John Hudson Thomas
John Hudson Thomas (1878-1945) was a San Francisco and Bay Area architect. A prominent member of the First Bay Tradition architectural school he designed hundreds of homes in San Francisco and the Bay Area.[1] His work is characterized by unorthodox blending of various historic styles including Craftsman, Prairie School, Mission, Gothic, Tudor, Art Nouveau, English Cottage, and in his later years Viennese Secessionist.[2] Thomas operated from 1910 to 1945 throughout California with his work influencing residential development styles in the Bay Area throughout the 20th century.[3]
Biography
Born in 1878 in Nevada, John Hudson Thomas moved to the Bay Area as a young child. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1902 and a graduate degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1904. After graduating Berkeley he worked from 1904 to 1906 for architect John Galen Howard, designer of the master plan for the University of California, Berkeley campus. He partnered with architect George Plowman in 1907 and together built over 50 residential buildings in the Arts and Crafts style. In 1910 Thomas set up his own practice and became one of the first tenants of the Berkeley Studio Building, home of the Berkeley Arts and Crafts School.[4] While working in Berkeley, he socialized with architects Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan who influenced his early work.[5] As he took on bigger and more prominent projects, Thomas's work became more orthodox, though he continued to have an inclination for interior architecture. He continued working until his death in 1945.[1]
Works
Thomas's more well known buildings include the Hume Cluster, Captain Maury's Residence, and the Spring Mansion. Some of his other works include:[3][5]
- Pratt-Thomas House in Berkeley built in 1911
- W. L. Locke House in Oakland built in 1911
- Kay House in Berkeley built in 1912
- Chisholm House in Berkeley built in 1907
- Randall House in Berkeley built in 1909
- Tudor (esque) cottage in Berkeley
- Antony House built in 1915
- Sellander House in Berkeley built in 1914
- Dangan House in Berkeley built in 1911
- Wintermute House aka "The Rocks" in Berkeley built in 1913
- Kruse House in Berkeley built in 1914
- Pratt-Verper House in Berkeley built in 1911
- Blum House in Berkeley built in 1926
- Park House in Berkeley built in 1914
- Ecole Bilingue in Berkeley built in 1915
- Harris Avenue in El Cerrito in 1929
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wilson, Mark A. (21 January 2007). "New Life for a Landmark". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ↑ "John Hudson Thomas". Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "John-Hudson-Thomas-Self-Guided-Tour-1979-of-7-Berkeley-House". Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ↑ "Finding Aid for the John Hudson Thomas papers". Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "John Hudson Thomas". Retrieved 7 January 2013.