Benno Janssen was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

.

Childhood, Education and Career

Benno Janssen was born in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, the son of Oscar Janssen and Thekla Susenbeth. Janssen studied at the University of Kansas

University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

. In 1899, he began working in architecture in Boston, Massachusetts. He also continued his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

. In 1902, Janssen headed for Paris, France, and further studied at the École des Beaux-Arts

École des Beaux-Arts

École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...

. In 1905, he returned to the United States to work in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, for the architectural firm MacClure & Spahr. Janssen left that firm, along with Franklin Abbott, to form their own partnership in 1906, Janssen & Abbott, which remained active until Abbott's retirement in 1918. Janssen next joined with William York Cocken in 1922, and together they started the architectural firm Janssen & Cocken.

Architectural Work - Commercial

He is best known for monumental buildings such as the Pittsburgh Athletic Association

Pittsburgh Athletic Association

The Pittsburgh Athletic Association is a private social club and athletic club in in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Its clubhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....

 (1911), the Masonic Temple

Alumni Hall (University of Pittsburgh)

Alumni Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark that was formerly known as the Masonic Temple in Pittsburgh. Constructed in 1914-1915, it was designed by renowned architect Benno Janssen of Janssen & Abbot Architects...

 (1915 - now Alumni Hall of the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

), William Penn Hotel

William Penn Hotel

The Omni William Penn Hotel is located at 530 William Penn Place on Mellon Square in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A variety of luminaries have stayed at the hotel, including John F. Kennedy. The hotel staff innovated Lawrence Welk's now famous bubble machine, and it was the site of Bob...

 (1916 and again in 1928), Mellon Institute (1937), the Longue Vue Club (1923), Rolling Rock Club

Rolling Rock Club

Rolling Rock Club is a private country club located on along Route 30 about fifty miles outside of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania's Ligonier Valley.-History:...

 and Stables (1928 - near Ligonier, Pennsylvania

Ligonier, Pennsylvania

Ligonier is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2000 census. Ligonier was settled in the 1760s. The borough is well known for nearby Idlewild Park, one of the oldest amusement parks in the country, and nearby Seven Springs Mountain Resort...

), the T.W. Phillips Gas & Oil Company (Butler, Pennsylvania

Butler, Pennsylvania

The city of Butler is the county seat of Butler County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, situated north of Pittsburgh. The population was 15,121 at the 2000 census.- History :...

), the Keystone Athletic Club (1929 - now Lawrence Hall of Point Park University

Point Park University

Point Park University is a liberal arts university located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Point Park College, the school name was revised in 2004 to reflect the number of graduate programs being offered....

), and the Washington Crossing Bridge (Pittsburgh), also called the 40th Street Bridge (1924).

Architectural Work - Residential

Janssen also designed many fine residences, including the country estate of George Calvert (1912), the Lee L. Chandler House (1924) in Shadyside, Elm Court the estate of B.D. Phillips in Butler, Pennsylvania

Butler, Pennsylvania

The city of Butler is the county seat of Butler County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, situated north of Pittsburgh. The population was 15,121 at the 2000 census.- History :...

 (1929), as well as Fox Chapel's Frank B. Ingersoll House (1931) and La Tourelle, the Edgar J. Kaufmann

Edgar J. Kaufmann

Edgar J. Kaufmann was a prominent Jewish German-American businessman and philanthropist. He owned and directed Kaufmann's Department Store, the most prominent one in 20th century Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania...

 house (1923). Janssen received many Kaufmann commissions over the years.

The prevailing architectural motif of these Benno Janssen homes was a picturesquely irregular configuration of buildings rambling around a central courtyard. Other features these homes shared include: complex slate roofs with many gables, large groups of rectangular windows, rich oriel and bay windows, interesting chimney treatments, and intricately carved stone detailing.

Many of Janssen's buildings also boast museum-quality wrought-iron by noted Philadelphia artisan Samuel Yellin

Samuel Yellin

Samuel Yellin , American master blacksmith, was born in Galicia Poland where at the age of eleven he was apprenticed to an iron master. By the age of sixteen he had completed his apprenticeship. During that period he gained the nickname of "Devil," both for his work habits and his sense of humor...

. Janssen collaborated with Yellin for 25 years, resulting in gracious iron details in his most important projects.

Personal life

Benno Janssen married Edith Patton, the daughter of Central Pennsylvania businessman and future State Senator Alexander Ennis Patton and Mary Boynton Dill, on December 28, 1889, in Curwensville, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. The Janssens were the parents of Mary Patton Janssen, Benno Janssen, Jr. and Alexander Patton Janssen.

Janssen retired in 1939 and died in Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...

, October 14, 1964.

Photo gallery of works