Reginald Davis Johnson (1882 - 1952) was an American architect. His practice, based in Pasadena, California, 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 Joseph Horsfall Johnson (7 June 1847- 16 May 1928) was the first Bishop of Los Angeles in The Episcopal Church. He founded The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California and served on the Pomona College board of trustees. The Bishop Johnson College ...

, 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 university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

, 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 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 (United States), Republican Party, holding o ...

. 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 upwar ...

, 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 ...

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

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) 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 Sa ...

), Santa Barbara (1919), remodeled by George Washington Smith *Woodward House, Birmingham,AL (1922), built for Birmingham businessman Allen Harvey Woodward 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, Carpinteria, California, eleven miles from Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. T ...

(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, Los Angeles, replaced 1976 * Flintridge Riding Club * La Valencia Hotel, La Jolla, California

References

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