Birth/Established: April 27, 1848 Death/Dissolved: December 1, 1897
Biography:
Forrest Amos Coburn was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He moved to Cleveland's West Side with his parents at the age of fourteen. He worked as a bookkeeper for the firm of Woods, Perry and Company lumber dealers after high school. He developed a talent for architecture while working for that firm. From 1868 to 1871 he worked for architect Joseph Ireland, then in the office of architect Walter Blythe. He then went to New York to complete his study of architecture where he worked in the office of Richard Morris Hunt. He returned to Cleveland in 1877 and went into partnership with Frank S. Barnum in 1878. They were a very successful firm; the vast majority of their work was residential. They were also the architects of several churches in Cleveland and surrounding communities, including a large number of Congregational Churches. These included the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church at 9606 Euclid Avenue (1887), the Franklin Avenue Congregational Church at 5720 Franklin Boulevard (1883), and the Olivet Baptist Church, as well as several buildings for Case Tech and Western Reserve University, and commercial buildings. He was secretary of the Civil Engineer's club and a member of the veteran's society of Troop A. His death was brought on by over work. He was sick the last four months of his life. At the time of his death he lived at 6016 Franklin.
The following are abbreviations used throughout the database
AABN – American Architect and Builders News (1876 – 1909) bp – City of Cleveland Building Permits (1889 – present) cd – City Directories mps – Mary Peale Schofield files – Western Reserve Historical Society Inland – Inland Architect Intestate – Interstate Architect and Builder (1899 – 1902) nd – no date NRHP – National Register of Historic Places OAB – Ohio Architect and Builder (1903 – 1909) OAEB – Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder (1910 – 1919) ohi – Ohio Historical Inventory form PD – Plain Dealer