Van Brunt &amp; Howe had a national reputation with clients in several areas of the country. Around 1885 to 1887, Van Brunt &amp; Howe opened an office in Kansas City that was originally managed by Howe. Van Brunt later joined Howe in Kansas City. Howe was a member of the board of consulting architects for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He held a similar position with the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. Van Brunt returned to Massachusetts after retiring where he died in 1903. In 1904, Howe partnered with two employees who were also graduates of the program at MIT, Henry F. Hoit and William H. Cutler. The firm of Howe, Hoit &amp; Cutler became Howe &amp; Hoit upon the death of Cutler in 1907. Two years later, Howe succumbed to heart failure and died on January 4, 1909 at the age of 59. He had been ill since the previous June and traveled with his wife and daughter (Dorothy) to Great Britain, Holland, Germany, and France prior to his death.