A biographical note on Bigelow states that "in the opinion of one of his contemporaries, Mr. Bigelow probably contributed more to the creation of charming and distinguished house interiors than any one person of his time." (Henry F Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects, Deceased, Los Angeles: New Age, 1956, p. 57.) In 1913-1914 he renovated the Boston Athenaeum, adding two new floors.
It appears that Bigelow attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as issue no. 2 of its Architectural Review included designs for a fountain by Henry Forbes Bigelow and W. Proctor, Jr., as well as a design for opera boxes by Henry F. Bigelow.
Works by Bigelow
Gilbertsville, New York's "The Gilbert Block" of 3, 6 and 9 Commercial Street within the Historic District. The graceful and period revival Tudor architecture was constructed between 1893-1895 to replace the earlier commercial block destroyed by fire. The building are extant today and still used for commercial purposes.
In 1887 fellow Boston architect William Ralph Emerson created the Romanesque residence Tianderah in the same very small Update New York village.