Franklin I. Welch Papers

Thirty-seven pen and ink drawings, showing plans for libraries (7 plans for 4 libraries) and schools (30 plans for 6 schools) by architect Franklin I. Welch.  Floor plans, perspectives of building exteriors, and sectional views are featured. It is not known if any of these were executed; nor is it known if these were drawn for several different projects or were just variations proposed for one library and one school. Library plans include spaces for book shelves (stacks), reading, art, and librarians’ work.  The schools have classrooms, offices for principals, exercise rooms for the students, toilets and coat rooms, assembly rooms, and storage. One school also included a cooking room for girls and a manual training room for boys.

Each of the drawings has Franklin I. Welch's name written on it; most are labeled either Boston or Malden, Massachusetts. Drawings were done on a scale of 1/8 inch to one foot, unless otherwise indicated.

Franklin I. Welch was an architect in Boston and Malden, Massachusetts. He was born in Malden in October 1852, the son of Cyrene Elizabeth Potter (1820-1878) and John Allen Welch (1818-1875; in the 1870 census, his occupation was listed as house painter). In 1874, Franklin Welch married Lizzie (Elizabeth) Dunbar; they had at least two children. According to census and city directories, Welch was a rubber cutter as late as 1888. By 1893, he was listed as an architect in city directories; he worked in Boston for many years. A practicing Christian Scientist (he and his wife were admitted as members of the church in Boston in April 1893), his first major architectural commission was the original Christian Science Church in Boston, which was completed at very end of 1894; he also designed the Christian Science Church in Manchester, New Hampshire. In 1918, Welch began working for the architectural department of the Boston Elevated Railway Co., a position he held until his death on May 21, 1930.