David D. Wallace

David D. Wallace, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and long-time Boston-area resident, passed away peacefully on September 29, 2024, at the age of 95. Born in Haverhill, MA, on October 26, 1928, he was the son of the late Harry A. and Doris S. (Conley) Wallace. Dave was a graduate of Bayside High School, Bayside, NY, Class of 1946; Middlebury College, Class of 1952; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Class of 1956 (B.Arch./M.Arch). He was a Fulbright Scholar, studying in Finland in 1960, and served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War.

 Dave grew up in Flushing, NY, where he met and married June, his wife of 71 years. Together, they raised their family in Arlington, MA. He was active in the local community, serving on the Conservation Commission and as a Town Meeting member. In the 1980s, they retired to Westport, MA, where he served on the Town’s Planning Board, prior to settling at Brooksby Village in Peabody, MA, to be closer to family. He lived there for the remaining years of his life. 

 During a career spanning close to 50 years, Dave was a principal in several architectural practices, including Geometrics, Inc., which notably collaborated with the renowned Buckminster Fuller on the U.S. Pavilion at Expo ’67 in Montreal. Dave was a partner in Wallace, Floyd, Ellenzweig, Moore, a Cambridge-based architectural practice, before establishing Wallace, Floyd, Associates in Boston with his long-time partner and friend, the late Peter Floyd, who passed away in 2015. Their interdisciplinary practice incorporated architecture, planning, urban design, and landscape architecture, recognizing that these related disciplines together resulted in more thoughtful, functional contributions to the built environment.

 Dave’s most consequential work was serving as planner and architect of Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel Project. In this role, he and his colleagues oversaw the project’s environmental impact report and, later, its planning and design, especially facilitating the community’s input into the massive public works project. Dave was instrumental in seeking out the involvement of the celebrated Swiss bridge designer Christian Menn to help resolve the project’s critical and very complicated Charles River Crossing. The collaboration among the project’s team of engineers, architects, planners, and stakeholders resulted in a new gateway to Boston—the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. 

 In addition, Dave was involved in projects as diverse as the Library at UMASS Lowell; Disney World’s Epcot Center and Monorail Station; the creation of an entire community to support B.P. Sohio’s operations in Alaska; many important environmental impact statements and planning studies, such as the MWRA’s Water Supply Study 2020; the MBTA’s new Alewife Station and the renovation of North Station; a master plan for Middlebury College; and the addition to the historic Robbins Memorial Library in Arlington, to name just a few.

 During retirement, Dave remained passionate about the field of architecture, often reading about and observing major projects in the Boston area. He was very proud of the people he worked with over the years and remained connected to them in retirement. Throughout his life, he retained an incredible sense of wonder and excitement about the world around him and the possibilities of the built environment to improve it. He was very unassuming about his success, often stating that he was “just lucky.” Dave enjoyed writing and illustrating stories about his life lessons, documenting not only important moments in his professional career but also fond memories from his childhood and his summer visits to his grandparents’ farm in Plaistow, NH. He enjoyed gardening, photography, and traveling the world with June.

 In addition to his parents, Dave was predeceased by his beloved brother William (Bill). He is survived by his wife of 71 years, June (Feuer) Wallace; three children: Susan Guiliano and her husband David of Princeville, HI; Andrew Wallace and his wife Margaret Gilligan of Lynnfield, MA; and Gordon Wallace and his wife Heidi Kuehnle of Honolulu, HI; as well as nephews David Wallace and his wife Vicky of Exeter, RI, and Kurt Feuer and his wife Laurie MacGregor of Orford, NH. He was beloved by nine grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

 A Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 17, in the McIntosh Clubhouse, 300 Brooksby Village Drive, in Peabody, Mass.

 In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Westport River Watershed Alliance, P.O. Box 3247, Westport, MA 02790 (www.westportwatershed.org/donate).