Frank Irving Cooper (5/8/1867-10/21/1933) Boston, Massachusetts

For many years head of the Frank Irving Cooper Corporation, widely known throughout New England as a school architect. In his native city of Taunton, Massachusetts, he received an early education, and after graduating at the age of nineteen at the Chauncey Hall School in Boston, began architectural study under the late Henry H. Richardson. Later, he gained experience in draftsmanship in the Boston office of Henry Van Brunt and with the firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge.

In 1890 Mr. Cooper opened an office in Pittsburgh and for his client George Westinghouse designed a number of industrial buildings including the Standard Underground Cable Company, and the Central Electric Lighting Company Works. Two years later, having been commissioned architect of the Bristol County Court House at Taunton, Massachusetts, he returned to Boston to establish an office and carried on independent practice until 1914, when he organized the Frank I. Cooper Corporation.

Over a period of twenty years he participated in the designing of public and educational buildings, comprising public halls, college buildings, and dormitories, administration buildings, and about two hundred elementary and High Schools throughout New England. Among these should be named the following: Public Library at Medford, Massachusetts; Memorial Town Hall at Ashburnham Massachusetts; Clark Pathological Laboratory at Amherst College; Weaver and Buckley High Schools at Hartford Connecticut; High Schools at Malden, Attleboro, and Plymouth Massachusetts; Colt Memorial High School at Bristol Rhode Island; North Junior high, Quincy Massachusetts; re-modeling High School group at Somerville, Massachusetts; and the Plunkett Memorial High School at Adams, Massachusetts. In addition, Mr. Cooper's firm prepared plans for High Schools at Bennington, Vermont, Lancaster, New Hampshire, Claremont, New Hampshire, at Beverly, Brockton, and Peabody, Massachusetts, and at Stratford, Simsbury, and Norwalk, Connecticut, together with many intermediate grade schools in various locations.

A recognized expert in school design, Mr. Cooper was called upon to serve on Boards of Education in many different cities and was frequently employed as an Architectural Consultant. He was also a prominent figure in civic affairs, formerly a member of the Boston City Planning Commission, Chamber of Commerce and other organizations.