John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) 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 ...

who was based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

with

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the ''Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American archi ...

. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. Two of his buildings have been designated

National Historic Landmarks A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

(the

Rookery A rookery is a colony of breeding rooks, and more broadly a colony of several types of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds. Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-fo ...

, and the Reliance); others have been designated Chicago landmarks and 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 ...

. In 1958, he was posthumously awarded the

AIA Gold Medal The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." It is the Ins ...

Early years and education

John Wellborn Root was born in 1850 in Lumpkin, Georgia, the son of Sidney Root, a planter, and his wife, Mary Harvey Clark. He was named after a maternal uncle, Marshall Johnson Wellborn. Root was raised in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, where he was first educated at home. When Atlanta fell to the Union during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Root's father sent young Root and one other boy on a steamer to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where his father, Sidney, had a shipping business based in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. His mother and sister went to

Cuthbert, Georgia Cuthbert is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,520 in 2019. History Cuthbert was founded by European Americans in 1831 as seat of the newly formed Randolph County, after Indian Remova ...

. While in Liverpool, Root studied at a school in Claremount, near Liverpool. His later design work was said to have been influenced by the pioneering work of Liverpool architect Peter Ellis, who designed and built the world's first two metal-framed, glass curtain-walled buildings,

Oriel Chambers Oriel may refer to: Places Canada * Oriel, a community in the municipality of Norwich, Ontario, Canada Ireland * Oriel Park, Dundalk, the home ground of Dundalk FC * Oriel House, Ballincollig, County Cork * Kingdom of Oriel (''Airgíalla'' in Ir ...

(1864) and 16 Cook Street (1866). After Root returned to the U.S., he earned an undergraduate degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1869. After graduation, he took a job with the architect

James Renwick Jr. James Renwick Jr. (November 11, 1818 – June 23, 1895) was an American architect known for designing churches and museums. He designed the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C., and St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan), St. Patric ...

of Renwick and Sands of New York as an unpaid

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

. Later he took a position with John Butler Snook in New York. While working for Snook, Root was a construction supervisor on the original Grand Central Depot, predecessor to

Warren and Wetmore Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm based in New York City, a partnership established about 1889 by Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles D. Wetmore (1866–1941). They had one of the most extensive practices of their time, and were e ...

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

. Root was greatly influenced by the architecture of

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

2010-03-03 1872x2808 chicago reliance building

Chicago and career

In 1871, Root moved to Chicago, where he was employed as a draftsman in an architectural firm. He met

and two years later in 1873, the young men formed the firm of Burnham and Root; they worked together for 18 years.Lanctot, Barbara, ''A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery'', Chicago Architectural Foundation, Chicago, Illinois, 1988 p. 14-15 During the economic downturn in 1873, Root earned extra income on jobs with other firms and as the organist at the First Presbyterian Church.

Mature years (after 1873)

Root developed the floating raft system of interlaced

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

beams, to create a foundation for tall buildings that would not sink in Chicago's marshy soil. Root's first use of this revolutionary system was for the Montauk Building in 1882. He later transferred use of the steel frame to the vertical load-bearing walls in the Phenix Building of 1887, in imitation of William LeBaron Jenney's

Home Insurance Building The Home Insurance Building was a skyscraper that stood in Chicago from 1885 to its demolition in 1931. Originally ten stories and tall, it was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884 and completed the next year. Two floors were added in ...

of 1885. Root, Burnham,

Dankmar Adler Dankmar Adler (July 3, 1844 – April 16, 1900) was a German-born American architect and civil engineer. He is best known for his fifteen-year partnership with Louis Sullivan, during which they designed influential skyscrapers that boldly addr ...

, and

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...

formed the Western Association of Architects because they felt slighted by East Coast architects. Root served as president in 1886. In 1887, he was elected a director of the national

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 ...

. His work from his prime years has been recognized for significance by being designated as

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, and Chicago landmarks. He worked on the plan for the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in Chicago. Before it was constructed, Root died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1891 at the age of 41. He was buried in Uptown's

Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park R ...

Marriage and family

Root married Mary Louise Walker in 1879, but she died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

six weeks later. In 1882, he married for a second time, to Dora Louise Monroe (sister of Harriet Monroe). Their son John Wellborn Root Jr. also practiced in Chicago as an architect. Root's sister-in-law, Harriet Monroe, authored the biography, ''John Wellborn Root: A Study of His Life and Work'' (1896).

Significant buildings

Grannis Block Grannis is a city in Polk County, Arkansas, Polk County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 554 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. Near Grannis is the Boggs Springs Youth Encampment of the American Baptist Association, a r ...

(1880) Chicago (destroyed) * St. Gabriel's Church (1880) Chicago * Montauk Building (1882–1883) Chicago (destroyed) *

Rookery Building The Rookery Building is a historic office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Chicago Loop. Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpie ...

(1885) Chicago, National Historic Landmark (NHL) * Phoenix (Phenix) Building (1887) Chicago (destroyed) *Lake View Presbyterian Church (1888) Chicago * William Chick Scarritt House (1888), NRHP *

Monadnock Building The Monadnock Building (historically the Monadnock Block; pronounced ) is a 16-story skyscraper located at 53 West Jackson Boulevard in the Chicago Loop, south Loop area of Chicago. The north half of the building was designed by the firm of B ...

(1889), Chicago, National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) *

Society for Savings Building The Society for Savings Building, also known as the Society Corp. Building, is a high-rise building on Public Square, Cleveland, Public Square in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The building was constructed in 1889, and stood as the tal ...

, Cleveland, (1889), NRHP *

Reliance Building The Reliance Building is a skyscraper located at 1 W. Washington Street in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, Illinois. The first floor and basement were designed by John Root of the Burnham and Root ar ...

(1889) Chicago, ground floor only, NHL * Keokuk Union Depot (1891) Keokuk, Iowa, NRHP * Temperance Temple (1892) Chicago (destroyed)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Root, John Wellborn 19th-century American architects Chicago school architects Architects from Chicago Architects from Atlanta * 1850 births 1891 deaths Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago) Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois People from Lumpkin, Georgia Western Association of Architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Recipients of the AIA Gold Medal World's Columbian Exposition