John Saunders Chase LbNA #77106
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Add Location| Owner: | Baby Bear
 |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Oct 17, 2024 |
| Location: | Little Cypress Creek Preserve |
| City: | Cypress |
| County: | Harris |
| State: | Texas |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Not yet found! |
|---|---|
| Last found: | N/A |
| Last edited: | Oct 17, 2024 |
Difficulty: Easy
Distance to Letterbox: 100 yards
This box is located in a new connection to Little Cypress Creek Preserve. The story of Chase:
John Saunders Chase (1925-2012) was a man of firsts. He was one of the first Black graduate students to enroll at The University of Texas at Austin, the first African American to graduate from the School of Architecture, and, when none of the predominately white architecture firms would hire him after graduation, he took matters into his own hands, became the first Black licensed architect in Texas, and launched his own firm. Throughout his long and prolific career, Chase’s work was known for being human- and community-centered. His architectural philosophy embraced the Usonian ideals of Frank Lloyd Wright and aimed to create bright, minimalist spaces that brought people together. Early in his career, Chase worked predominately on Black churches, which often served as the heart of the Black communities. Chase applied the ideas explored in his master’s thesis, “Progressive Architecture for the Negro Baptist Church,” in many of these early works including, the First Shiloh Baptist Church in Houston and the David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in East Austin which remains standing on MLK Boulevard to this day. Though many of Chase’s projects were built in Houston, where he relocated to start his own practice, East Austin still boasts a number of his modernist-influenced designs. In addition to the David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, these include the landmark midcentury modern Della Philips House and the Irene Hill Thompson House, Olivet Baptist Church, and the building originally designed for the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas, now named the John S. and Drucie Chase Building and owned by The University of Texas at Austin to house the University’s Division for Campus and Community Engagement. Chase's firm also designed the San Antonio Parking Garage and Mike A. Myers Soccer Stadium and Track Stadium for the University of Texas. Before and during his graduate studies at UT, Chase worked as a draftsman for the Black-owned Lott Construction Company. His talent is visible in the Keystone Addition subdivision that was developed and built by Lott Construction and is still largely intact.
As his career progressed, Chase received larger commissions, taking on more commercial and institutional work. From the late 1950s to the late 1990s, Chase was tapped to design 21 buildings and performed at least 15 renovations for Texas Southern University, where he also taught, in addition to helping devise the campus masterplan. Other notable projects include the George R. Brown Convention Center and Harris County Astrodome Renovation in Houston as well as the Washington Technical Institute, Links Inc. National Headquarters, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. National Headquarters all in Washington D.C. Chase was later awarded a commission to design the United States Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, a fifty-million-dollar complex that was never built. All told, almost 300 known buildings or renovation projects can be attributed to John S. Chase’s firm, spread throughout the southeastern United States from Texas to Washington D.C.,
Directions:
From Hwy 290, exit Telge Rd and go north. At Spring Cypress light that goes right, turn left instead into park, and park at the end of the lot.
Walk ahead and left and go under Telge Road on paved path. On far side go to the #5 sign. Go right of side 5 yards to "V" oak tree. Go past that tree to larger oak tree 5 yards away. Box on back base under rock.
Distance to Letterbox: 100 yards
This box is located in a new connection to Little Cypress Creek Preserve. The story of Chase:
John Saunders Chase (1925-2012) was a man of firsts. He was one of the first Black graduate students to enroll at The University of Texas at Austin, the first African American to graduate from the School of Architecture, and, when none of the predominately white architecture firms would hire him after graduation, he took matters into his own hands, became the first Black licensed architect in Texas, and launched his own firm. Throughout his long and prolific career, Chase’s work was known for being human- and community-centered. His architectural philosophy embraced the Usonian ideals of Frank Lloyd Wright and aimed to create bright, minimalist spaces that brought people together. Early in his career, Chase worked predominately on Black churches, which often served as the heart of the Black communities. Chase applied the ideas explored in his master’s thesis, “Progressive Architecture for the Negro Baptist Church,” in many of these early works including, the First Shiloh Baptist Church in Houston and the David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in East Austin which remains standing on MLK Boulevard to this day. Though many of Chase’s projects were built in Houston, where he relocated to start his own practice, East Austin still boasts a number of his modernist-influenced designs. In addition to the David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, these include the landmark midcentury modern Della Philips House and the Irene Hill Thompson House, Olivet Baptist Church, and the building originally designed for the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas, now named the John S. and Drucie Chase Building and owned by The University of Texas at Austin to house the University’s Division for Campus and Community Engagement. Chase's firm also designed the San Antonio Parking Garage and Mike A. Myers Soccer Stadium and Track Stadium for the University of Texas. Before and during his graduate studies at UT, Chase worked as a draftsman for the Black-owned Lott Construction Company. His talent is visible in the Keystone Addition subdivision that was developed and built by Lott Construction and is still largely intact.
As his career progressed, Chase received larger commissions, taking on more commercial and institutional work. From the late 1950s to the late 1990s, Chase was tapped to design 21 buildings and performed at least 15 renovations for Texas Southern University, where he also taught, in addition to helping devise the campus masterplan. Other notable projects include the George R. Brown Convention Center and Harris County Astrodome Renovation in Houston as well as the Washington Technical Institute, Links Inc. National Headquarters, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. National Headquarters all in Washington D.C. Chase was later awarded a commission to design the United States Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, a fifty-million-dollar complex that was never built. All told, almost 300 known buildings or renovation projects can be attributed to John S. Chase’s firm, spread throughout the southeastern United States from Texas to Washington D.C.,
Directions:
From Hwy 290, exit Telge Rd and go north. At Spring Cypress light that goes right, turn left instead into park, and park at the end of the lot.
Walk ahead and left and go under Telge Road on paved path. On far side go to the #5 sign. Go right of side 5 yards to "V" oak tree. Go past that tree to larger oak tree 5 yards away. Box on back base under rock.