Keene & Simpson


Keene & Simpson was an American architectural firm based in Kansas City, Missouri, and in practice from 1909 until 1980. The named partners were architects Arthur Samuel Keene FAIA and Leslie Butler Simpson AIA. In 1955 it became Keene & Simpson & Murphy with the addition of John Thomas Murphy FAIA, who managed the firm until his retirement in 1980.

Biography and history

Arthur Samuel Keene was born September 21, 1875, in Brighton, Boston to Samuel Keene and Marianna Keene. His uncle, George Franklin Fuller, was a Boston-based architect of churches and other buildings. His initial interest in architecture came from the study of the books and drawings in his uncle's library. His formal education was in the Boston public schools and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1898. He then joined the office of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge as a drafter, moving to that of Guy Lowell in 1903. In 1907 Keene moved to Kansas City, where he joined the office of Howe & Hoit. In Hoit's office he worked alongside Leslie Butler Simpson. Leslie B. Simpson was born May 30, 1885, in Clayton, Missouri, to Luther Rice Simpson and Nannie Simpson. He attended the public schools and received his early architectural education through correspondence courses of the International Correspondence School of Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1901 he moved to Kansas City, where he joined Van Brunt & Howe, predecessors to Howe & Hoit. He remained with Hoit until 1909, when he and Arthur S. Keene left to form their partnership, Keene & Simpson.
Keene & Simpson had a successful regional practice, completing buildings in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In 1955 they expanded the partnership to include John T. Murphy, an MIT graduate who had worked for them since 1945. The firm was then renamed Keene & Simpson & Murphy. Simpson died December 15, 1961, in Kansas City. Keene retired in 1962 and died May 14, 1966, in Topeka, Kansas. Murphy ran the firm under the same name until 1980. Murphy died February 6, 1999, in Kansas City.
Several of their major works were designed as joint ventures with other architects. The Philtower Building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was designed in association with Edward Buehler Delk of Kansas City, and the Jackson County Courthouse was designed in association with Frederick C. Gunn and Wight & Wight of Kansas City and consulting architect Edward F. Neild of Shreveport, Louisiana. They were also consultants on the Boston Avenue Methodist Church in Tulsa, completed in 1929 and designed by Bruce Goff and Adah Robinson.
All three members of the partnership were involved in the American Institute of Architects, Keene joining in 1916, Simpson in 1921 and Murphy in 1945. In 1938 Keene was elevated to Fellow, followed by Murphy in 1964.

Legacy

At least twelve buildings designed by Keene & Simpson, in whole or in part, have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Others contribute to listed historic districts.

Architectural works