Résumé

Allen, Jr., apprenticed with his architect father Frank P. Allen, Sr., before 1898.

Service in Spanish-American War, 1898.

Partner, Frank P. Allen and Son, Architects, Grand Rapids, MI, c. 1899-190.;

Draftsman, D.H. Burnham and Company, Architects, Chicago, IL, c. 1902-1904.

Principal, Frank Allen, Incorporated, Engineer, (also referred to as "Frank Allen, Incorporated”), Seattle, WA, c. 1904-1912; (Allen was thought to be working as an architect, engineer and/or building contractor in his earliest years in Seattle.) In 1910, Frank Allen, Incorporated, had its office in the Crary Building in Downtown Seattle.

Consulting Engineer for Construction, Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, Portland, Oregon, 1904-1905.

Director of Works, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE), Seattle, WA, c. 1907-1909.

Director of Works, Panama-California International Exposition, San Diego, CA, 1912-1915; in association with William S. Hebbard, Allen designed the Maryland Hotel in San Diego (1914).

Principal, Frank P. Allen, Jr., Architect and Engineer, San Diego, CA. In 1929, Allen had an office in Room #713 of the 1st National Bank Building in San Diego. (See San Diego Directory Company's San Diego City Directory, 1929, p. 153.)

Professional Activities

Allen developed a reputation for his work on West Coast expositions mounted in Portland, OR, (1905), Seattle, WA, (1909) and San Diego, CA, (1915);

Relocation

Born in Grand Rapids, MI, Frank P. Allen lived with his family in a duplex at 208 Mount Vernon Street in that city, as noted by the US Census of that year. At the time, the household consisted of his parents and his paternal grandfather, Nathan P. Allen (born c. 1834 in MI), a lawyer. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1880; Census Place: Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan; Roll: 588; Page: 545C; Enumeration District: 151, accessed 12/24/2021.)

Allen apprenticed with his father, an established Grand Rapids architect, Frank Payne Allen. Following his service in the 1898 Spanish-American War, Allen returned to Grand Rapids to work as his father's junior partner. The 1900 US Census listed Frank, Jr., living at home with his parents and four siblings. Their residence was at 31 South Morris Avenue in Grand Rapids.

he moved to Chicago, IL, c. 1902-1904, to work for the renowned architect, D.H. Burnham.

Allen moved out to the Pacific Coast for health reasons c. 1904; between 1904-1912, he worked in private practice and as an official with public expositions in Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA.

He moved to San Diego, CA, to work on the Panama California International Exposition from 1912-1915. A World War draft registration record of 1917-1918 indicated that he resided back in Seattle at that time. (See Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000 Source Information: U.S., World War I Civilian Draft Registrations, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA. Original data: Banks, Ray, comp.. World War I Civilian Draft Registrations, accessed 12/24/2021.)

In 1929, Allen had a house at 4125 Jefferson Avenue in San Diego. (See San Diego Directory Company's San Diego City Directory, 1929, p. 153.)

Allen and his family resided at 525 Spruce Street in San Diego in 1930. According to the US Census of that year, they rented their house, paying $125 per month for it. The household included the architect, his wife Mabel and their daughter Frances A. Allen. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: San Diego, San Diego, California; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0143; FHL microfilm: 2339927, accessed 12/24/2021.)

Allen died in Los Angeles County, CA, at the age of 61. His obituary in the Seattle Timesstated: "“Frank P. Allen, Jr., [sic] long a prominent architect and marine engineer here and throughout the Pacific Coast, was injured fatally yesterday when he was struck by a motorized lumber carrier of the California Shipbuilding Company at Wilmington, Calif., the Associated Press reported. Allen, who was architect for many buildings in Seattle, owned a shipyard in Ballard during the First World War. Among the buildings he designed were the Perry Hotel, now the Columbus Hospital, the Crary Building and the Waldorf Hotel. He was the architect for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition here in 1909 and the Lewis & Clark Exposition in Portland, Or., and built exposition structures fro the World’s Fair in San Diego in 1935 and 1936. He also designed the Balboa Park Bridge in San Diego.” (See "F.P. Allen, Jr., Killed by Truck," Seattle Times, 07/06/1943, p. 26.) This article likely meant the San Diego fairs of 1915 and 1935. In addition, other architects have been ascribed responsibility for the Perry Hotel (Heins and Lafarge and Somervell and Coté), Crary Building (Cutter and Malmgren) and Waldorf Hotel #2 (Henderson Ryan and Thacker and Mayo).

Parents

His father, Frank Payne Allen (born 07/02.1856 in Fenton, MI-d. 03/16/1934 in Grand Rapids, MI), worked first as a carpenter in Grand Rapids, MI, according to the 1880 US Census, before transitiioning to architecture. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1880; Census Place: Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan; Roll: 588; Page: 545C; Enumeration District: 151, accessed 12/24/2021.) Over time, Frank Payne Allen built a successful Grand Rapids architectural practice. The elder Allen formed Frank P. Allen and Son in Grand Rapids with Frank Phillip Allen. Frank Payne Allen was active in the Michigan Society of Architects and the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

His mother was Mary Frances O'Connor (born 07/27/1857 in MI-d. 01/14/1927 in Grand Rapids, MI), who married Frank, Sr., on 10/06/1877 in Grand Rapids, MI. Her parents immigrated to the US from Ireland.

Frank Payne and Mary Allen had six children, five of whom survived in 1900. They were Winifred Louise Allen, Margaret F. Allen, Harold Allen and Roger Allen.

Spouse

He wed Mabel Frances Ashe (born 08/27/1874 in San Francisco, CA- d. 02/04/1962 in San Diego County, CA) in Portland, OR, in 1904.

Allen married Audrey I. Everett in Carson City, NV, on 05/06/1941. (See Source Information Ancestry.com. Carson City, Nevada, U.S., Marriage Index, 1855-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, accessed 12/24/2021.)

Children

He and Mabel had a daughter, Frances Ashe Allen (born 11/10/1910 in Seattle, WA)

Biographical Notes

An earlier iteration of Frank Phillip Allen's PCAD biography indicated that he was Frank Phillip Allen, Jr. This was incorrect. His father was also Frank P. Allen, but his middle name was "Payne" not "Phillip." (Alteration made 12/24/2021.)

• Grand Rapids, MI (Architect's Birth)
  Grand Rapids, MI

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