Gustaf Adolph Johnson (1889-1985) was an American architect and politician from Worcester, Massachusetts.
Life and career Gustaf Adolph Johnson was born September 9, 1889, in Worcester to John A. Johnson and Christina (Fors) Johnson, both of whom had immigrated from Sweden in 1884. He attended public schools, graduating from the English High School in 1907. He then went to study in the Washington-based atelier of Glenn Brown, an MIT-trained architect. When he returned to Worcester, he took a job with the architect George H. Clemence. After a brief period, he accepted a position in the Worcester Boys' Trade High School, where he was an instructor in drawing. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Johnson served in the governmental service department for the rehabilitation of disabled soldiers. This eventually took him to Chicago, where he attended classes in architecture at the Armour Institute. In Chicago he worked for Patton, Holmes & Flinn, where he worked on buildings for Carleton College in Minnesota.John Nelson, "G. Adolph Johnson," in Worcester County: A Narrative History, vol. 3 (New York: American Historical Society, 1934): 82-83.
When Johnson returned to Worcester in 1922, he opened his own office and began to practice as an architect. For forty years he was associated with fellow architect Jasper Rustigian. Though for the most part they shared only their resources, not their projects, for part of the 1940s and 1950s they were in a formal partnership, the firm then being known as Johnson & Rustigian, and briefly as Johnson, Rustigian & Kunz with a third partner. Johnson continued to practice into the 1960s.
Johnson was a member of the Worcester chapter of the American Institute of Architects, but was not a member of the national organization.
Political and personal life Johnson was a Republican. He was a member of the Worcester City Council from 1924 to 1926, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 17th Worcester district in 1927–28.Public Officials of Massachusetts, 1927-28 (Boston: Boston Publicity Review Service, 1927) In addition to his professional affiliations, Johnson was also a member of a number of social and fraternal organizations. He was a director of the Skandia Bank and Trust Company of Worcester and a trustee of Fairlawn Hospital.
Johnson married in 1914, to Signe C. Thorn of Worcester. They had no children. He died June 27, 1985, in Westborough.
Architectural works Calvary Lutheran Church, Salisbury and Wachusett Sts, Worcester, Massachusetts (1925, demolished 1948) North Worcester Aid Society addition, 58 Holden St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1928, NRHP 1980)Historic Building Detail: WOR.125, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Worcester Public Library Billings Branch (former), 15 Hamilton St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1929)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1261, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Providence Street Junior High School (former), 211 Providence St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1930–31)Historic Building Detail: WOR.2294, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Alumni Gymnasium and Atwood Hall, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts (1937–38)The Life of a Campus: 9 Essays on Clark Buildings Past and Present, ed. Kristina Wilson (Worcester: Clark University, 2012): 15-22. First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1939)Historic Building Detail: WOR.704, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Worcester Art Museum addition, 55 Salisbury St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1939–40)"Worcester: Plans & Additions" in Art News 37, no. 32 (May 6, 1939): 18. Immanuel Lutheran Church, 346 Shrewsbury St, Holden, Massachusetts (1948–49) Phillipston Memorial School, 20 The Common, Phillipston, Massachusetts (1948)Historic Building Detail: PHL.9, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Chandler Street Junior High School, 525 Chandler St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1950)Sigfried Giedion, Walter Gropius: Work and Teamwork (New York: Reinhold, 1954) Burncoat Junior High School, 135 Burncoat St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1951) Fairlawn Hospital addition, 189 May St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1951)Historic Building Detail: WOR.738, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. All Saints Episcopal Church Education Building, 10 Irving St, Worcester, Massachusetts (1954)Historic Building Detail: WOR.1008, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. St. Francis Episcopal Church, 70 Highland St, Holden, Massachusetts (1955)Historic Building Detail: HOL.47, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Bullock and Wright Residence Halls, Jefferson Hall and Jeppson Laboratory, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts (1958–59) West Building, Memorial Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts (1961–62)Engineering News-Record 116, no. 21 (May 25, 1961): 62. Paul R. Swan Library, Becker College, Leicester, Massachusetts (1963)Historic Building Detail: LEI.108, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System.
Gallery of architectural works
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