ALLEN, Augustus Nichols (1868-1958), of New York City, N.Y. was credited with the design of the large summer mansion called “Nokomis Lodge”, located on Howe Island in the St. Lawrence River, east of Kingston on the Canadian side of the international border. Built for William H. Nichols of New York City, the complex was completed in 1898, and a detailed architectural description of the mansion was published in the Daily British Whig [Kingston], 28 July 1898, page 3. Regrettably, this picturesque landmark was destroyed in a fire in July 1914, but the site was rebuilt with a new mansion designed by Frank T. Lent, but it too was later destroyed by another fire in July 2003.
Allen was born in New York City in 1868 and graduated from the School of Architecture at Columbia University. He was recorded in private practice in New York from 1899 until 1933, and his wealthy clientele there included Howard Gould (1871-1959), the American financier and son of Jay Gould, as well as Julius Fleischmann (1871-1925), the son of American yeast magnate Charles L. Fleischmann. Allen's tour-de-force is the sprawling medieval complex on the Gould estate, a fortress executed in cut stone, terminating in a massive three storey circular gate tower, and said to have been inspired by castles in Scotland and Ireland. Fortunately, all of the buildings have survived, and are now owned by the Nassau County Museum, and his Georgian Revival design for the Fleischmann mansion still stands. Allen retired after 1933 and died in The Bronx, New York City on 25 March 1958 (biog. in Robert MacKay, Anthony Baker & Carol A. Traynor, Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects 1860-1940, 1997, 48-49)
(works in Canada)
HOWE ISLAND, ONT., “Nokomis Lodge”, a summer mansion for William H. Nichols, 1898; burned 1914 (Daily British Whig [Kingston], 28 July 1898, 3, descrip.; Pierre du Prey, Ah, Wilderness! - Resort Architecture in the Thousand Islands, 2004, 88-93, illus. & descrip., but lacking attribution; Jennifer McKendry, Architects Working in the Kingston Region 1820-1920, 12, illus. & descrip.)
(works in the U.S.A.)
SANDS POINT, LONG ISLAND, N.Y., “Castlegould”, an extensive castle complex of stables and staff accommodation adjacent to the mansion for Howard Gould, 1902 (Robert MacKay, Anthony Baker & Carol A. Traynor, Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects 1860-1940, 1997, 48-49, illus.)
SANDS POINT, LONG ISLAND, N.Y., “The Lindens”, a mansion for Julius Fleischmann, c. 1910 (Robert MacKay, Anthony Baker & Carol A. Traynor, Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects 1860-1940, 1997, 48-49, illus.)
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., Latham Hotel, East 28th Street at Fifth Avenue, a 13 storey hotel in the Beaux-Arts style, 1906 (inf. New York City Landmarks Commission)
SAG HARBOUR, LONG ISLAND, N.Y., John Jermain Memorial Library, Main Street, 1910 (A.I.A. Architectural Guide to Nassau & Suffolk Counties, Long Island, 1992, 152-53, illus. & descrip.)