Nationality American Occupation Architect | Name James Johnson | |
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Born July 10, 1865 ( 1865-07-10 ) Brewerton, New York Died May 4, 1939(1939-05-04)
Buffalo, New York Practice Johnson & Marling
Esenwein & Johnson Buildings Ellicott Square Building, The Calumet, Hotel Lafayette, Lafayette High School, Niagara Mohawk Building, United Office Building | ||
James Addison Johnson (October 7, 1865-1939) was an American architect known for his design of various architectural landmarks in Buffalo, New York, and his use of decorative work that many consider a foreshadowing of art deco design.
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Biography
James A. Johnson, sometimes referred to as John Addison Johnson, was born October 7, 1865 in Brewerton, New York, near Syracuse, New York, the son of Garrison Barrett Johnson and Katherine Eliza Johnson. He later married Mary Edith Johnson (who was born in Vermont in 1869) and together they had two daughters, Katherine Carter (Johnson) Barclay, born in 1900 in Buffalo, New York and Mary Edith (Johnson) Welch, born in 1905 in Buffalo, New York.
Johnson apprenticed and partnered with prominent Western New York architect Edward Kent and later with Central New York architect Silsbee & Marling. He also worked for Richard Morris Hunt firm and in 1890, he joined the firm of McKim, Mead and White in New York City as an assistant.
In 1892, Johnson came to Buffalo and continue his architectural practice. Significant projects from this period include the Alexander Main Curtiss House designed with partner James Marling. Johnson partnered with James Marling after Marling's previous partner, Herbert Burdett died.
After Marling's death, Johnson, at the age of 32, formed a partnership with the German born and trained architect August Esenwein. From its inception in 1897, Esenwein & Johnson was one of the most successful architectural firms of the time and is credited with the design of many buildings that have become Western New York landmarks. These include the Niagara Mohawk Building, the United Office Building in Niagara Falls, New York, the Ellicott Square Building and various buildings for the Pan-American Exposition notably the Temple of Music (infamous as the site where President William McKinley was assassinated). Esenwein & Johnson designed many buildings for the United Hotels Company, which was the largest hotel chain in the country at the time.
Esenwein & Johnson's work was known for its diverse styles through a sixty year history of designs, executing projects in Georgian Revival, Art Nouveau, Mayan Revival, and Art Deco styles. Of special note is the decorative features of Johnson's design for the 1912 Niagara Mohawk Building which foreshadowed Art Deco ornamentation. After the death of Esenwein in 1926, Johnson, in retirement, became advisory architect to the restoration of Old Fort Niagara.
Johnson died in 1939 in Buffalo, New York, at Buffalo General Hospital at the age of 73; funeral services were held in his home at 731 West Delavan and he was buried in Oswego, New York.
Significance
A number of Johnson's Buffalo, New York buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places including The Calumet, Hotel Lafayette, M. Wile and Company Factory Building, Fosdick-Masten Park High School and Lafayette High School.