William D. Austin

{{short description|American architect}}

William Downes Austin (April 6, 1856 – May 25, 1944) was an architect and author in the United States.{{cite web |title=October 24, 1888|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/168373166/?terms=%22William%2BD%2BAustin%22%2C%22architect%22|website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer |accessdate=4 December 2018}} He was a partner with Frederick W. Stickney at Stickney & Austin from 1892 until 1900. Austin worked out of their Boston office while Stickney worked out of the Lowell office. After the partnership ended in 1900, they both maintained each other's names in their respective practices.Long Island country houses and their architects, 1860–1940, By Robert B. MacKay, Anthony K. Baker, Carol A. Traynor One of their first projects was the Highland Club in Lowell.History of Lowell and its People, Volume 1 By Frederick William Coburn

Austin was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts to William Downes Austin and Catherine D. Austin (daughter of William Austin).

Austin and Stickney both graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.{{Cite web | url=https://evolvingcritic.net/2009/12/23/the-finest-in-the-state-the-architecture-of-stickney-and-austin-part-1/amp/ | title="The Finest in the State" the Architecture of Stickney and Austin, Part 1| date=2009-12-24}}

Austin was the main architect for Boston's Metropolitan Park Commission (MPC), established in 1893, from after its inception up until the mid-1920s.

He wrote a history of the Boston Society of Architects. He was a member of the Boston Society of Architects and American Institute of Architects.