John Wellborn Root

John Wellborn Root ( born January 10, 1850 in Lumpkin, Georgia, † 15 January 1891 in Chicago ) was a significant American architect. He worked in Chicago with Daniel Burnham together. Root was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. One of his buildings was determined on the historical landmark, others he designed buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Life

Root grew up in Atlanta and went to school there. After the occupation of Atlanta by Northern States troops in the Civil War his family emigrated to Liverpool in England. In Liverpool he studied at Clare Mount School. His later work shows influences of the Liverpool architect Peter Ellis, who had built the world's first two metallgerahmten glass building: Oriel Chambers ( 1864) and the house at 16 Cook Street (1866 ).

After his return to the United States Wellborn Root acquired in 1869 graduated from New York University. He then worked as an unpaid assistant to the architect James Renwick, Jr.. Later he worked in New York City for John Butler Snook. During this time he oversaw the construction of the Grand Central Station. In 1871 he went to Chicago and took a job in an architecture firm to. He made the acquaintance of Daniel Burnham. 1873 both founded together the architectural firm of Burnham and Root. Their collaboration lasted 18 years. Wellborn Root worked part-time for other companies and planned the building of the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago.

Wellborn Root developed a system of steel ties, which enabled the construction of tall houses and thereby prevented the fall of the same into the ground. This system was first used in 1882 during the construction of the Montauk Building. Later, he used this design in the construction of Pheninx Building (1887 ), which mimicked the William LeBaron Jenney in his style 's Home Insurance Building of 1885.

Wellborn Root, Burnham, Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan founded together the Western Association of Architects. Wellborn Root served in 1886 as president of the same. In 1887 he was elected director of the National American Institute of Architects.

He was working on a plan for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Prior to the completion of the draft Wellborn Root died at the age of 41 years of pneumonia. He was buried in Graceland Cemetery. Wellborn Root married in 1879 Mary Louise. Six weeks after the wedding, his wife died of tuberculosis. In 1882 he married Dora Louise Monroe. Their son, John Wellborn Root, Jr., like his father worked as an architect in Chicago.