John Saunders Chase Jr. (January 23, 1925 – March 29, 2012) was an American architect who was the first licensed African American architect in the state of Texas. He was also the only Black architect licensed in the state for almost a decade. He was also the first African American to serve on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which reviewed the design for the United States Vietnam Veterans Memorial.Thomas E. Luebke, ed., Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 542. He was born in Annapolis, Maryland, to John Saunders Chase and Alice Viola Hall.
Education and career Chase attended Hampton University as an undergrad, graduating in 1948. On June 7, 1950, Chase enrolled in the University of Texas School of Architecture master's program, making the university the first in the South to enroll an African American. Upon graduation, no white firm would hire him, so Chase moved to Houston, Texas to teach at Texas Southern University and to start his own firm, which he owned and operated for over 50 years. Although he had been designing buildings since the late 1940s, Chase started officially practicing architecture in 1952. In 1963, he designed Riverside National Bank, the first black-owned bank in Texas. In 1971, he and 12 other architects founded the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).
Awards Over the course of his career, Chase received numerous accolades for his professional and civic achievements.
Hampton Outstanding Alumnus at Large (1961) Houston Citizens' Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Award (1967) Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Inc. Man of the Year (1968) Service to Humanity Award (1972) Houston Association of General and SubContractors Award (1974) Black Entrepreneur Award from National Association of Black Accountants (1977) Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Hall of Fame for Wrestling and Football (1977) AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Citation for Significant Contributions to Social Responsibility (1982) NOMA Design for Excellence Award (1984-1987) University of Texas at Austin Distinguished Black Alumnus Award (1989) Texas Ex-Students Association Distinguished Alumnus Award (1992) Commendation for Meritorious Service Houston ISD Honor Award for Architectural Excellence in School Design, Texas Association of School Boards (for Booker T. Washington High School) City of Annapolis Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Architecture Fleet Owners Golden 100 Award Texas Society of Architects Honor Award In 2025, the University of Texas at Austin named its architecture library the John S. Chase Architecture and Planning Library.
Selected works
Deluxe Hotel, Austin, 1949-1953 Colored Teachers State Association of Texas Headquarters, Austin, 1952 Greater Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Houston, 1955 (with David C. Baer) David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Austin, 1959 Chase Residence, Houston, 1959 Olivet Baptist Church, Austin, 1961 Irene Thompson House, Austin, 1963 Riverside National Bank, Houston, 1963 Della Philips House, Austin, 1966 Martin Luther King Jr. Humanities Building at Texas Southern University, Houston, 1969 Greater Barbours Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Texas City, 1971 Washington Technical Institute, Washington, DC, 1972, 1976-1979 Atlanta Life Building, Atlanta, 1974-1975 Ernest S. Sterling Student Life Center at Texas Southern University, Houston, 1976 Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, Houston, 1976 Booker T. Washington High School, Houston, 1984-1986 (with Morris Architects) Links, Inc., National Headquarters, Washington, DC, 1985 George R. Brown Convention Center (Banquet Halls and Grand Ballroom, with Golemon & Rolfe Associates, Molina & Associates, Haywood Jordan McGowan, Moseley Associations, and 3D/International)), Houston, 1988 Harris County Astrodome Remodeling and Expansion Project (with CRS Sirrine, Wilson/Griffin, and Haywood Jordan McCowan), 1989/1990 Delta Sigma Theta sorority national headquarters, Washington DC, 1990 School of Law & Government Studies, Townview Center Magnet High School, Dallas, 1991-1995 U.S. Embassy, Tunis, Tunisia, 1992-1995 (never built) San Antonio Garage, University of Texas at Austin, 1993-1994 (with Morris Architects) Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium, University of Texas at Austin, 1999-2000 Toyota Center (associate architect with HOK Sport and Morris Architects), Houston, 2003
References
External links
Interview with John S. Chase: President of UT Austin's Ex-Students Association, 1999-11-01, In Black America; KUT Radio, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress)