His graduate studies were interrupted by World War I, and he spent part of 1918 and 1919 in Europe with the United States Army.
He finished his degree later in 1919, and after further studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he spent the summer of 1921 back in Europe, where he assisted in rebuilding programs.
In 1922 he returned to Portland, where he joined the office of Morris H. Whitehouse, a leading regional architect, as a drafter.
After practicing under his own name for twenty years, in 1955 he formed the firm of Stanton, Boles, Maguire & Church, bringing into the partnership several long-time associates.
In 1949 he was elevated to Fellow, the organization's highest membership honor, and was elected president in 1951, succeeding Ralph Thomas Walker.