman Edwin R. Clark."Personal, Architecture and Building 26, no. 16 (March 6, 1897): In April 1899 Clark left to open his own office, and Merrill was joined by Perley F. Gilbert, a native of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and graduate of MIT. Merrill & Gilbert practiced together until Merrill's retirement in November 1900.Class Book; 25th Anniversary (Boston: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Class of 1895, 1920): 58 The office continued under Gilbert and his successors until 1990.
Merrill's practice was centered on Massachusetts, and he and his partners were well known as architects of public buildings and schools in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. His most prominent building was the Lowell City Hall, begun in 1890 and completed 1893, with a design based on the Allegheny County Courthouse by H. H. Richardson. An unusual foreign project was for a YMCA in Madras, now Chennai, in India. Plans for this building, which was the gift of John Wanamaker, were drawn and accepted in the United States in 1896. Merrill & Cutler designed the building in an Italian Gothic style."A Building Promised for Madras by John Wanamaker," Men 22, no. 27 (November 14, 1896): 462."Illustrations," American Architect and Building News 54, no. 1091 (November 21, 1896): 63–64. In 1897, after being sent to India, they were revised by local architect George S. T. Harris at the suggestion of Governor Arthur Havelock. Though the floor plans were unchanged, Harris redrew the elevations to be more in keeping with the local architecture, in what is now known as the Indo-Saracenic style. The building was finished in 1899."Y. M. C. A. Building, Madras," Indian Engineering 29, no. 3 (February 16, 1900): 108.
Personal life Merrill was married three times. He was married first in 1870 to Maria Jennie Moore of Pelham, New Hampshire, who died in 1882. He married second in 1883 to Anna Maud Smith of Worcester, who died in 1886. He married third in 1889 to Anna E. Boynton of Pepperell. He had a total of six children.Merrill, Otis A."Mrs. Anna E. Merrill Dies At Pepperell, 75," Fitchburg Sentinel, March 7, 1929. During their time in Lowell, Merrill and his family lived in a house now numbered 92 Wannalancit Street, a Second Empire cottage which he designed and built himself in 1870.Lowell directories and atlases After his retirement, Merrill and his wife moved to her hometown of Pepperell. She died there March 6, 1929, followed by her husband September 14, 1935.
Legacy The Lowell architects Frederick W. Stickney and Harry Prescott Graves worked for Merrill before opening their own offices.Kim Coventry, Daniel Meyer and Arthur H. Miller, Classic Country Estates of Lake Forest: Architecture and Landscape Design, 1856–1940 (New York: W. W. Norton, 2003)"Harrison Prescott Graves" in History of Lowell and its People 2 (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1920): 157–159.
At least two buildings designed by Merrill and his partners have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and others contribute to listed historic districts.
Architectural works Branch Street Fire Station, 45 Branch St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1877)"LOW.157." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Fiske Building, 219 Central St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1877)"New Hampshire Men in Lowell," Granite Monthly 5, no. 10 (July 1882): 327. Lowell City Stable (former), 276 Broadway St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1877)"LOW.1658." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Appleton Bank Building, 166 Central St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1878) Asa C. Russell house, 331 Wilder St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1879)"Building Improvements," Lowell Daily Citizen, August 12, 1879, 3. Tucker House, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts (1880)Roger G. Reed, "The Lost Victorian Campus" in Academy Hill: The Andover Campus, 1778 to the Present (Andover: Andover: Addison Gallery of American Art, 2000) Central Block, Central and Middle Sts, Lowell, Massachusetts (1881, demolished) Gates Block, 307 Market St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1881)"Building Intelligence," Sanitary Engineer 4, no. 7 (March 1, 1881): 162."LOW.1901." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Old Ladies' Home (former), 520 Fletcher St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1881)"Building Intelligence," Sanitary Engineer 4, no. 21 (October 1, 1881): 510."LOW.303." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Graves Hall, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts (1882–83 and 1891–92) Abel T. Atherton house, 236 Fairmount St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1883)"The Illustrations," American Architect and Building News 13, no. 390 (June 16, 1883): 282."LOW.623." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Wilton Town Hall, 40 Main St, Wilton, New Hampshire (1883–84, NRHP 2009)Wilton Town Hall NRHP Registration Form (2009) First Congregational Church (former), 400 Merrimack St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1884–85)"LOW.1132." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Sargent School (former), 7 Cross St, Graniteville, Massachusetts (1884)"WSR.29." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Phillips Hall, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts (1885) Seventh New Hampshire Veteran Association Building, Lakeside Ave, Weirs Beach, New Hampshire (1885)Henry F. W. Little, The Seventh Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion (Concord: Seventh New Hampshire Veteran Association, 1896) The Moosilauke, Breezy Point Rd, Warren, New Hampshire (1886, burned 1953)Bryant F. Tolles Jr., The Grand Resort Hotels of the White Mountains (Boston: David R. Godine, 1998) Varnum School addition, Lowell, Massachusetts (1886, NRHP 1995)"LOW.695." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Central Fire Station (former), 45 Palmer St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1889)"LOW.2595." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Concord High School (former), School St, Concord, New Hampshire (1889–90, demolished 1958)Concord annual reports Eliot School (former), 10 Favor St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1889)"LOW.383." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Charles E. Bartlett house, 22 Bartlett St, Chelmsford, Massachusetts (1890)"CLM.149." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Lowell Armory, Westford and Grand Sts, Lowell, Massachusetts (1890–91, demolished)Massachusetts annual reports Lowell City Hall, 375 Merrimack St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1890–93)The Story of the City Hall Commission, ed. Prentiss Webster (Lowell: City of Lowell, 1894) YMCA Building, William and 6th Sts, New Bedford, Massachusetts (1890–91, demolished) Howe Building, 11 Kearney Sq, Lowell, Massachusetts (1891–92)"Building Intelligence," Engineering Record 23, no. 5 (January 3, 1891): 86."LOW.102." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Odd Fellows Building, 84 Middlesex St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1891–92, demolished 1948)"LOW.1940." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Sylvia Ann Howland School, Pleasant and Kempton Sts, New Bedford, Massachusetts (1892–93, demolished)The Auditor's Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the City of New Bedford, Including Report of City Treasurer and Collector of Taxes, for the Year 1892 (New Bedford: City of New Bedford, 1893) Congregational Church of North Chelmsford, 15 Princeton St, North Chelmsford, Massachusetts (1893–94)"CLM.394." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Samuel Robinson house, 180 Jackson St, Lawrence, Massachusetts (1893)"LAW.174." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Jewett Building, 492–496 Merrimack St, Lowell, Massachusetts (1893)"LOW.319." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed September 17, 2021. Stowe School, Bartlett St, Andover, Massachusetts (1894–95, demolished 1982)"Contracting Intelligence," Engineering Record 29, no. 19 (April 7, 1894): 308. The Lincolnshire, 22 Hidden Rd, Andover, Massachusetts (1897–98, NRHP 1982)"Building Intelligence," American Architect and Building News 57, no. 1131 (August 28, 1897): xii. YMCA Building, NSC Bose Rd, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (1897–99) North Chelmsford School, North Chelmsford, Massachusetts (1899, demolished)Chelmsford town reports
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