Howells moved to New York City and founded the architectural firm
Howells & Stokes with
Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes, who had also studied at Harvard and the École. The partnership designed such works as
St. Paul's Chapel at
Columbia University and
Stormfield, an Italianate villa commissioned by
Samuel Clemens, a longtime friend of his father. Ending the partnership in 1916, Howells would focus his practice on office buildings in the
Art Deco style, some of which he completed with
Raymond Hood, whom he had met during his time at the École, and whom he had invited to become a partner when he was selected to enter the Chicago Tribune building competition in 1922. These projects include the prize-winning design of the
Tribune Tower in Chicago and the
American Radiator Building and
Daily News Building in New York City. Howells also designed the
Beekman Tower in New York and the plan for the
University of Brussels in Belgium in 1922 at the request of U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Herbert Hoover. Howells's institutional works include the Engineering Quadrangle at
Pratt Institute, built in phases from 1909 to 1928; Memorial Hall at
Pratt Institute in 1927; and Willoughby Hall at
Pratt Institute in 1957. Howells served as president of the
Society of Beaux-Arts Architects and the Society of Architects Diplômes. He was elected to the
National Institute of Arts and Letters, named a Chevalier by the French
Legion of Honor and an officer of the
Order of the Crown (Belgium), and served on the
U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1933 to 1937. Howells wrote several books on architectural history. In 1944 he was elected into the
National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician. ==Gallery==