TOWLE, Arlen Harvey (1862-1942) was born in Edwardsburg, New York on 9 October 1862 and was active in nearby Ogdensburg, N.Y. in 1880 where, at the young age of 17 years, his name was recorded as an "architect" in the 1880 U.S. Census. He later practised in San Diego, Calif. before moving to Seattle, Wash. in 1889 where he was in partnership with Frank N. Wilcox. In June 1891 they entered the competition for the new Oddfellows Block in New Westminster, B.C. and when their plans were selected for First Premium, Towle decided to move to British Columbia to open his own office in New Westminster. Despite this success, their partnership was an acrimonious one; their collaboration ended on 19 September 1891, and shortly after Towle sued Wilcox in a court battle over shared profiits (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4 Oct. 1891, 5).
In 1892 Towle was one of sixty-five entrants in the competition for the B.C. Parliament Buildings, but his scheme, submitted under the pseudonym 'Portfolio', was not among the five finalists (M. Segger, The British Columbia Parliament Buildings, 1979, 83). That same year he was successful in winning the competition for the new Presbyterian Church in Vancouver. No references to his architectural work can be found after 1893, and he appears to have abandoned the profession and moved to Grand Rapids, Mich. By 1899 he had relocated to Lansing, Mich. where he became an optometrist for the next thirty years. He died in Lansing on 7 March 1942 (obituary and port. State Journal [Lansing], 9 March 1942, 13; biog. J.K. Ochsner, Shaping Seattle Architecture, 2014, 480-81; D. Luxton, Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, 2003, 195-97, 521)
TOWLE & WILCOX (works in Seattle, Wash.)
KLINE & ROSENBERG BLOCK, Washington Street, between Commercial Street and South Second Street, a three storey brick block, 1889 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 July 1889, 4, descrip.)
KLINE & ROSENBERG BLOCK, Front Street, at the foot of Cherry Street, running through to West Street frontage, a four storey block, 1889 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 18 Aug. 1889, 8, descrip.)
STANDARD THEATRE, for John Cort, 1889 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 Aug. 1889, 2, t.c.)
COLE & NORDIUM BLOCK, 1889 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 Aug. 1889, 2, t.c.)
GOTTSTEIN BLOCK, for M. & K. Gottstein, 1889 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 Aug. 1889, 2, t.c.)
MARION STREET, at Eighth Street, large double house for C.B. Bussell, 1889 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 Sept. 1889, 5, descrip.)
HOWELL STREET, large residence for Herman Smith, 1889 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 Sept. 1889, 5, descrip.)
SIXTH STREET, between Union Street and Pike Street, large residence for Mrs. L.H. Griffith, 1889 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 Sept. 1889, 5, descrip.)
A.H. TOWLE (works in British Columbia)
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C., Oddfellows Block, Columbia Street, 1891-92; burned 1898 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 29 June 1891, 4; 31 Dec. 1892, 3, descrip.; C.R., iii, 9 April 1892, 1)
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C., Hotel Guichon, Columbia Street at McKenzie Street, a three storey hotel for L. Guichon, 1892; burned 1898 (Colonist [Victoria], 4 June 1892, 5, descrip.; Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1892, 1, descrip.)
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C., Duncan-Harrison Block, Columbia Street, a commercial block for Duncan & Batchelor, 1892; burned 1898 (C.R., iii, 11 June 1892, 2; Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1892, 3, descrip.)
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C., Curtis-Burns Block, Columbia Street, 1892; burned 1898 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1892, 3, descrip.)
VANCOUVER, B.C., First Presbyterian Church, Hastings Street at Gore Avenue, 1892-93; demol. 1963 (Vancouver Daily World, 13 April 1892, 8; 28 Nov. 1892, 3, illus.; 5 Oct. 1893, 5, descrip.; C.R., iii, 21 May 1892, 1)