Folger Johnson (July 4, 1882 – November 4, 1970) was an architect who practiced in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Several of his works are listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

for their architecture. Johnson was born on July 4, 1882, in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

. He graduated from the Technical Institute of Georgia and from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1908 to 1910. He worked for an architect in New York City, then came to Portland (in 1911) and worked with architect MacDonald F. Mayer. He then practiced individually and later in partnerships with Jamieson Parker and with Carl H. Wallwork. Partnerships in which he worked include Johnson & Mayer (1911–1916), Johnson, Parker and Wallwork (1920–1927), Johnson & Wallwork (1930–1935), Johnson, Wallwork and Dukehart (1935–1946) and Johnson, Wallwork and Hollis Johnston (1930). He served on the staff of the

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...

in Oregon from 1933 to 1938, and later he served as state director of the

Federal Housing Administration The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), also known as the Office of Housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a Independent agencies of the United States government, United States government agency founded by Pr ...

from 1940 to his retirement in 1950. He also served on the Portland Planning Commission and as a member of the Portland Art Commission. Johnson was married to Edith Waldo and later was married to Shelby Payne. He died in a Portland hospital on November 4, 1970. Town Club south facade in 2015 - Portland Oregon

Town Club south facade in 2015 - Portland Oregon

Works include: * Dr. A. E. and Phila Jane Rockey House (1913), AKA ''Rockholm'', in the outskirts of

, NRHP-listed. with * Ernest G. Swigert House (1934), at 720 N.W. Warrenton Terrace in Portland, NRHP-listed * Umatilla County Library in

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city in and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are ...

, NRHP-listed * Albertina Kerr Nursery (1921) as part of Johnson, Parker and Wallwork, NRHP-listed * The Town Club clubhouse (1930), as part of Johnson, Wallwork and Hollis Johnston, NRHP-listed *

Gresham Carnegie Library The Gresham Carnegie Library, is a historic building in Gresham, Oregon. The Tudor style building designed by Folger Johnson was built in 1913 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. It served as a public li ...

built in 1913 in Gresham, Oregon was his design.

References

20th-century American architects Architects from Portland, Oregon American expatriates in France 1880s births 1970 deaths Columbia University alumni Georgia Tech alumni {{US-architect-19C-stub