William A. Boring

Who was William A. Boring?

William Alciphron Boring was an American architect noted for codesigning the Immigration Station at Ellis Island in New York harbor.

Boring studied first at the University of Illinois, then spent an additional year as a student at Columbia University. From 1887 to 1890 Boring studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris along with his friend Edward Lippincott Tilton. Boring and Tilton returned to New York in 1890 to work in the office of McKim, Mead, and White.

In 1891 Boring and Tilton left McKim, Mead, and White to form their own architectural partnership. Among their notable works were the Casino in Belle Haven, Connecticut and the Hotel Colorado in the resort town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The partnership's work culminated in the 1897 design for the new federal Immigration Station at Ellis Island. This work was honored with a gold medal for Architecture at the Exposition Universelle, Paris; a gold medal at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo; and a silver medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis. The partnership of Boring & Tilton ended in 1904. The men started working independently of one another but continued to share offices and equipment until 1915. In 1913, Boring was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member.