John N. Richards (1904–1982) 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 ...

in practice in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, from 1940 to 1976. From 1958 to 1960 he was president of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

Life and career

John Noble Richards was born April 23, 1904, in

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...

. His family moved to

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

in 1911, where he was educated in the public schools. After his graduation he worked for the local

architectural firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countr ...

of Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff before moving to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he attended the architecture school of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He graduated with a B.Arch. in 1931. While in Philadelphia he worked for architects G. Edwin Brumbaugh,

Zantzinger, Borie & Medary Zantzinger, Borie and Medary was an American architecture firm that operated from 1905 to 1950 in Philadelphia. It specialized in institutional and civic projects. For most of its existence, the partners were Clarence C. Zantzinger, Charles Loui ...

and Ritter & Shay before returning to Mills in Toledo in 1932. He would remain with this firm and its successors for the rest of his career. In 1940 he was made a principal in the firm, and in 1944 it was renamed Bellman, Gillett & Richards to recognize changes in leadership. His associates Lawrence S. Bellman and John Gillett died in 1951 and retired in 1954, respectively, and Richards assumed control of the firm. In 1962 the firm became Richards, Bauer & Moorhead to include Richards' new associates, Orville H. Bauer and Robert C. Moorhead. From Gillett's retirement in 1954 until his own retirement in 1976, Richards was head of the firm."Richards, John Noble" in ''American Architects Directory'' (New York: R. R. Bowker, 1956): 459. Richards joined the

in 1935 as a member of the Toledo chapter, and was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

in 1955. He served as chapter president and as second and first vice president in the national organization before being elected president in 1958. He was elected to a second term in 1959. After his presidency he was elected to honorary membership in the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, the

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization that has represented architects and architecture for over 100 years, in existence since 1907. The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built ...

, the Society of Architects of Mexico and the Philippine Institute of Architects.R. Randall Vosbeck, ''A Legacy of Leadership: The Presidents of the American Institute of Architects, 1857–2007'' (Washington: American Institute of Architects, 2008) In 1977 he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Arts The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin language, Latin ''artium doctor'') is a List of academic disciplines, discipline-based terminal degree, terminal doctorate, doctoral academic degree, degree that was originall ...

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

"Newslines" in ''AIA Journal'' 65, no. 11 (October, 1977): 116. and in 1980 he was elected an associate of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

Personal life and death

Richards was married in 1938 to Norma Helen Haase. They lived in Ottawa Hills, where Richards was mayor from 1966 to 1972. After his retirement he and his wife traveled extensively. He died August 26, 1982, at the age of 78. In his memory the Toledo chapter of the AIA honored him with a memorial in the Toledo Botanical Garden in the form of "Small Park With Arches" by Alice Adams."Deaths" in ''AIA Journal'' 71, no. 12 (October, 1982): 103.

Gallery

File:Toledo Central YMCA.jpg,

Toledo YMCA The YMCA Building, now known as 1100 Jefferson or the Court Services Building, is a historic building in downtown Toledo, Ohio. The National Register of Historic Places listed the former YMCA of the USA, Young Men's Christian Association structu ...

designed while with Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff and completed in 1935 File:Block Card 1600 Madison Avenue - DPLA - 0ec312eaf777ef0323ebde37a3d09955.jpg, Lucas County Title Office designed while with Bauer, Stark, and Lashbrook and completed prior to 1960 File:Math-Sciences Building (BGSU).jpg, The Mathematical Sciences Building of

, designed while with Richards, Bauer & Moorhead and completed in 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, John N. Architects from Toledo, Ohio Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Presidents of the American Institute of Architects People from Warren, Ohio 1904 births 1982 deaths