William Ward Watkin

William Ward Watkin (January 21, 1886 – June 24, 1952) was an architect primarily practicing in Houston, Texas.

[1] Upon returning to the US in 1909, Watkin moved to Boston, Massachusetts to join the architecture firm of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson.

[1] Watkin's first major assignment was to oversee construction of a new school in Houston, Texas named the William Marsh Rice Institute.

Watkin had helped prepare the original masterplan drawings following intense correspondence between Ralph Adams Cram, Bertram Goodhue, and President Lovett.

[2] The initial complement of structures included the Administration Building (now named Lovett Hall), a power plant and Mechanical Laboratory, and one dormitory with a dining hall, located on 300 acres (120 ha) two miles southwest of downtown on an unpaved Main Street.

[1] In this capacity, he would continue to work on newer buildings for the campus and nearby, such as: In 1927, he became a full professor and maintained that rank until his death in 1952.