Claire Allen

Who was Claire Allen?

Claire Allen was a prominent southern Michigan architect of the early twentieth century. He was head of the firm of Claire Allen & Sons and had practiced architecture in Jackson for 52 years.

When Allen was younger he was a contractor and builder, working on such things as the Ionia County Court House, a school in Dexter, Michigan, and many houses and buildings in Belding and Ionia, as well as the Belding Brothers silk Mills. Some of the county courthouses Allen created are great examples of the American neoclassical architecture style. He also created many buildings in the colonial revival style.