Harry B. Little (August 18, 1882 – April 4, 1944) was an American architect during the early twentieth century. In 1920, Little formed a partnership with Philip H. Frohman and E. Donald Robb. Together they gained national recognition as architects for the

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Episcopal Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral or National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Wa ...

. They also worked on other major works such as the Episcopal Cathedral in Baltimore and the chapel of

Trinity College, Hartford Trinity College is a private liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut. Coeducational since 1969, the college enrolls 2,2 ...

Life and career

Harry Britton Little was born August 18, 1882, in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Part of the Greater Boston region, it is located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of Massachusetts. At the 2020 ...

, to George B. Little and Ella Little, née Walworth. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1904 with an AB and later went on to the

Beaux-Arts de Paris The (), formally the (), is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level fine arts education and training. The art school, which is part of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is located on two sites: Saint-G ...

, where he studied in the

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

of Eugène Duquesne in 1909 and 1910."Little, Harry Britton" in ''Who's Who in America'' (Chicago: A. N. Marquis Company, 1928): 1309. After his return to the United States he joined the office of Cram & Ferguson, and was responsible for the working drawings created for the nave of the

Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhoo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

.Richard T. Feller and Marshall W. Fishwick, ''For thy Great Glory'' (Culpeper: Community Press, 1965: 21-25. When construction on the cathedral was halted in 1916 Little left Cram and went out on his own. He worked independently until 1920, when he merged his practice with Frohman & Robb, the partnership of Philip H. Frohman and E. Donald Robb, to form Frohman, Robb & Little. In 1921 the firm was appointed architect for the

, with Frohman as resident partner in Washington. All three partners were closely involved in the cathedral project, which reached a major milestone in 1932 with the completion of the choir and north transept. As at New York, Little was particularly associated with the working drawings. In 1928, the formal partnership of Frohman, Robb & Little was dissolved. The former partners continued to practice under the name "Frohman, Robb & Little, Associated Architects," and continued to work in partnership on the cathedral and on other projects as they saw fit.Philip Hubert Frohman (1887-1972)
" AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, November 21, 2023. Accessed July 8, 2025. One other project completed by the three was the Trinity College Chapel (1932) in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

."Harry B. Little: noted church architect dies in Concord home," ''Boston Globe'', April 4, 1944. William Morgan, biographer of

Henry Vaughan Henry Vaughan (17 April 1621 – 23 April 1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician. His religious poetry appeared in ''Silex Scintillans'' in 1650, with a second part in 1655.''Oxfo ...

, whom Frohman, Robb & Little succeeded at the cathedral, characterizes the Trinity College Chapel specifically and their Gothic work generally as "correct, but somehow mechanical, even cold. Frohman, Robb and Little saw the cathedral as their greatest work and continued to work on it until their deaths in 1972, 1942 and 1944, respectively. Little is now primarily identified with the works of the firm completed in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

, his wife's hometown. There, he reinforced the use of the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

style as the most appropriate architecture for the town. His first work in the town was Littleholme (1914), his family home. His major Concord works include the Trinitarian Congregational Church (1926), the

Concord Museum The Concord Museum is a museum of local history located at 53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, Massachusetts, United States, and best known for its collection of artifacts from the American revolution and from authors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry ...

(1930), the Fowler branch of the

Concord Free Public Library The Concord Free Public Library is a public library in the town of Concord, Massachusetts. The main building is located at 129 Main Street, and the Fowler branch is located at 1322 Main Street in West Concord. History The Concord Free Public Li ...

(1930) and the reconstruction of the library proper (1934).Richard 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): 452-453.

Personal life and death

Little was married in 1911 to Miriam Barrett of

. They had two children, one son and one daughter. He was a member of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

Boston Art Club The Boston Art Club is an arts organization in Boston, Massachusetts, which serves to help its members, as well as non-members, to access the world of fine art. It currently has more than 250 members. History The Boston Art Club was first conceive ...

Boston Society of Architects The Boston Society for Architecture (formerly known as the Boston Society of Architects) (BSA) is a nonprofit membership organization committed to architecture, design and the built environment. History On June 20, 1867, approximately 50 archi ...

St. Botolph Club The St. Botolph Club is a gentlemen's club, private social club in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1880 by a group including many artists. Its name is derived from the English saint Botolph of Thorney. Among the club's other activities in its q ...

and the

Harvard Club of New York City The Harvard Club of New York City, commonly called The Harvard Club, is a private social club located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Its membership is limited to alumni, faculty and board members of Harvard University. Incorporated in 18 ...

. He died April 4, 1944, at home in Concord at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Harry B. People from Concord, Massachusetts American ecclesiastical architects Architects from Boston Colonial Revival Movement Gothic Revival architects Architects of cathedrals 1944 deaths 1882 births American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Harvard College alumni