“The Architecture Of John F. Staub: Houston And The South” 1979 BARNSTONE, Howard The Cary Collection

BARNSTONE, Howard

[363] pp.

University of Texas Press

1979

Second Printing

11 1/4″ x 8 7/8″

w/ 2 original black & white photographs of Staub houses, George A. Hill Jr House 1931 & Ray House 1938

John Fanz Staub (September 12, 1892 – April 13, 1981) was a residential architect who designed numerous traditionally-styled homes and mansions, mostly in Houston, Texas, from the 1920s to 1960s.

Early life

John F. Staub was born on September 12, 1892 in Knoxville, Tennessee to Frederick and Anna Cornelia (Fanz) Staub.

Staub attended high school in Knoxville. He earned a master’s degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1916.

Career

After graduating from MIT, Staub worked for Harrie Lindeberg, who had established an architectural practice specializing in country houses in New York. After serving for two years in the United States Navy, he returned to architecture. Lindeberg dispatched him in 1921 to Texas in order to supervise three commissioned houses in the Shadyside neighborhood of Houston. Two years later he left Lindeberg to establish his own practice in Houston.

In 1924, Staub founded a regional chapter of the American Institute of Architects. In the 1920s, he specialized in designing single-family houses according to popular European styles, though he later shifted to a preference for Georgian Revival. His first solo commission was the River Oaks Country Club in 1924. He continued his solo practice until 1942, when he cofounded the partnership of Staub and Rather, and worked with Staub, Rather and Howse from 1952 until 1963. Throughout his career, he contributed to the design of 31 houses in River Oaks, though he also designed homes in Broadacres. He also performed residential architecture in Beaumont, Texas, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Memphis, Tennessee. Staub’s firms designed buildings for the campuses of the University of Texas, University of Houston, and Rice University. He also designed the parish house at the Palmer Memorial Church.

Personal life

Staub married Madeleine Louise Delabarre on October 4, 1919. They had three children

Death

Staub died on April 13, 1981. He is buried at Glenwood Cemetery.