John Hudson Thomas (1878-1945) was an American architect who practiced in the northern California area.

Biography

John H. Thomas was born in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in 1878. His family relocated to the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

when he was still young. He attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, receiving an undergraduate degree in 1902, then received a graduate degree in architecture from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

(UCB) in 1904. From 1904 through 1906 Thomas worked in the architectural office of

John Galen Howard John Galen Howard (May 8, 1864 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts – July 18, 1931 in San Francisco, California) was an American architect and educator who began his career in New York before moving to California. He was the principal architect at in ...

, who had prepared the master plan for the UCB campus. In 1907 Thomas entered a partnership with architect George Plowman, and they designed some 50 residential buildings in the Arts and Crafts style. In 1910 Thomas established his own office, becoming one of the first tenants in the new Berkeley Studio Building, home of the Berkeley Arts and Crafts School. During this period he associated with architects

Bernard Maybeck Bernard Ralph Maybeck (February 7, 1862 – October 3, 1957) was an American architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was an instructor at University of California, Berkeley. Most of his major buildings were in ...

and

Julia Morgan Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect and engineer. She designed more than 700 buildings in California during a long and prolific career.Erica Reder"Julia Morgan was a local in ''The New Fillmore'', 1 Febr ...

, whose ideas influenced his early work. As Thomas took on bigger and more prominent projects, his work became more orthodox, though he continued to have an inclination for interior architecture. He continued working until his death in 1945.

Legacy

Thomas was a prominent member of the

First Bay Tradition First Bay Tradition (also known as First Bay Area Tradition or San Francisco Bay Region Tradition) was an architectural style from the period of the 1880s to early 1920s. Sometimes considered a regional interpretation of the Eastern Shingle Style, ...

architectural school of thought. His reputation rests on the hundreds of homes that he designed for

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. 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. Thomas operated from 1910 to 1945 throughout California with his work influencing residential development styles in the Bay Area throughout the 20th century.

Notable works

*Chisholm House (Berkeley, 1907) *Randall House (Berkeley, 1909) *Pratt-Thomas House (Berkeley, 1911) *W. L. Locke House (Oakland, 1911) *Dungan House (Berkeley, 1911) *Pratt-Verper House (Berkeley, 1911) *Kay House (Berkeley, 1912) *Tudor (esque) cottage (Berkeley) * Spring Mansion (Berkeley, 1912–14) *Wintermute House aka "The Rocks" (Berkeley, 1913) *Sellander House (Berkeley, 1914) *Park House (Berkeley, 1914) *Kruse House (Berkeley, 1914) *Antony House (1915) *Ecole Bilingue (Berkeley, 1915) *Captain Maury's Residence (1922, expansion of existing house) *Blum House (Berkeley, 1926) *Harris Avenue (El Cerrito, 1929) * Hume Castle/Hume Cloister (Berkeley)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John Hudson 1878 births 1945 deaths American architects Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area People from Berkeley, California