Henry John Klutho

Henry John Klutho (19 March 1873–1964) was an American architect known for his work in the "Prairie School" style. He helped in the reconstruction of Jacksonville, Florida after the Great Fire of 1901—the largest-ever urban fire in the Southeast—by designing many of the new buildings built after the disaster. This period lasted until the beginning of World War I. Several Jacksonville architects began their careers in the offices of Klutho's firm.

Early life Klutho was born on 19 March 1873, in Breese, Illinois, a small Midwestern town. He was the son of Theo and Moliter Klutho. His German grandparents had immigrated to the United States in 1840, landing in New Orleans and moving to southern Illinois, where they bought land from the government. Theo Klutho became a lumber dealer and a landowner of substance. The family was Roman Catholic and Henry John attended parochial schools for his elementary education. He lived in Breese until the age of 16, when he left home for St. Louis, Missouri to study business at Commercial College, where for a year and a half he took classes in business. Finding artistic pursuits more to his liking, he developed an interest in architecture and attended Schenke's Drawing Academy for a year to develop drafting skills. He then trained with architects in the city for three years to gain work experience. In 1898 he left to travel in Europe, where he studied and sketched the architectural masterpieces of Beaux-Arts architecture, before moving to New York City in 1899 and opening an office.

Work Little is known of Klutho's work during the period from the setting-up of his architectural practice in New York in 1899 until his leaving the city in 1901. It was probably traditional and well-designed like his earliest known design, for a Catholic cathedral built in Newark, New Jersey. Klutho read about the Great Fire of 1901 in the New York Times and recognized the opportunity of a lifetime. He finished his current projects in New York and moved to Jacksonville to help rebuild the city. The subsequent rebuilding of downtown Jacksonville in the aftermath of the Great Fire introduced Modern architecture to Florida. Klutho was among those who helped design the Windsor Hotel.

To establish his credentials in the community, Klutho entered into a brief association as a junior partner with the architect J. W. Golucke of Atlanta and introduced himself to local business leaders. was built at a cost of $75,000, Other projects soon followed, including the new City Hall and private homes.

During a business trip to New York City in 1905, Klutho met Frank Lloyd Wright, and the event changed Klutho's life. Wright and other Chicago area architects had originated a new American style of architecture that became known as the "Prairie School", which discarded traditional European features of building design, such as Roman arches and Greek columns. The new style appealed to Klutho, who adapted his own style to accommodate Wright's ideas.

Klutho and other architects in the city enamored of Prairie School architecture designed local buildings with an exuberant Florida flair.

Klutho not only designed the building, but acted as construction manager using the fast-track method, whereby work begins prior to design completion. Remarkably, the project was finished in less than a year and a half. The structure was named the St. James Building, and it was Klutho's crowning achievement. When dedicated on October 21, 1912, it was the largest structure in Jacksonville, occupying an entire city block. The St. James Building was the featured article in The Western Architect and Klutho's work was highlighted throughout the magazine in June 1914. The most striking interior feature was a 75-foot octagonal glass dome, which served as a skylight. The elevators were open "cages", giving passengers a view of the store. The building exterior was decorated with large abstract terra-cotta ornaments. The former department store is now Jacksonville's City Hall.

Later generations in Jacksonville did not appreciate the creativity and style of his designs. His contributions to the rebirth of the city were mostly ignored, except by his colleagues. Regarding this fact, he quoted Desiderius Erasmus: "In the land of the blind, a one-eyed man is king." Klutho lived to be 91, but had little money, making his later years difficult. Following his death, much of his work was razed or "renovated". In the mid-1970s, a number of his creations were added to the National Register of Historic Places, assuring their preservation. The Morocco Temple and the St. James Building still stand, and the Klutho Apartments in Springfield were recently restored and converted into office space by the local Episcopalian charity, Fresh Ministries. Despite losses over the years, Jacksonville still has one of the largest collections of Prairie Style buildings (particularly residences) outside the Midwest. The Jacksonville Historical Society takes special interest in his work: Dyal–Upchurch Building Florida Baptist Building Old Jacksonville Free Public Library (a/k/a Carnegie Library) Larimer Memorial Library Morocco Temple St. James Building (now the Jacksonville City Hall) Thomas V. Porter House Alexander St. Clair-Abrams House Henry John Klutho House the architect's residence Bisbee Building Florida Life Building Hotel James in Palatka

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