Reginald Davis Johnson (1882 - 1952) was an American architect. His practice, based in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, focused on the Los Angeles area and southern California in general, with a mixture of residential and commercial work. Johnson's later work was influenced by his progressive ideas on housing policy. Charles Francis Paxton house, 1160 South Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, California

Charles Francis Paxton house, 1160 South Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, California

Johnson was born in New York state on July 19, 1882, the son of Joseph Horsfall Johnson, who would become the first Episcopal bishop of Los Angeles from 1896 to 1928. Johnson studied architecture in Paris and then attended 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 ...

, graduating in 1910 and returned to Pasadena. His father would consecrate St. Paul's Cathedral in Los Angeles in 1924, designed by Reginald. Johnson made a good living in the 1920s designing houses in Montecito and Pasadena. Johnson made his name by designing houses for the rich, but also designed more affordable housing, a cause that assumed greater importance to him as the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

wore on. In 1931 Johnson won an award for best design for a small house, receiving the award from

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

. Johnson designed Rancho San Pedro for Los Angeles as a public housing project in 1939. Through the 1930s Johnson worked on the design of

Baldwin Hills Village Village Green, originally named Baldwin Hills Village, is a neighborhood at the foot of Baldwin Hills, within the city of Los Angeles, California. Village Green consists of a large condominium complex that is both a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural ...

in Los Angeles, which was designed as an up-to-date community of inexpensive housing. Johnson collaborated with

Clarence Stein Clarence Samuel Stein (June 19, 1882 – February 7, 1975) was an American urban planner, architect, and writer, a major proponent of the garden city movement in the United States. Biography Stein was born in Rochester, New York into an upwardly ...

, the planner of

Radburn, New Jersey Radburn is an unincorporated community located within Fair Lawn in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Radburn was founded in 1929 as "a town for the motor age".

, and the development was named by 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 ...

as one of the 100 most important architectural achievements in American history.

Works

*Santa Barbara Country Club ("Miraflores") (1909, rebuilt 1913, altered 1915 by Reginald D. Johnson) now the

Music Academy of the West The Music Academy is a classical music training program in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California. Overview The academy hosts an annual eight-week summer music festival, highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composer ...

*Charles and Stephanie (daughter of William H. Workman) Masson Residence, Boyle Heights (1913). Relocated across the street in 1943. *

Saint Saviour's Chapel (Harvard-Westlake School) Saint Saviour's Chapel at Harvard-Westlake School in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, California, is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. #32). The chapel was patterned after the Chapel at Rugby School in England. Its pews face the ...

(1914) *Charles Francis Paxton house, 1160 South Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena (1919), relocated to South Pasadena *Tanglewood (

Lotusland Ganna Walska Lotusland, also known as Lotusland, is a non-profit botanical garden located in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, California, United States. The (15 ha / 37 acres) garden is the historic estate of Madame Ganna Walska. The County of San ...

), Santa Barbara (1919), remodeled by George Washington Smith *Woodward House, Birmingham,AL (1922), built for Birmingham businessman

Allen Harvey Woodward Allan Harvey "Rick" Woodward (1876–1950) was an American businessman and baseball team owner. Woodward began serving as the general superintendent of the Woodward Iron Company in 1899. Following his father's death, he became the company's presi ...

and his wife, Annie Jemison Woodward *All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena (1923) *St. Paul's Cathedral, Los Angeles (1924), demolished 1979 * Hale Solar Laboratory and Solar Observatory, Pasadena (1924) (NHL) *Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel (1927) *

Cate School Cate School is a highly selective, coeducational university-preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9-12 located in Carpinteria, California, eleven miles from Santa Barbara. The school has a current enrollment of 270 students ...

(1928–29) *Ranch San Carlos, the estate belonging to the Jackson family in Montecito, California (1929) *

(1932) *Bellosguardo, the summer home of

Huguette Clark Huguette Marcelle Clark (June 9, 1906 – May 24, 2011) was an American painter, heiress, and philanthropist, who became well known again late in life as a recluse, living in hospitals for more than 20 years while her various mansions remained ...

and her mother, Anna LaChapelle Clark, in Santa Barbara (1933) *Santa Barbara Post Office (1937) *

Good Samaritan Hospital Good Samaritan Hospital or Good Samaritan Medical Center may refer to: India *Good Samaritan Hospital (Panamattom), Koprakalam, Panamattom, Kerala *Good Samaritan Centre, Mutholath Nagar, Cherpunkal, Kottyam, Kerala United States *Banner - Univer ...

, Los Angeles, replaced 1976 * Flintridge Riding Club *

La Valencia Hotel La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, California, known also as "The Pink Lady of La Jolla", is a hotel built in the 1920s in a Spanish colonial revival style that is known for views of La Jolla Cove, and its historic associations with early 20th centu ...

, La Jolla, California

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Reginald Davis 1882 births 1952 deaths Architects from Pasadena, California