Biography
John Saunders Chase Jr.
Who Was John Saunders Chase, Jr.?
John Saunders Chase Jr.
John and Drucie Chase cutting cake on their wedding day, 1950
John Saunders Chase Jr. was born on January 23, 1925, in Annapolis, Maryland, to John Saunders Chase Sr. and Viola Hall Chase. He showed an early interest in architecture after being introduced to the field by a secondary school teacher.
Chase served in the U.S. Army during World War II while stationed in the Philippines. After the war he enrolled at Hampton University in Virginia, earning his architectural engineering degree in 1948. After graduating, Chase worked in Philadelphia as a drafter, drawing buildings for an architectural firm.
In 1949, Chase relocated to Austin, Texas, to work for the Lott Lumber Company—an African American-owned lumberyard and construction company in East Austin, a Black neighborhood. A year later, Chase met and married Drucie Rucker, a teacher and graduate of Huston-Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University), Austin’s only Historically Black College.
Though he was learning valuable on-the-job experience, Chase also wanted to continue his studies in architecture.
Crossing the Color Line at the University of Texas
John Saunders Chase Jr. seated in a University of Texas at Austin classroom, 1950
In 1950, John Saunders Chase Jr. petitioned to enroll at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Architecture. A recent Supreme Court decision—McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950), issued four years before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education (1954)—had outlawed racial segregation in graduate and professional education, paving the way for Chase’s enrollment. He was one of the first African American graduate students to enroll at the University of Texas at Austin.
Chase graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1952 after completing his thesis, “Progressive Architecture for the Negro Baptist Church.” Two years later, he petitioned the State of Texas to take the architecture licensing exam, becoming the first licensed African American architect in Texas. Chase settled in Houston but struggled to find work with local architecture firms. He eventually established his own firm and taught architecture and design at Texas Southern University (TSU).
John S. Chase’s Mid-Century Modern Architectural Design
John Saunders Chase Jr. was known for his mid-century modernist design style. Many of his homes, churches, and buildings incorporated clean lines, natural settings, large windows, and open floor plans. This was especially true for the homes Chase designed in African American communities around Houston and Austin, Texas.
John and Drucie Chase’s Houston home contained many of Chase’s signature elements and eventually included a 40-foot-high, windowed central courtyard. The Chase’s home was an architectural marvel and became a social hub for middle-class African Americans in Houston.
Featured Video
John S. Chase Building Tour
In 1952, the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas commissioned John Saunders Chase Jr. to design their Austin headquarters. The House of Elegance beauty salon began using the building in 1967. In 2018, The University of Texas at Austin Division of Diversity and Community Engagement bought the building and began restoring it.
In this video, Amory Krueger, Director of Student Engagement Programs for the Center for Community Engagement, provides a tour of the building while explaining the restoration process and how the center plans to use the space.
John S. Chase’s Drafting Toolkit and Templates
These architectural instruments and design templates were used by John Saunders Chase Jr. throughout his career.
[A]ll I know is construction. . . . I wanted to be in the what I call the higher realm of it . . . because I knew that's where the people were that determined what the house would be like, what the building would be like.
John Saunders Chase Jr. , 2004
Building Texas Southern University
The Martin Luther King, Jr. School of Communications with the sculpture African Queen Mother by Carroll Harris Simms
In addition to teaching at Texas Southern University (TSU), John Saunders Chase Jr. was chosen to help construct several campus buildings in the late 1950s. He designed 21 campus buildings and renovated another 15, helping to bring a modernist style to the small, urban, Historically Black University.
In 1969, Chase and his team completed the construction of TSU’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Building, which featured a central cylinder and overhanging canopy. A sculpture and fountain designed by Carroll Harris Simms, a TSU art faculty member, anchors the building’s entrance. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Building became a gathering place for the TSU campus, and Chase’s work at TSU continued through the 1990s. He also designed Tuskegee Institute’s Kresge Administration Center building.
Redesigning the Black Church
St. Agnes Missionary Baptist Church
Blueprint for Boynton Methodist Church, 1956
Beyond his work at TSU, John Saunders Chase Jr. committed to transforming Black communities through architecture. Chase played a central role in the design of many Black homes and churches across Texas. Recognizing churches as major community and social hubs for Black residents, John and Drucie Chase engaged with Black congregations in Houston and Austin, offering to redesign their places of worship. Boynton Methodist Church and First Shiloh Baptist Church are but a few of the churches Chase designed in Houston. Many featured steep angled rooflines and intricate masonry, making the churches focal points for their respective communities.
John S. Chase’s Lasting Legacy
John S. Chase (right) and unidentified man holding blueprints at a building site
John S. Chase (far right) and other architects who designed the Houston Convention Center
John Saunders Chase Jr.’s compelling designs for Black churches and university buildings helped raise his national profile. He was eventually commissioned to work on larger projects across Houston, including the George R. Brown Convention Center. But his commitment to designing for Black communities remained, and Chase’s firm designed the headquarters for The Links, Inc. and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
In 1971, Chase cofounded the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) alongside several of his contemporaries, including William Brown and Nelson Harris. The organization seeks to remove racial barriers and create opportunities for architects of color through mentorship, networking, education, and training.
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