Personal Data

Edward Thomas Patrick Graham was born on February 2, 1871, in Cambridge, the son of Thomas Augustus Graham and his wife, Helena Kenny. Many documents indicate that he was born on February 2, 1872; however, his birth is recorded in the Cambridge birth register for 1871.

He never married.

He died on September 3, 1964, at St. John of God Hospital in Brighton. At the time of his death, he was a resident of Cambridge,

Career

Edward T. P. Graham graduated from Harvard in 1900. In 1901, he received the Austin Travelling Fellowship, enabling him to study in Europe until the end of 1902. He returned to Boston and was a draftsman with Peabody and Stearns. In 1904, he opened his own office, located for many years at 20 Beacon and then at 171 Newbury.  He later opened a second office in Cleveland, where he was associated with the F. Stillman Fish Co.

He was known primarily for his design of schools, hospitals, churches, and public buildings. His work in Boston included the Forsyth Dental Infirmary (1912), the Boston City Hall annex (1914), and the Church of the Holy Name in West Roxbury (1938-1939), as well as two buildings at Boston City Hospital and five buildings at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton.

In 1962, he was a strong opponent of the design adopted for the new (and subsequently built) City Hall. A May 13, 1962, Boston Globe article, which called him the “dean of Boston architects,” indicated that he believed the design lack “‘timeless appeal'” and “ran the chance of facing disfavor and even ridicule.”

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