John Howard Stevens (February 23, 1879 – February 1, 1958) was an American architect who worked in the

Shingle style The shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture. In the shingle style, Engli ...

and the

Colonial Revival style The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exposition, Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened A ...

Early life

Stevens was born in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, in 1879, the oldest child of

John Calvin Stevens John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine. ...

, a noted architect, and Martha Louise Waldron. From the age of five, he lived with his family at 52 Bowdoin Street in Portland's West End. He was educated in the Portland schools.''American Institute of Architects'' (1956)

Career

Stevens began his career as a draftsman, and worked in his father's architectural firm from 1898. They became partners in 1904, under the name Stevens Architects, a business which lasted until his father's death in 1940. Stevens' son, John Calvin II, had joined the practice seven years earlier. The duo went into partnership with James Cooper Saunders in 1953. In 1909, Stevens and his father assisted

Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (architect), Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was an American list of architecture firms, architecture firm ...

in designing today's Portland City Hall.

Notable works

* Nathan Clifford School, Portland, Maine (1907)Cox, Heather (2013). NRHP nomination for Nathan Clifford School; available by requested from the Maine Historic Preservation Office * Public Library,

Limington, Maine Limington is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,892 at the 2020 census. Limington is a tourist destination with historic architecture. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Histor ...

(1912) * Homes comprising the Norton House Historic District,

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth ( ) is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. A northern suburb of Portland, Falmouth borders Casco Bay a ...

(1913) * John B. Curtis Free Public Library, Bradford, Maine (1915) * Concord Haven,

Embden, Maine Embden is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 902 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Included in the to ...

(1915) * The Birches, Belgrade Lakes, Maine (1916) * LeRoy F. Pike Memorial Building,

Cornish, Maine Cornish is a New England town, town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,508 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. The main village in town is t ...

(1925) * Schlotterbeck and Foss Building, Portland, Maine (1927) * Portland Water District Building, Portland, Maine (1928) * U.S. Post Office-Portland Main, Portland, Maine (1932) * Deering Estate Barn, Portland, Maine (remodel; 1947)

Personal life

Stevens married Agnes McFadden in 1903, with whom he had three children: Mary Caroline, John Calvin II and Howard Winchester. Mary died in infancy; John and Howard lived into their 80s. He served as secretary and treasurer of the Maine chapter of the American Institute of Architects between 1934 and 1940, and as its president between 1940 and 1946. Like his father, Stevens was a painter who specialized in watercolors.

Death

Stevens died in 1958, aged 78. He was interred in Portland's Evergreen Cemetery, the same burial site of his parents. His wife was buried beside him upon her death fifteen months later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, John Howard 1879 births 1958 deaths Architects from Portland, Maine Painters from Maine 19th-century American architects 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American architects 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists American male painters Portland High School (Maine) alumni Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Portland, Maine)