Edward Vason Jones

The Edward Vason Jones Memorial Hall, designed by Vason Jones, at the United States Department of State. The White House Vermeil Room in 1990, before redecoration in 1991. The design shown here was done by Clement Conger and Vason Jones. Edward Vason Jones (August 3, 1909 – October 1, 1980), a neoclassical architect and member of the Georgia School of Classicism, began his career in 1936 with the design and construction of the Gillionville Plantation near his hometown of Albany, Georgia. The project impressed Hal Hentz of the well-known Atlanta firm of Hentz, Reid, and Adler so much that he hired Vason Jones as draftsman and superintendent of construction, despite his lack of formal training in architecture.

Career After practicing architecture at Hentz, Reid, and Adler in Atlanta, he moved to Savannah to design warships for the U.S. Navy during the Second World War. His projects included the renovation of the Mississippi Governor's Mansion; and the design of buildings in Albany, Georgia, including the Hugh Shackelford House and Albany-Dougherty Courthouse. The renovations were widely praised, Working alongside White House curator Clement Conger, he restored the White House's three state parlors—the Red Room, Green Room, and Blue Room to their original 1817 styles. He also decorated the home of Richard Hampton Jenrette, an 1826 Federal-style house in lower Manhattan, with American Empire style pieces, which both Jones and Jenrette collected.

Jones's Greek Revival home in Albany, Georgia, was built in 1850 by his ancestors; he outfitted the home in furnishings from the period 1815–1820. Jones died in 1980 and is buried in the Oakview Cemetery in Albany, Georgia. Shortly after his death, the arrival hall in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms was named the Edward Vason Jones Memorial Hall in his honor.