John Johnson (1816–1903) was an architect who designed the original Coates House in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, which subsequently became the hotel that is 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 ...

, and was partially destroyed in 1978 in Kansas City's worst hotel fire, which took the lives of 20 individuals. He also served as the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Kansas City, Missouri. Johnson was born in England and moved to New York City in the 1840s and then to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. He moved to Kansas City in 1852 where he platted portions of the soon to be incorporated community of Kansas. He designed Kansas City's first City Hall at 4th and Main (a two-story brick building that included the police department and jail on the first floor). Johnson resigned 35 days after being elected Kansas City's third mayor. He designed the Coates House in 1857. The foundation would be laid but construction would be delayed until after the American Civil War. In 1859 it is believed he moved to Wallula in Leavenworth County, Kansas

References

External links

kchistory.org resources on Johnson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, John 1816 births 1903 deaths 19th-century American architects Mayors of Kansas City, Missouri British emigrants to the United States