John Galen Howard

Wheeler Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, designed by Howard and completed in 1917. In the background is Sather Tower, completed by Howard in 1915. John Galen Howard (May 8, 1864 – July 18, 1931) was an American architect and educator who began his career in New York before moving to California. He was the principal architect at several firms in both states and employed Julia Morgan early in her architectural career.

Early life and education John Galen Howard was born May 8, 1864, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Howard was son of physician, Levi Howard and Lydia Jane Hapgood, a homemaker and he had four brothers. Howard was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1882 to 1885) and the École des Beaux-Arts (1891 to 1893).

Career He worked for H. H. Richardson in Brookline, for his successors Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge in Boston and for McKim, Mead & White in New York City. They also submitted an unsuccessful entry in the competition to design the Master Plan for the University of California, Berkeley. Despite not winning the commission outright, in 1901 Howard dissolved his partnership when he was chosen by the Regents of the university to execute the accepted plan, known as the Hearst Plan. In 1902, he reestablished his practice at Berkeley, and in 1903 formally established the School of Architecture, now part of the College of Environmental Design. As supervising architect of the University of California, Howard built extensively. His most famous buildings are the Campanile, California Memorial Stadium, Sather Gate and the Hearst Greek Theatre.

In 1904, Howard relocated his office to San Francisco, and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake formed the firm of Howard & Galloway with engineer John D. Galloway. This partnership was dissolved in 1908. After fifteen more years of private practice he formed the firm of John Galen Howard & Associates, with associates Henry Temple Howard, E. Geoffrey Bangs, Henry C. Collins and Charles F. B. Roeth. Howard's projects during these years include several buildings at the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition in Seattle, three of which were designed to be reused by the University of Washington, and the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. Howard's influence at the university began to wane after the retirement of president Benjamin Ide Wheeler in 1919, and he was seen as uncooperative by the Board of Regents. In 1922, the commission for the new Hearst Memorial Gymnasium was awarded to Julia Morgan and Bernard Maybeck without his input, and in 1924 his contract as supervising architect was not renewed. In 1927, he resigned as director of the School of Architecture and retired from his architecture practice, though he continued to teach at the university until his death in 1931.

Personal life He married Mary Robertson Bradbury on August 1, 1893.

Howard completed many notable projects and was elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1901. In 1910, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician.

Many of Howard's works are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Works Buildings for the University of California, Berkeley Hearst Memorial Mining Building, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1902–07, NRHP 1982) Hearst Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1903, NRHP 1982) Senior Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1903–06, NRHP 1982) Doe Memorial Library, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1904–11, NRHP 1982) California Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1905, NRHP 1982) North Gate Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1906, NRHP 1982) Sather Gate, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1910, NRHP 1982) Durant Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1911, NRHP 1982) Wellman Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1912, NRHP 1982) Drawing Building, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1914, NRHP 1976) Sather Tower, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1914–15, NRHP 1982) Gilman Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1916–17) Hilgard Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1917, NRHP 1982) Wheeler Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1917, NRHP 1982) Dwinelle Hall Annex, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1920) California Memorial Stadium, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1922–23, NRHP 2006, rebuilt 2010–12) Haviland Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1924, NRHP 1982) LeConte Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1924, NRHP 1982)

Buildings elsewhere Hotel Renaissance annex, Fifth Ave and W 43rd St, New York City (1896, demolished) Barringer High School (former), 90 Parker St, Newark, New Jersey (1898–99, demolished) Electric Tower, Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New York (1901, temporary structure) Carnegie Library (former), 73 Church St, Montclair, New Jersey (1902–04, NRHP 1988) Chemistry Hall (now Architecture Hall), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (1907–09) Adam Grant Building, 114 Sansome St, San Francisco, California (1908) Pierce-Arrow Building, 1001 Polk St, San Francisco, California (1912-13) San Francisco Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove St, San Francisco, California (1913–15) Berkeley National Bank Building, Center St and Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, California (1914, demolished) First Congregational Church, 2501 Harris St, Berkeley, California (1923–25)

Gallery of works