Colson-Hudson, Architects
The architectural firm of Colson-Hudson was founded in 1905.
Both Ellicott R. Colson (1871-1923) and Harry F. Hudson (1878-1963) were Buffalo natives, and both received most of their professional training in local offices.
Colson worked for many years in the office of Esenwein & Johnson, while Hudson worked for Green & Wicks, as well as for D. H. Burnham & Co. of Chicago.
The office of Colson-Hudson was active and produced a wide range of projects in the Buffalo area during the early twentieth century.
Their residential designs included homes for
- Dean R. Nott at 556 Lafayette Avenue (1908)
- James A. White at 110 Oakland Place (1909)
- and Charles Rohlfs at 156 Park Street (1912) designed in association with the prominent Arts and Crafts furniture craftsman.
Among numerous commercial and office buildings designed and renovated by the firm are
Hudson and Hudson
- The reinforced concrete warehouse for Adam, Meldrum, & Anderson Co. at 210 Ellicott (DOE)
- 996- 1004 Elmwood Ave. (1908)
- Conversion of a former livery stable into a Hupmobile dealership at 401 Franklin Street (c.1920s altered)
- 515-517 Main St. (1911).
- The Republic Metalware Co. (1905-1913, demolished) at Republic & Alabama Streets
- The Cyphers Incubator Co. (1913, altered) at 67 Dewey Avenue . and the Sowers Manufacturing Co. (1913-1920) at 1300 Niagara St., were some of the firm’s industrial complexes.
After the death of Colson, Hudson formed a partnership with his younger brother and former Colson-Hudson architect, Chauncey Hudson, to create the firm of Hudson and Hudson. This firm continued to produce works in the Buffalo area, including the art moderne Lancaster Municipal Building (1940, NR 1999).