John N. Richards

Mershon Auditorium of the Ohio State University, designed by Bellman, Gillett & Richards and completed in 1957. John N. Richards (1904–1982) was an American architect in practice in Toledo, Ohio, from 1940 to 1976. From 1958 to 1960 he was president of the American Institute of Architects.

Life and career John Noble Richards was born April 23, 1904, in Warren, Ohio. His family moved to Toledo in 1911, where he was educated in the public schools. After his graduation he worked for the local architectural firm of Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff before moving to Philadelphia, where he attended the architecture school of the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with a B.Arch. in 1931. While in Philadelphia he worked for architects G. Edwin Brumbaugh, Zantzinger, Borie & Medary and Ritter & Shay before returning to Mills in Toledo in 1932. He would remain with this firm and its successors for the rest of his career. In 1940 he was made a principal in the firm, and in 1944 it was renamed Bellman, Gillett & Richards to recognize changes in leadership. His associates Lawrence S. Bellman and John Gillett died in 1951 and retired in 1954, respectively, and Richards assumed control of the firm. In 1962 the firm became Richards, Bauer & Moorhead to include Richards' new associates, Orville H. Bauer and Robert C. Moorhead. From Gillett's retirement in 1954 until his own retirement in 1976, Richards was head of the firm. In 1977 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts by Bowling Green State University and in 1980 he was elected an associate of the National Academy of Design.

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