J. Roy White
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J. Roy White (1907–1985) was an American
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and artist known primarily for his architectural work in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
and at the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch.


Life and career

White was born in 1907 in
Crowley, Louisiana Crowley (Local pronunciation: ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Acadia Parish, Louisiana, Acadia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 United States census, Crowley had a population of 11,710. Crowley is the principal city of ...
and moved with his family to Austin, Texas in 1924. He studied architecture at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
, graduating with a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in 1929 and joining the local architectural firm of Hugo Kuehne. White later worked for the City of Austin, building and renovating civic buildings, and in 1943 he moved to another firm, of which he eventually became a partner in 1965. He continued to work in architecture until shortly before his death in 1985.


Architectural works

One of White's first professional designs was the Austin Fire Drill Tower (now known as
Buford Tower Buford Tower (formerly the Austin Fire Drill Tower) is a tower standing along the north shore of Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas. The structure was originally built in 1930 as a drill tower for the Austin Fire Department, but it now serve ...
), built in 1930 and today listed on the
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 ...
. He was also the primary designer of the original
Austin Public Library Austin Public Library is a public library system serving Austin, Texas, United States. It is operated by the City of Austin and consists of the Central Library on Cesar Chavez Street (which replaced the old Faulk Central Library in 2017), the ...
building (now the Austin History Center), built in 1933 and also listed on the NRHP. Other significant designs by White in Austin include work on the library and dormitories at
Huston–Tillotson University Huston–Tillotson University (HT) is a private historically black university in Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1875, it was the first institution of higher learning in Austin. The university is affiliated with the United Methodis ...
, several
Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a school district based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1881, the district serves most of the City of Austin, the neighboring municipalities of Sunset Valley and San Lea ...
schools, the caretaker's cottage and Doris Miller Auditorium at
Rosewood Park Rosewood Park is a historic park on Roger Williams Avenue in Highland Park, Illinois. The park is the former site of the Julius Rosenwald Estate, which was built circa 1910 for businessman Julius Rosenwald. Landscape architect Jens Jensen desig ...
, and various houses in
Old West Austin The Old West Austin Historic District is a residential community in Austin, Texas, United States. It is composed of three neighborhoods located on a plateau just west of downtown Austin: Old Enfield, Pemberton Heights, and Bryker Woods. Devel ...
. He also oversaw the 1944 remodeling of the historic chapel at Oakwood Cemetery and the expansion and restoration of St. David's Episcopal Church downtown.


Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch

In 1952, White was hired by
Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...
(wife of then-Senator
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
) to be the primary architect overseeing the redesign and expansion of her Hill Country home near
Johnson City, Texas Johnson City is a city and the county seat of Blanco County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,627 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1879, it was named for early settler James Polk Johnson, nephew to Sam E. Johnson, Sr. Johnson City i ...
, which would later be known as the "Texas White House" (now part of the
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in central Texas about west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country. The park protects the birthplace, home, ranch, and grave of Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th preside ...
). In 1957, White was called back to design an expansion to the house for additional office space; after Johnson's election as Vice President, in 1961 White redesigned the ranch's guest quarters to be more suitable for political visitors. After the end of Johnson's presidency, White oversaw the restoration of Johnson's childhood home in 1969–70 for the newly-created Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site; he also developed the master plan for the adjoining Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site and designed its Visitor Center and other buildings. By this point White had become a sort of personal family architect for the Johnsons, and he came to be described as one of Lady Bird's "life-long best friends."


Visual arts

Besides producing architectural sketches, White worked in two-dimensional art more generally. He was interested in the traditional log-and-limestone architecture used by early settlers of the
Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...
, and he produced numerous sketches and
watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...
s of old farms and
Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...
landscapes. In his later life he exhibited some of these works, and they were gathered into two published collections, ''Limestone and Log'' and ''Hill Country Revisited''.


References


External links


''Limestone and Log: A Hill Country Sketchbook''''Hill Country Revisited''
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, J. Roy 20th-century American architects American watercolorists University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture alumni 1907 births 1985 deaths People from Crowley, Louisiana Artists from Austin, Texas