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Warren E. Collins was a mechanical manufacturer who owned
the two-family house at 553-555 Huntington Avenue. The building's
first and second floors and basement became machine and assembly
shops. The Collins family lived on the third floor.
In the late 20's, Philip Drinker, a chemical engineer and
industrial hygiene professor at the Harvard School of Public
Health, developed a model for an iron lung which was fabricated
by the Collins Corporation. The respirator became known as
the Drinker-Collins iron lung. In 1965 the Collins Corporation
sold the home to Wentworth, and the firm moved to Braintree.
The original iron lung that Collins built is displayed at
the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
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- Built in 1899
- Architect - Unknown
- The Collins Building currently houses Alumni Offices
and the Career Center. In the past, Collins was the
home and office of President Beatty, the home of the
inventor of the iron lung, and a machine and assembly
shop for the Collins Corporation.
- Wentworth acquired the Collins Building in 1965
from the Collins Corporation.
- Building Key - Building 12
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Collins Building upon its acquisition by Wentworth
1982 photograph |
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Collins Building from the northeast
Flanked on the left by the Massachusetts College of Art
and on the right by 549 Huntington Ave
1982 photograph |
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Collins Building from the northeast
1998 photograph |
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