Benno Janssen (March 12, 1874 – October 14, 1964) was an American architect.

Childhood, education and career

Benno Janssen was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, the son of Oscar Janssen and Thekla Susenbeth. Janssen studied at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. In 1899, he began working in architecture in Boston, Massachusetts. He also continued his studies at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. In 1902, Janssen headed for Paris, France, and further studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

. In 1905, he returned to the United States to work in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, for the architectural firm MacClure & Spahr. Janssen left that firm, along with Franklin Abbott, to form their own partnership in 1906, Janssen & Abbott, which remained active until Abbott's retirement in 1918. Janssen next joined with William York Cocken in 1922, and together they started the architectural firm Janssen & Cocken.

Architectural work - commercial

He is best known for monumental buildings such as the

Pittsburgh Athletic Association The Pittsburgh Athletic Association was a gentlemen's club, private social club and club (organization), athletic club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, USA. Its clubhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located a ...

(1911), the

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

(1915 - now Alumni Hall of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

William Penn Hotel The Omni William Penn Hotel is a 23 floor (3 underground) hotel located at 530 William Penn Place on Mellon Square in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A variety of luminaries have stayed at the hotel, including John F. Kennedy. The hotel staf ...

(1916 and again in 1928),

Mellon Institute The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research is a former research institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, which is now part of Carnegie Mellon University. It was founded in 1913 by Andrew Mellon and Richard B. Mellon as part of the ...

(1937), the Longue Vue Club (1923),

Rolling Rock Club Rolling Rock Club is a private country club located on along U.S. Route 30 about SE of Pittsburgh, in Laughlintown, Pennsylvania, Ligonier Valley. History Rolling Rock Club was originally of land owned by Judge Thomas Mellon, who left it to his ...

and Stables (1928 - near

Ligonier, Pennsylvania Ligonier is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,513 at the 2020 census. Ligonier was settled in the 1760s. The borough is well known for nearby Idlewild Park, one of the oldest amusement parks in t ...

), the T.W. Phillips Gas & Oil Company (

Butler, Pennsylvania Butler is a city and the county seat of Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Pittsburgh and is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 13,502. History Butler was na ...

), the Keystone Athletic Club (1929 - now Lawrence Hall of

Point Park University Point Park University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Point Park College, the school name was revised in 2004 to reflect the number of graduate programs being offered. History Beginnings The university bega ...

), and the

Washington Crossing Bridge (Pittsburgh) right The Washington Crossing Bridge, commonly known as the Fortieth Street Bridge, is an arch bridge that carries vehicular traffic across the Allegheny River between the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Lawrenceville and the suburb of Millvale. H ...

, also called the 40th Street Bridge (1924).

Architectural work - residential

Janssen also designed many fine residences, including the country estate of George Calvert (1912); the Lee L. Chandler House (1924) in Shadyside; Elm Court, the estate of B.D. Phillips in

(1929); as well as

Fox Chapel Fox Chapel is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, and is an affluent suburb of Pittsburgh located northeast of downtown. The borough continually garners national prominence and is home to many of the wealthiest and most powerful p ...

's Frank B. Ingersoll House (1931) and ''La Tourelle'', the Edgar J. Kaufmann house (1923). Janssen received many Kaufmann commissions over the years. The prevailing architectural motif of these Benno Janssen homes was a picturesquely irregular configuration of buildings rambling around a central courtyard. Other features these homes shared include: complex slate roofs with many gables, large groups of rectangular windows, rich oriel and bay windows, interesting chimney treatments, and intricately carved stone detailing. Many of Janssen's buildings also boast museum-quality wrought-iron by noted

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

artisan

Samuel Yellin Samuel Yellin (1884–1940), was an American master blacksmith, and metal designer. Career Samuel Yellin was born to a Jewish family in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine in the Russian Empire in 1884. At the age of eleven, he was apprenticed to a ...

. Janssen collaborated with Yellin for 25 years, resulting in gracious iron details in his most important projects.

Personal life

Benno Janssen married Edith Patton, the daughter of Central Pennsylvania businessman and future State Senator Alexander Ennis Patton and Mary Boynton Dill, on December 28, 1889, in

Curwensville Curwensville is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Altoona on the West Branch Susquehanna River. Coal mining, tanning, and the manufacture of fire bricks were the industries at the turn of the 20th century. In 1 ...

Clearfield County Clearfield County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,562. The county seat is Clearfield, and the largest city is DuBois. The county was created in 1804 and later organized in 1822. ...

, Pennsylvania. The Janssens were the parents of Mary Patton Janssen, Benno Janssen, Jr. and Alexander Patton Janssen. Janssen retired in 1939 and died in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

, October 14, 1964.

Photo gallery of works

File:BuhlBuildingPittsburgh.jpg,

Buhl Building The Buhl Building is a skyscraper and class-A office center in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. Architect Wirt C. Rowland designed the Buhl in a Neo-Gothic style with Romanesque accents. Constructed in 1925, it stands at 26 stories in the Detroit ...

at 204 Fifth Avenue in

Downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River whose ...

(1913) File:KaufmannsStoreClockMacys.jpg,

Kaufmann's Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Summary The store was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of the famous Fallingwater house. In the post-war years, the store became a regi ...

department store in downtown Pittsburgh, designed by Charles Bickel in 1898, with an addition done by Janssen & Abbott in 1913 File:Rogers CAPA.jpg, Rogers School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Pittsburgh (1914) File:GeorgeJ.SchmittHouse.jpg, George J. Schmitt House, designed by Janssen & Abbott (1916) File:William.Penn.Hotel.jpg,

(1916 & 1928) File:Eberlyhallside.jpg, Alumni Hall (1921), now Eberly Hall at the University of Pittsburgh File:LongueVueClubandGolfCourse.jpg, Longue Vue Club (1923), in

Penn Hills Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Penn Hills is a township with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 41,059 as of the 2020 census. Penn Hills is the second-largest municipality in Allegheny County, after Pittsburgh. History In 178 ...

. File:FortiethStreetBridge.jpg, Fortieth Street Bridge, Pittsburgh (1924) File:Bellefield Hall Pitt.JPG, The Y.M.H.A. (1926), now

Bellefield Hall Bellefield Hall is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and is a contributing property to the Schenley Farms Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh across Bellefield Avenue from Heinz Memoria ...

at the University of Pittsburgh File:WestinghouseAirBrakeCompanyGeneralOfficeBuilding.jpg,

Westinghouse Air Brake Company General Office Building The Westinghouse Air Brake Company General Office Building (known locally as The Castle or Library Hall) in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, Wilmerding, Pennsylvania is a building from 1890. It was listed on the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundati ...

in Wilmerding, PA, designed by

Frederick J. Osterling Frederick John Osterling (October 4, 1865, Duquesne, Pennsylvania – July 5, 1934, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an American architect, practicing in Pittsburgh from 1888. Frederick J. Osterling was born to Philip and Bertha Osterling in Dra ...

in 1890, with additional designs done by Janssen & Cocken in 1927 File:Lawrence Hall.jpg, Keystone Athletic Club (1929), now Lawrence Hall at Point Park University File:20th Century Club Pittsburgh.jpg, 20th Century Club (1930) File:FalkSchool.jpg,

Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School The Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School, or simply the Falk School, is a private kindergarten through eighth grade laboratory school of the University of Pittsburgh. It is located on the University of Pittsburgh's upper campus on Allequippa St. Cha ...

building (1931) at the University of Pittsburgh

References

* *Family information courtesy of ''AnGenealogy'' by Angelynn Jane Rainbow on rootsweb.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Janssen, Benno 1874 births 1964 deaths American people of Dutch descent 19th-century American architects Architects from Pittsburgh 20th-century American architects University of Kansas alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni