page_title: Allen Evans
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Allen Evans / Biography
caption_attribution_description: English: Dolobran is a Shingle Style house at 231 Laurel Lane in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect Frank Furness for shipping magnate Clement Griscom in 1881
context_page_description: Allen Evans was an American architect and partner in the Philadelphia firm of Furness & Evans. His best known work may be the Merion Cricket Club.
context_section_description: He was the son of Dr. Edmund C. Evans (1813–1881) and Mary S. Allen (1816–1861), of Paoli, Pennsylvania. He attended schools in West Chester, followed by Philadelphia Polytechnic College, 1866-68. He worked as a draftsman for architect Samuel Sloan, and was working for Furness & Hewitt by 1872. When that firm was dissolved in 1875, he remained with Furness, rising to chief draftsman, and partner in 1881. Four other long-term employees were made partners in 1886, and Furness & Evans was renamed Furness, Evans & Company.
  Evans brought social connections to the firm, and initially designed houses for family and friends. He developed a small-scaled but vibrant version of the Shingle Style. Based on stylistic grounds, Furness expert George E. Thomas suggests that Evans made major contributions to the Seamen's Church (1878, burned 1974), "Dolobran" (1881), and "Windon" (1882). He was a founding member of the Merion Cricket Club, designed its Ardmore clubhouse (1880, burned 1892), and its clubhouses and other buildings in Haverford.
  Following the Civil War, his father purchased more than 100 acres of land northeast of Haverford Station. This was later sold off in parcels to Alexander Cassatt (to build "Cheswold"), Clement Griscom (to build "Dolobran"), J. Randall Williams (to build "Harleigh"), and the Merion Cricket Club. Dr. Evans and other relatives built their own country houses (and a rental property) on the land, all designed by the architect in the family. 
  Like his father, Evans invested in real estate. In Philadelphia, he designed and built a speculative row of four city houses (1883), west of Rittenhouse Square. The house at 237 South 21st Street became his own residence. In Berwyn, he developed land on a ridge overlooking the Great Valley, and designed "Hillcrest" (ca. 1887) for William Drennan. Now known as the Mary A. Bair house, it once featured a massive three-story porch crowned by a dome.
  Evans designed St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Ardmore (1887), where he remained an active member for the next 38 years. In the Kensington section of Philadelphia, he designed St. Luke's Episcopal Church (1904) and its parish house (1905), which were adjacent to Episcopal Hospital.  
  
  The Girard Trust Company Building (1905-07), at Broad & Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, caused a rift between Evans and Furness. The initial concept for a bank building modeled on the Pantheon in Rome had been Furness's, but the bank's president rejected his participation:
  My interest is in you and not in your firm, for while I have the highest respect and esteem for Mr. Furness we do not wish a building design on his well known lines. — Effingham B. Morris to Allen Evans, June 16, 1904.
  The building was completed by Evans in partnership with McKim, Mead & White. Furness had to sue him to recover a share of the architect's fee.
  Furness, Evans & Company continued as the firm's name, even after Furness's 1912 death. Evans worked at the firm until 1923, more than 50 years. 
  In retirement, Evans designed the rood screen for St. Mary's Ardmore. It was completed after his 1925 death, and dedicated by his widow.
caption: "Dolobran" (1881, altered)
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