John P. Thomas

Deering High School in Portland, designed by Poor & Thomas and built in 1922. The Sprucewold Lodge annex in Boothbay Harbor, built in 1927. The United States Post Office in Sanford, designed by Thomas and built in 1932. The Maine Publicity Bureau Building in Portland, built in 1936. John P. Thomas (March 30, 1886 – August 9, 1944) was an American architect in practice in Portland, Maine.

Life and career John Pickering Thomas Jr. was born in Portland, Maine, in 1886 to John Pickering Thomas and Susan Clifford (Ross) Thomas. He was a grandson of William W. Thomas, one-time mayor of Portland, and nephew of William W. Thomas Jr., the diplomat. He was educated at Milton Academy and graduated from Harvard University in 1909, followed by postgraduate work in the Harvard School of Architecture and travel in Italy. After his return to Boston, Thomas worked for C. Howard Walker and William Welles Bosworth, before joining the office of Wait & Copeland in 1913. Boston architects with Portland connections, their works included a house for Thomas' cousin, William W. Thomas, on the Western Promenade. He resigned in 1917 to serve in World War I, spending his time in the Naval Reserve.

In 1919, Thomas returned to Portland permanently, forming a partnership with architect Charles O. Poor, successor to the practice of Frederick A. Tompson. In 1922, Poor died in a railroad accident, and Thomas continued the business alone. In 1923 he incorporated the firm under his own name, in association with Murray Crosman Binford and Albert Cyprian Hobbs. Thomas continued in independent practice for almost twenty years, closing his office in late 1941 upon the United States' entry into World War II. During the war, Thomas, still in the Naval Reserve, was attached to the local Naval Intelligence office.

Personal life Thomas was married in 1913 to Alice Kimber McCandless of St. Louis. They had three children, including two daughters and one son.

Death Thomas died in 1944, at his summer home in Harpswell, Maine. He was 58. Deering High School, 370 Stevens Ave, Portland, Maine (1922–23) Spaulding Memorial Library, 282 Sebago Rd, Sebago, Maine (1923) Chestnut Street Methodist Church Community House, 17 Chestnut St, Portland, Maine (1924, NRHP 1977) Walter G. Davis house, 402 Pulpit Rock Rd, Cape Elizabeth, Maine (1927–28) Bonney Memorial Library, 36 Main St, Cornish, Maine (1928) YWCA Building (former), 41 2nd St, Bangor, Maine (1929–30) Gov. Samuel Cony House alterations, 71 Stone St, Augusta, Maine (1930, NRHP 1985) Plummer-Motz School, 192 Middle Rd, Falmouth, Maine (1931, NRHP 2016) United States Post Office, 28 School St, Sanford, Maine (1932, NRHP 1986) Quoddy Village, Eastport, Maine (1935–36) Maine Publicity Bureau Building, 501 Danforth St, Portland, Maine (1936, NRHP 1990) Stevens Avenue Armory (former), 772 Stevens Ave, Portland, Maine (1940)