On May 14, 2019 at the Greece Public Library as part of their Tuesday Evening Lecture Series, the Greece Historical Society hosted Christopher Brandt and Katie Eggers Comeau and their presentation on The Architecture of James H. Johnson.
Brandt and Eggers Comeau spent 18 months exploring Johnson’s drawings and slides, interviewing his colleagues and family members, viewing archive footage and visiting his buildings. They compiled documentation on Johnson’s lengthy career and his unique vision of creating buildings. They shared their findings with the audience that packed the Welsh room at the library, and included Johnson’s family members and current owners of homes Johnson designed and built. Johnson passed away on February 2, 2016 at the age of 83.
Johnson is best know as the architect of the Liberty Pole in downtown Rochester, The Mushroom House in Perinton and St. John the Evangelist Church in Greece.
Brandt and Eggers Comeau’s talk featured new and old photographs of Johnson’s projects from his most celebrated works to some of the strangest hidden architectural treasures in western New York.
The project documenting Johnson’s career was organized and sponsored by the Greece Historical Society and funded by grants from the Preservation League of New York State, the Landmark Society of Western New York and the Johnson family.
Christopher Brandt is an architect at Bero Architecture. While completing his studies at the University at Buffalo, Brandt undertook an independent study on James Johnson’s work, during which he met the architect and befriended him.
Katie Eggers Comeau is the architectural historian at Bero Architecture. She worked at a preservation consulting firm in Washington, D.C., and the Landmark Society of Western New York. In her current position, she works on historic resource surveys, National Register nominations, and other projects documenting historic architecture in New York State.
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Photos by Karen Fien
