James Miller Creighton (September 14, 1856 – November 25, 1946) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who practiced in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

from the 1880s to the 1920s. He is considered to be one of Arizona's first architects.

Early years

Creighton was born in

Newcastle, New Brunswick Newcastle is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the shire town of Northumberland County. Situated on the north bank of the Miramichi R ...

, now

Miramichi The name "Miramichi" was first applied to a region in the northeast of New Brunswick, Canada, and has since been applied to other places in Canada and the United States. Although other interpretations have been suggested, it is believed that "Mirami ...

, in 1856. At the age of 13, Creighton began working as an apprentice, to learn carpentry and building. He remained in his native Canada until 1879, when he emigrated to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He worked for a local builder, and studied architecture at night school.

Arizona

Interested in opportunities in Arizona, he moved, this time to

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. There, he formed a partnership with J. M. Henderson. in 1882 he moved on to Phoenix, hoping to get a job on the construction of the new Maricopa County Courthouse. Unsuccessful, he formed a partnership, Patton & Creighton, with Samuel E. Patton.''Tempe Hardware Building NRHP Nomination''. Patton had been the successful bidder on the courthouse's carpentry.''Guide to MS 10, James M. Creighton Collection, Photos and Documents''. 2009. Web. Gradually, he focused more and more on design and less on building, and opened an office for the practice of architecture in late 1887, after obtaining the commission for City Hall. He practiced alone until the mid-1890s, when he added Denslow W. Millard, formerly of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, as a partner. The firm of Creighton & Millard only lasted until 1897, When Millard went on to establish his own practice. Circa 1898, he partnered with C. Schenstrom as Creighton & Schenstrom, and ended the partnership in 1899. Around the turn of the century, Creighton moved to

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, in the face of a severe drought that limited opportunities. However, he soon returned to Phoenix. In 1905 he again partnered with Millard, this time as Millard & Creighton. The partnership lasted until 1907. That year, Creighton associated with Henry C. Trost of

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

. The resulting firm, Trost & Creighton, was organized to supervise Trost's Arizona work. They dissolved partnership in 1908, when Trost established Trost & Trost. Creighton practiced alone until 1915, establishing Creighton & McDonald, but soon returned to private practice. He continued to practice under his own name until the mid-1920s.

Later years

During the early 1880s, Creighton became a naturalized citizen. He married Mary E. Smith, in Phoenix. He became a widow in 1913 and later married Nellie Eliza, Mary's younger sister. Despite traveling extensively, he died at his home in Phoenix in 1946. Creighton is buried in Phoenix's

Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery Greenwood Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery is the official name given to a cemetery located at 2300 West Van Buren Street in Phoenix, Arizona owned by Dignity Memorial. The cemetery, which resulted as a merger of two historical cemeteries, Greenwoo ...

. In 2009, the asteroid 10046 Creighton was named in his memory.

Works

A number of his works are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Patton & Creighton, ?–1887: * Fry Building, 146 E. Washington St., Phoenix (1885) – Altered. Also the oldest identified commercial building in Phoenix * Territorial Insane Asylum, 2500 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix (1886–87)''Inland Architect and Builder'' April 1886: 51. – From plans by an unidentified Californian firm *

Territorial Normal School A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

,Tempe (1886) a.k.a. Old Main *

Old Main Old Main is a term often applied to the original building present on college or university campuses in the United States. The building serves today as home to administrative offices, such as the president or provost, but in its early inception may ...

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, Tucson (1887–91)Nequette, Anne M. and R. Brooks Jeffery. ''A Guide to Tucson Architecture''. 2002. James M. Creighton, 1887–?: * Phoenix City Hall, 125 E. Washington St., Phoenix (1887–88) – Demolished c. 1928 * John Nicholas Saloon, 46 E. 11th St., Florence (1889) * Andre Building, 401 S. Mill Ave., Tempe (1888) – Remodeled 1900 * Phoenix Indian School, 300 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix (1891–92)Melikian, Robert A. ''Images of America: Vanishing Phoenix''. 2010 * Second Pinal County Courthouse, 135 N. Pinal St., Florence (1891) * Osborn School, 3443 N. Central Ave., Phoenix (1892) – Demolished. Now the site of

Phoenix Financial Center The Phoenix Financial Center consists of a high-rise office building and two adjacent rotunda buildings located along Central Avenue in the Midtown district of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. They were built in 1963 by the Financial Corporati ...

* Niels Petersen House, 1414 W. Southern Ave., Tempe (1892) * Frank Titus House, 1310 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale (1892) * Con P. Cronin House, 2029 W. Jefferson St., Phoenix (1893)''Nineteenth Century Residential Buildings in Phoenix Multiple Property Listing NRHP Nomination''. 1994 * Oscar Roberts House, 2004 W. Madison St., Phoenix (1893) Creighton & Millard, ?–1897: *

George J. Roskruge George James Roskruge (April 10, 1845July 27, 1928) was the surveyor general of Arizona Territory from 1896 to 1897. Born in England, he emigrated to the United States in his mid-20s and became a naturalized citizen in 1876. He spent most of his ...

House, 318 E. 13th St., Tucson (1895) * Hotel Adams, 50 E. Adams St., Phoenix (1896) – Burned * Darius M. Purman House, 1317 W. Jefferson St., Phoenix (1897–98) James M. Creighton, 1897–1898: * Odd Fellows Hall, 520 S. Mill Ave., Tempe (1898) Creighton & Schenstrom, 1898–1899: * Ellingson Building, 21 W. Washington St., Phoenix (1899) – Demolished James M. Creighton, 1899–1905: * Vernetta Hotel, 216 N. Frontier St., Wickenburg (1905) Millard & Creighton, 1905–1907: * Dominion Hotel, Broad & Sycamore Sts., Globe (1905) – Burned 1981 * Carnegie Public Library, 1101 W. Washington St., Phoenix (1906–07) * President's House,

Tempe Normal School The history of Arizona State University began March 12, 1885 with the founding of the establishment originally named the Territorial Normal School at Tempe. The school was founded after John Samuel Armstrong first introduced House Bill 164, “A ...

, Tempe (1907) Trost & Creighton, 1907–1908: * Y.M.C.A. Building, Monroe St. & 2nd Ave., Phoenix (1908) – Demolished James M. Creighton, 1908–1915: * Gold Hotel, 3rd & Washington Sts., Phoenix (1911–12) – Demolished * Tempe City Hall, 140 E. 5th St., Tempe (1913–14) – Demolished 1968 Creighton & McDonald, 1915–?: * Wilson School, 3025 E. Fillmore St., Phoenix (1915) – Demolished * Suhwaro Hotel, 58 W. Buffalo St., Chandler (1916)Crago, Jody
"Throwback Thursday: Downtown Chandler's Suhwaro building"
''http://www.azcentral.com/''. 3 Sept. 2015.

Historic structures

The following are images of historical structures in whose development James M. Creighton played an instrumental role:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creighton, James M. 1856 births 1946 deaths Architects from Arizona 19th-century American architects Artists from Phoenix, Arizona 20th-century American architects People from Miramichi, New Brunswick Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Arizona Territory