Henry Austin (December 4, 1804—December 17, 1891) was a prominent and prolific American architect based in New Haven, Connecticut. He practiced for more than fifty years and designed many public buildings and homes primarily in the New Haven area.

Austin was born in Mt. Carmel, Connecticut in 1804 and was the son of Daniel and Adah (Dorman) Austin. He first worked as a carpenter's apprentice and then began his career in architecture working for Ithiel Town. In 1836, he opened his own office. He worked in a range of styles popular in the nineteenth century including Gothic, Italianate, Egyptian and Moorish Revival. In some buildings, he employed an eclectic mix of styles.

Austin was married twice. He died in 1891 in New Haven and is interred in Grove Street Cemetery, whose famous gates he designed.

Selected works

• Yale College Library (Dwight Hall), Old Campus, Yale University, 1842-1845. Gothic revival.
• Grove Street Cemetery Gates, 1848-1849. Austin designed the gate in Egyptian revival style with papyrus-bud capitals.
• James Dwight Dana House, Yale University, 1845-1848. On Hillhouse Avenue.
• Willis Bristol House, New Haven, 1845. Moorish Revival.
• New Haven Railroad Station, 1848-1849. This station incorporated Italianate and Moorish revival styles. It was converted into a market in 1874 and was destroyed by fire in 1894.
• Moses Yale Beach House, Wallingford, Connecticut, 1850. This Italian villa includes a columned veranda with "oriental" elements.
• 604 Chapel Street, New Haven, 1852. Italian Villa.
• John Pitkin Norton House, Yale University, 1849, Towered Tuscan/Italian Villa on Hillhouse Avenue.
• Additions to the Ithiel Town-designed mansion, for Joseph Earl Sheffield on Hillhouse Avenue. Razed in 1957.
• Morse-Libby House (Victoria Mansion), Portland, Maine, 1858-1860. This asymmetric brownstone Italian villa has a four-story tower, ornate carvings, deep overhanging eaves and graceful verandas. It is now a museum.
• Lafayette B. Mendel House, 1858. Italian villa.
• New Haven City Hall, 1861. This Victorian Gothic structure bordering the New Haven Green with clock tower and tall iron staircase. The remains of this building (much of it was demolished in 1976) are now incorporated into the new City Hall, built in 1986, which abstractly extends the façade.
• Davies Mansion (Betts House), 1868, (with David R. Brown), Yale University. This 20,000 square foot Victorian (French Second Empire style) mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally the home of John Davies (an associate of Oliver Winchester), it subsequently housed the Culinary Institute of America. It is now home to the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. The building was extensively restored by Yale in 2000-2002 after neglect and a fire (in 1990) had caused damage.
• W. J. Clark House, Branford, Connecticut, 1879-1880. This house is in the Stick style.

References

External links

• Yale Manuscripts and Archives: Henry Austin