George Henri Desmond (commonly known as G. Henri Desmond; February 22, 1874 – July 3, 1965) was an American architect from Watertown, Massachusetts. He designed several notable buildings, including the expanded Maine State House in Augusta, Maine, and the Fidelity Trust Building in Portland, Maine.

Early life Desmond was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1874, to Dennis Desmond and Mary Ann Fennell. He was educated in the Boston public schools.

Career In 1910, Desmond designed the Fidelity Trust Building in Portland, Maine, which was the state's first skyscraper. Hugo Kuehne was a draftsman for Desmond.

Desmond was partner in the firm of Desmond & Lord, which he established with Israel P. Lord in 1912. Their office was at 15 Beacon Street, which was the former home of Codman and Despradelle. The vacancy came about after the death of Désiré Despradelle.

In 1916, he was also working for the Boston Park Department.

The Desmond & Lord office moved to 1 Beacon Street in 1928, then to 6 Beacon Street.

Both Desmond and Lord had retired by 1961, but their business continued into the 1970s.

Architectural works 1908 – Sterling Inn, Sterling, MassachusettsAmerican Architect and Building News (May 6, 1908) 1909 – Central Fire Station, Chelsea, MassachusettsAmerican Architect and Building News (August 5, 1908) 1909 – Chelsea Trust Company Building, Chelsea, MassachusettsAmerican Architect and Building News (August 19, 1908) Extant but reclad at an unknown date 1910 – Fidelity Trust Building, Portland, MaineBenjamin Averill, " People's United Bank," SAH Archipedia. Accessed December 16, 2025. Maine's first skyscraper 1910 – Maine State House expansion and reconstruction, Augusta, MaineEarle G. Shettleworth Jr. and Frank A. Beard, The Maine State House: A Brief History and Guide (Augusta: Maine Historic Preservation Commission, 1981) Only the granite walls and portico of Charles Bulfinch's building were preserved; Desmond's redesign doubled the length of the building and added a higher dome and all-new interiors 1912 – All Souls Chapel, Poland Spring, MaineFrank A. Beard and Robert L. Bradley (1977), National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: All Soul's Chapel, National Park Service. NRHP-listed 1915 – Elephant House, Franklin Park Zoo, Roxbury, BostonJulia Arrison, Images of America: Franklin Park (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2009) Demolished 1915 – Elks' Home, Providence, Rhode Island"Cornerstone laid of Elks new home," Providence Journal, March 30, 1914, 12. Demolished 1918 – Portland High School, Portland, MaineFrank A. Beard and Roger G. Reed (1984), National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Portland High School, National Park Service. Designed by Miller & Mayo, architects, with G. Henri Desmond, associate architect; NRHP-listed 1921 – Hyde Park Municipal Building, Hyde Park, BostonRichard M. Candee, Naomi Miller, Keith N. Morgan and Roger G. Reed, Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston, ed. Keith N. Morgan (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009) 1923 – Clapp Memorial Building, Portland, Maine"Contracts Let on Portland Office Building" in Domestic Engineering 101, no. 2 (October 14, 1922): 69. 1923 – Press Herald Building, Portland, MaineAmerican Contractor 43, no. 49 (December 9, 1922): 48. 1927 – Omni Parker House, Boston 1931 – Winter Hill Cooperative Bank Building, Somerville, MassachusettsEngineering News-Record 106, no. 14 (April 2, 1931): 70. Built for the use of the Highland Trust Company, Somerville Institution for Savings and the Winter Hill Cooperative Bank, of which only the latter survived the Great Depression 1937 – Malden High School, Malden, MassachusettsIron Age 138, no. 19 (November 5, 1936): 128. 1939 – Calvin Coolidge Bridge, Connecticut River, Northampton and Hadley, MassachusettsEngineering News-Record 119, no. 27 (December 30, 1937): 14. Designed by Maurice A. Reidy, consulting engineer, with Desmond & Lord, architects 1939 – Suffolk County Courthouse, Boston 1949 – Roosevelt Towers, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1949 – St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church, Chestnut Hill, MassachusettsEngineering News-Record (August 23, 1945): 162. 1949 – White Stadium, Franklin Park, Roxbury, Boston 1956 – Burton M. Cross Building, Augusta, Maine"State moving into new office building," Portland Press Herald, October 17, 1956, 17. Designed by Miller & Beal, Inc., architects, with Desmond & Lord, associate architects 1962 – Furcolo Hall, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MassachusettsEngineering News-Record (May 7, 1959): 80.

Personal life In 1903, Desmond married Maud Vasti Hollis, a native of New York, with whom he had one child: son George Henri Desmond Jr. The family lived at the corner of Braemore Road and Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, in a house which Desmond designed. Desmond became a widower in 1938, but it is not known if he remarried.

He was a member of the Boston Art Club, Boston Real Estate Exchange, the Point Shirley Club and the Cumberland Club in Portland, Maine.

Death After retiring, Desmond moved to Marblehead Neck, Massachusetts. He died in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1965 at the age of 91. He was interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

See also List of American architects

References