Skip to main content

John Warren Moutoussamy

By

Image of John Warren Moutoussamy courtesy of wttw

John Warren Moutoussamy

Born in 1922, John Warren Moutoussamy is a notable yet overlooked architect from Chicago. His training began at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1948. There, he studied under the famed modernist, Mies Van Der Rohe. That modernist influence would later be seen in Moutoussamy's most famous commission.

After years of freelancing, Moutoussamy caught the attention of John H. Johnson a national titan in the media business. Looking to expand the headquarters of the popular magazine Ebony and their weekly entertainment outlet Jet, Johnson hired Moutoussamy to design their building on the corner of Michigan Ave and 9th. 


The exterior of Johson Publishing Company Building courtesy of Architectural Digest


The influence of Mies Van Der Rohe can be seen on the exterior of what is called the Johson Publishing Company Building. The columns that run down the front of the building are not only for decoration, but they are also meant to hold the building up without using the exterior walls. A method also employed by Van Der Rohe himself.


Interior of Johnson Publishing Company Building courtesy of wttw
 

Beyond the very modernist exterior of the Johnson Publishing Company Building, the interiors displayed a different story. Inside, warm colors, exciting carpet, and equally psychedelic wallpaper showed a culture that was celebrating black excellence at the prime of the Ebony days.

Though, those days did come to an end. Today, the building still stands but now known as the last and only tower designed by an African American in Chicago. The offices have since been converted into apartments available for rent. However, John Warren Moutoussamy's name and contribution to this historical landmark of the height of black media remain.

So much is to be said about the history of John Warren Moutoussamy and the Johson Publishing Company Building. For starters, this man has been excluded from conversations about Modernist architecture in America. There is very little literature even talking about him and his career. Thus writing an article about became extremely difficult. Design history today has the opportunity to rewrite itself to include those who meaningfully contributed to a movement. The time is now to begin that step. And may John Warren Moutoussamy be on that list.

References


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Althea McNish, Trinidadian Textile Designer

By
By Katrina Filer Born in Trinidad but living in the foggy, grey world of London in the 50s, Althea McNish brought the colorful inspiration of her birthplace to the British textile scene. She was descended from former Black slaves who had fought for the British in the war of 1812, and she was born while Trinidad was still a colony, 38 years before they gained independence. Her impressionist-style prints based in the Caribbean's natural beauty were groundbreaking, pushing the way that her contemporaries looked at fashion, interior design, or anything else that could hold a pattern. Surrounded by a culture that constantly appropriated the art of its colonies (Trinidad included) and deep in a white male-dominated field, McNish still found her place in the fashion and textile industry, wielding genre-defining abstractions of tropical and floral beauty.  Angela Cobbinah. Althea McNish in 2008. Photography courtesy of the Camden New Journal. McNish's early life in Trinidad was charact...
Post a Comment
Read more

John Warren Moutoussamy

By
John Warren Moutoussamy John Warren Moutoussamy studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology and graduated in 1948, a mere 26 years after McKissack & McKissack became the first black-owned architecture firm in the United States (Fazzare and Olson). Moutoussamy studied under Mies Van Der Rohe, and Mies’ strong exterior style and structural design is evident in his work throughout the Chicago area. After finishing his education, Moutoussamy became a partner in the Chicago Architecture Firm, Dubin Dubin Black & Moutoussamy, making him the first African-American in U.S. history to become part of a major established architecture firm (Goldsborough). Later in his career, Moutoussamy also played prominent positions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Loyola University, and the Chicago Plan Commission                As an architect, Moutoussamy followed the style of Mies Van Der Rohe in many of his wor...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beverly Loraine Greene (1915-1957)

By
Beverly Loraine Greene was born October 4 th , 1915 in Chicago Illinois. Although she was born during a time where she was not accepted in the professional world she never stopped moving towards her goal of becoming an architect. In 1936, Greene made history by becoming the first African American female to earn a bachelor of science degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Although she was “ amidst a sea of white male faces” at school, Beverly was known for having a calm presence that allowed her to focus on her difficult education (Illinois.edu). After graduating she began to search for a job in the industry, albeit the many obstacles in her way. Although it was difficult to find work at first due to racial discrimination, Greene’s talent and drive landed her a job with the Chicago Housing authority. This made her the first African American to be a part of the Chicago Housing authority, a corporation that oversees the housing in the cit...
Post a Comment
Read more