# John Wellborn Root Jr.

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{{Short description|American architect (1887–1963)}}
{{No footnotes|date=August 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = John Wellborn Root Jr.
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1887|7|14}}
| birth_place        = [Chicago](/source/Chicago), Illinois, US
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1963|10|24|1887|7|14}}
| death_place        = [Cape Cod](/source/Cape_Cod), Massachusetts, US
| burial_place       = [Graceland Cemetery](/source/Graceland_Cemetery)
| education          = [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University)<br /> [Beaux-Arts de Paris](/source/Beaux-Arts_de_Paris)
| occupation         = Architect
| father             = [John Wellborn Root](/source/John_Wellborn_Root)
}}

'''John Wellborn Root Jr.''' (July 14, 1887 &ndash; October 24, 1963) was a significant United States architect based in [Chicago](/source/Chicago).

==Biography==
thumb|right|200px|Root's grave (center) at Graceland Cemetery

John Wellborn Root Jr. was born in Chicago, the son of architect [John Wellborn Root](/source/John_Wellborn_Root) and Dora Root.<ref name=Marks>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-root-familys-archi/194493545/ |title=Root Family's Architectural Marks on Mid-West |first=Don |last=Hoffmann |newspaper=[The Kansas City Star](/source/The_Kansas_City_Star) |page=24 |date=1963-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260330033102/https://img.newspapers.com/img/img?clippingId=194493545 |archive-date=2026-03-30 |url-status=deviated |access-date=2026-03-29 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> As a young man, he graduated from [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) and studied architecture at Paris' [École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts](/source/%C3%89cole_nationale_sup%C3%A9rieure_des_Beaux-Arts), where he became friends with [John Augur Holabird](/source/John_Augur_Holabird), the son of another famous Chicago architect.  Root returned to the States and joined his friend on the architectural staff at [Holabird & Roche](/source/Holabird_%26_Roche) in 1919.

After the deaths of [William Holabird](/source/William_Holabird) in 1923 and [Martin Roche](/source/Martin_Roche) in 1927, the firm was reorganized under the new partnership of Holabird & Root.  They worked on many dazzling projects in the late 1920s and early 1930s, before the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) slowed new construction.  These years are notable for the firm's many impressive [Art Deco](/source/Art_Deco) buildings.

The firm weathered the Depression and Root remained an active partner into old age.

He died in [Cape Cod](/source/Cape_Cod) on October 24, 1963, and was buried at [Graceland Cemetery](/source/Graceland_Cemetery) in Chicago.<ref name=Marks/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-john-w-root-76-archit/194493959/ |title=John W. Root, 76, Architect, Dies; Rites Set |newspaper=[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune) |page=24 |date=1963-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260330033436/https://img.newspapers.com/img/img?clippingId=194493959 |archive-date=2026-03-30 |url-status=deviated |access-date=2026-03-29 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==Significant buildings==
*[Palmolive Building](/source/Palmolive_Building), 1929
*[333 North Michigan Building](/source/333_North_Michigan_Building), 1928
*[Chicago Board of Trade Building](/source/Chicago_Board_of_Trade_Building), 1930
*[Chicago Daily News](/source/Chicago_Daily_News) Building, 1929
*[Chrysler Building](/source/Chrysler_Building) at the [Century of Progress](/source/Century_of_Progress) 1933-34 World's Fair
*[North Dakota State Capitol](/source/North_Dakota_State_Capitol), 1934
*Northern Hotel, Billings, reference Billings Gazette, July 7, 1942

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Bruegmann, Robert.  ''Holabird & Roche/Holabird & Root: An Illustrated Catalog of Works, 1880-1940''.  New York: Garland Publishing, 1991.

==External links==
*[http://www.holabird.com Holabird & Root's current website]
*[http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2704.html Holabird & Root Chicago Encyclopedia entry]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051227091141/http://www.chicagohs.org/collections/architecture.html Holabird & Root Archive at the Chicago Historical Society]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Root, John Wellborn Jr.}}
Category:1887 births
Category:1963 deaths
Category:Architects from Chicago
Category:Art Deco architects
Category:20th-century American architects
Category:Cornell University alumni
Category:American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts
Category:Holabird & Root
Category:Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Wellborn Root Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wellborn_Root_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wellborn_Root_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.