John S. Chase

John Saunders Chase Jr. (January 23, 1925 – March 29, 2012) was an American architect who was the first licensed African American architect in the state of Texas. He was also the only Black architect licensed in the state for almost a decade. He was also the first African American to serve on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which reviewed the design for the United States Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He was born in Annapolis, Maryland, to John Saunders Chase and Alice Viola Hall.

Education and career Chase attended Hampton University as an undergrad, graduating in 1948. On June 7, 1950, Chase enrolled in the University of Texas School of Architecture master's program, making the university the first in the South to enroll an African American. Upon graduation, no white firm would hire him, so Chase moved to Houston, Texas to teach at Texas Southern University and to start his own firm, which he owned and operated for over 50 years. Although he had been designing buildings since the late 1940s, Chase started officially practicing architecture in 1952. In 1963, he designed Riverside National Bank, the first black-owned bank in Texas. In 1971, he and 12 other architects founded the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).

Awards Over the course of his career, Chase received numerous accolades for his professional and civic achievements.

Hampton Outstanding Alumnus at Large (1961) Houston Citizens' Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Award (1967)

Selected works

Deluxe Hotel, Austin, 1949-1953 Colored Teachers State Association of Texas Headquarters, Austin, 1952 Greater Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Houston, 1955 (with David C. Baer) David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Austin, 1959 Della Philips House, Austin, 1966 George R. Brown Convention Center (Banquet Halls and Grand Ballroom, with Golemon & Rolfe Associates, Molina & Associates, Haywood Jordan McGowan, Moseley Associations, and 3D/International)), Houston, 1988 Harris County Astrodome Remodeling and Expansion Project (with CRS Sirrine, Wilson/Griffin, and Haywood Jordan McCowan), 1989/1990 Delta Sigma Theta sorority national headquarters, Washington DC, 1990 School of Law & Government Studies, Townview Center Magnet High School, Dallas, 1991-1995 U.S. Embassy, Tunis, Tunisia, 1992-1995 (never built) San Antonio Garage, University of Texas at Austin, 1993-1994 (with Morris Architects) Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium, University of Texas at Austin, 1999-2000 Toyota Center (associate architect with HOK Sport and Morris Architects), Houston, 2003