Clarence H. Johnston, Sr.

Saint Paul Central High School (1912-1980) designed by Clarence H. Johnston Sr.

Clarence H. Johnston Sr. (1859 – December 29, 1936 in Saint Paul, Minnesota) was an American architect, active in Saint Paul and in Morris, Minnesota. In 1877, Johnston entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a special architectural student. Four years later, he went abroad, traveling in Europe and Asia Minor. Upon returning to the United States, he settled in New York and, while there, founded the Sketch Club which later became the Architectural League. In 1886, Mr. Johnston established his own practice in Saint Paul. Five years later, he was retained by the State Board of Control, preparing plans for the Minnesota State Prison and other institutions. He was architect for the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota and drew plans for all buildings on the new campus and some on the older portion. He was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a past president and director of the Minnesota chapter.

Johnston's son, Clarence Johnston Jr., was also an architect. He designed Coffman Memorial Union and other buildings within the University of Minnesota system.

Notable works

University of Minnesota's Eastcliff residence.

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Campus

• Child Development and Folwell Hall, part of the University of Minnesota Old Campus Historic District
• Collaborator with Cass Gilbert on the Northrop Mall
• Northrop Auditorium
• Walter Library
• Williams Arena

University of Minnesota, Saint Paul Campus

• Haecker Hall (Dairy Husbandry)
• Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Building
• Coffey Hall
• McNeal Hall
• Eastcliff (mansion), the residence of the president of the University of Minnesota.

The Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

Lake side view of Glensheen Historic Estate.

Other buildings

• Minnesota State Fair Grandstand
• Burbank-Livingston-Griggs House, 432 Summit Ave., Saint Paul
• 976 Summit Ave., Saint Paul
• Pierce and Walter Butler House, 1345-1347 Summit Ave., Saint Paul
• Henry Byllesby Row House, Saint Paul
• Saint Paul Academy, lower school building, formerly the Summit School for Girls
• Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf Administration Building, Faribault, Minnesota
• Glensheen Historic Estate, Duluth, Minnesota
• Duluth State Normal School buildings, now the University of Minnesota Duluth lower campus
• Several buildings of the University of Minnesota Morris, dating back to its foundation as West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station Historic District
• Saint Paul Central High School, 1912 building at Marshall Ave and Lexington Parkway.
• Minnesota Humanities Center (Formerly Dowling Memorial Hall on the Gillette Children's Hospital Campus at Phalen Lake), 1924. Building at 987 Ivy Avenue East in St. Paul, Minnesota
• Several buildings on the St. Paul campus of Hamline University.

References

• Lehmberg, Stanford E.; Pflaum, Ann M. (February 2001). University of Minnesota, 1945-2000. ISBN 978-0816632558. 
• Paul Clifford Larson (10/1/1996). Minnesota Architect: The Life and Work of Clarence H. Johnston. Afton Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780963933881.