Personal Data

Walter Harrington Kilham was born on August 30, 1868, in Beverly, the son of Charles Harrington Kilham and his wife, Maria Frances Ober (daughter of Israel Ober).

He married in 1895-1896 to Jane Moody Houston (b. 22Feb1870 in Modesto CA; d. 19Feb1930). Jane Houston Kilham was an artist and founder of the Boston Society of Independent Artists.

Walter Kilham died on September 11, 1948, in Boston.

Career

Walter Kilham graduated from MIT in 1889, after which he served as an instructor at the Institute for two years. In 1893, he won the Rotch Travelling Scholarship, and spent the next two years in Europe studying architecture.

In 1900, he joined with James Cleveland Hopkins in the firm of Kilham and Hopkins. In about 1916, William Roger Greeley joined the office, and in about 1923 it became Kilham, Hopkins, and Greeley.  James Hopkins died in 1938, but the firm retained its name and, in 1945, became Kilham, Hopkins, Greeley, and Brodie when Walter S. Brodie became a partner.

Among Kilham and Hopkins works were the Salem High School (1909); First Congregational Church in Hyde Park (1910); the Unitarian Universalist Church in Marblehead (1911); Hopewell School in Taunton (1914); and Boston City Hall Annex (1914).

Among Kilham, Hopkins, and Greeley’s works were Waltham City Hall (1926); Cary Memorial Hall in Lexington (1927); Franklin School in Lexington (1929); Marshfield High School (1930); and the Community Sailing Boat House in Boston (1940-1941).

Back Bay Work