Frank Lyman Austin


Frank Lyman Austin was an American architect from Burlington, Vermont. He designed several buildings that have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and others that are contributing buildings to listed historic districts.

Life and career

Frank Lyman Austin was born in Burlington in 1874 to Zachary T. Austin, a local contractor. The Austin firm went back to around 1865, when Frank's grandfather, Lyman, established himself as a carpenter. Frank Austin worked in his father's office, and trained as an architect. In 1904, he left his father's firm and opened an office on his own account. Upon his father's death in 1910, Austin completed the leftover work and absorbed the firm's assets.
Austin's first significant work was the Champlain School of 1909, in Burlington. These small-scale beginnings soon grew into a large office, which resulted in the design of some of the city's largest buildings. Eventually, Austin served as Vermont's state architect. In 1939, Austin's son, Lyman Dinsmoor Austin, became a partner in the firm. Upon Austin's death in 1942, his son dissolved the firm and left Burlington. Austin & Austin had been the oldest architectural firm in the state.

Selected works

Frank Lyman Austin, 1904-1939