John S. Chase

John Saunders Chase, Jr. (January 23, 1925[1] – March 29, 2012) was an American architect who was the first licensed African-American architect in the state of Texas and was 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.[2]

John Saunders Chase, Jr.
BornJanuary 23, 1925
Annapolis, Maryland
DiedMarch 29, 2012(2012-03-29) (aged 87)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHampton University
University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture
OccupationArchitect

On June 7, 1950, when Chase enrolled at the University of Texas, the university became the first major university in the South to enroll an African-American. Upon graduation, no white firm would hire him, so Chase moved to Houston to start his own firm. In 1963, he built the Riverside National Bank, the first black-owned bank in Texas.[3] In 1971, he and 12 others founded the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).[4]

References
  1. "John Chase Biography". Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  2. Thomas E. Luebke, ed., Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 542.
  3. "John Chase, one of UT's first black students, dies". Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  4. "John S. Chase, FAIA, NOMAC". Archived from the original on 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
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