Nathan Johnson (1926–2021), was an American

modernist architect Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that Form f ...

in Detroit, Michigan. He designed some of the most iconic 1960s churches in Detroit, and it is estimated at forty churches. He also designed public housing, campuses and dorms for churches and schools, single-family residential work and apartment towers. Johnson was active when there were few Black architects in the city of Detroit, and was instrumental in supporting his community. His architecture firm was Nathan Johnson & Associates, Inc., active from 1956 until around 2000.

Early life and education

Nathan Johnson was born on April 9, 1926 in

Herington, Kansas Herington is a city in Dickinson and Morris counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,109. History 19th century Herington was named after its founder, Monroe Davis Herington. His name at b ...

, into an African American family. His father was a railroad worker. Johnson attended

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, where he graduated in 1950 with a degree in architecture. Johnson was in the

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for 3.5 years. In 1952, he married Ruth Gardenhire; together they had three children.

Career

Johnson came to Detroit in 1950 to work as a draftsman for the Black-owned architectural firm, White & Griffin (led by architects Donald Frank White and Francis Eugene Griffin)''.'''''' He left White & Griffin around 1953, during the firms Liberian design projects. Johnson later worked for Austrian-born architect,

Victor Gruen Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012 (July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...

, who specialized in designing shopping malls. Johnson formed his own architectural firm in Detroit in 1956.. His office was at 2512 W. Grand Boulevard in Detroit. He had hired anywhere from two to forty employees at any given time. Debra Davis, Sidney Cobb, Robert Polk, and Spinks were associates that worked at his firm. Johnson mentored many young Black architects in Michigan. One of his most notable designs was Stanley Mannia Café (1969–1971), a Googie style Chinese restaurant in Detroit. Mannia Café became a famous eatery with

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musicians and politicians. In 1963, the

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

newspaper did a profile of Johnson, in which he declared his commitment to Modernism. He did not like

Revival style Revivalism in architecture is the use of visual styles that consciously echo the style of a previous architectural era. Notable revival styles include Neoclassical architecture (a revival of Classical architecture), and Gothic Revival (a reviva ...

architecture, and particularly disliked

Colonial architecture Colonial architecture is an architectural style from a mother country that has been incorporated into the buildings of settlements or colonies in distant locations. Colonists frequently built settlements that synthesized the architecture of their ...

, which he felt did not deserve a place in modern design. In the 1980s Johnson was chosen by Mayor

Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit. Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...

to design all of downtown’s

People Mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...

stations, an automated public transport system in the city of Detroit. Johnson took this as an opportunity that he shared by subcontracting several of the people mover stations to African American peers including Aubrey Agee, Roger Margerum, Howard Francis Sims, and Harold Richard Varner (of Sims–Varner). Johnson joined the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

(AIA) in Detroit in 1953. He won the AIA Detroit Gold medal in 2018. Johnson was a member of the BAG (Black Architects Group).

Late life and death

The firm of Nathan Johnson & Associates, Inc. ended work sometime around 2000. He died on November 5, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 96.

List of architecture work

Churches

Other buildings

References

External links

* Video
Interview with Nathan Johnson
(2018), from Noir Design Parti on Facebook {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Nathan 1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American architects African-American architects African-American history of Michigan Kansas State University alumni People from Detroit People from Herington, Kansas