From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scottish-American architect (1886/87 - 1963)
The
E. W. Marland Mansion
John Duncan Forsyth (1886 or 1887–1963) was a
Scottish-American architect who became prominent in
Oklahoma . Based in
Tulsa and working in a variety of styles, he was connected with a number of significant buildings around the state.
Biography
According to one source, Forsyth was born in 1886 in
Florence ,
Italy ;
[1] another source says he was born in 1887 in
Kingskettle ,
Fife ,
Scotland .
[2] He was raised in Scotland and studied at
Edinburgh College , and at the
Sorbonne and
L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in
Paris .
[1]
[2]
He immigrated to the United States in 1908.
[2] He was a member of the large team of architects who worked on Central Union Station (now the
Government Conference Centre ) in
Ottawa, Ontario .
[3] He trained with various architects, including
John Russell Pope . during
World War I , he fought with the
Royal Flying Corps .
In 1921 Forsyth moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he became associated with Tulsa architect John McDonnell
[4] He received his Oklahoma architect's license in 1925.
[5] Soon he was hired for what became one of his most famous buildings, the
E. W. Marland Mansion in
Ponca City . The Marland mansion, which is operated as a museum, includes a room dedicated to Forsyth's work.
[6]
Forsyth maintained a prolific practice. During
World War II , he left Oklahoma to serve with the U.S. Navy
Seabees in California and worked there after the war. In the 1950s, he returned to Tulsa.
[4] He had been married a total of six times. Forsyth remained in Tulsa until his death in 1963.
In 2007, John Brooks Walton, a Tulsa architect who had worked for Forsyth, published a biography entitled The Art and Architecture of John Duncan Forsyth .
[2]
Projects
Will Rogers Memorial , Claremore, Oklahoma
E. W. Marland Mansion (1928), 901 Monument Road in
Ponca City , Oklahoma NRHP listed.
[6]
Royalty Building (1929), built by oilman
E. W. Marland , a
mission style architecture building on 4th & East Grand Avenue in Ponca City with retail space on the lower floors and office space above for
E. W. Marland and the E. W. Marland Co. It was purchased from Marland in the 1940s and "is now owned by the Donahoes".The royalty building was purchased by Kevin and Tracy Emmons in early 2018.
[7]
Lamerton House (1930) at 1420 W. Indian Drive in
Enid, Oklahoma , built in
Tudor Revival style.
[4] NRHP listed #97000613.
[8]
H. F. Wilcox Estate (1931), 1351 E. 27th Place, Tulsa, designed in "Elizabethan style".
[9]
Southern Hills Country Club clubhouse (1936), Tulsa (J.D. Forsyth and Donald McCormick, associate architects), designed in the
"European country house style".
[10]
John Duncan Forsyth Residence (1937, restored 1985), built in
Streamline Moderne style.
[11]
[12]
[13]
Will Rogers Memorial (1938), a stone museum and memorial to Oklahoma humorist
Will Rogers , built on a hill overlooking
Claremore, Oklahoma , later substantially expanded.
[4]
Daniel Webster High School (1938), a
PWA -style
Art Deco building in
West Tulsa (Arthur M. Atkinson, John Duncan Forsyth, Raymond Kerr, and William H. Wolaver, architects).
[14]
[15]
Bartlesville High School (originally College High School) (1939), a
Streamline Moderne school in
Bartlesville, Oklahoma .
[1]
[16]
Bartlesville High School
References
^
a
b
c
John Duncan Forsyth at
Price Tower Arts Center website (accessed May 26, 2016).
^
a
b
c
d Judy Randle,
"Architect pens book celebrating his mentor, John Duncan Forsyth" ,
Tulsa World , January 1, 2007.
^
"The Architecture of Ottawa's Central Union Station" , Heritage Ottawa website (accessed May 26, 2016).
^
a
b
c
d
e
f Jim Gabbert, "5 Buildings by John Duncan Forsyth",
Preservation Oklahoma News
Archived 2017-08-12 at the
Wayback Machine , July 2006, p.5.
^
John Duncan Forsyth at Tulsa Foundation for Architecture website (accessed May 26, 2016).
^
a
b
John Duncan Forsyth Room
Archived 2016-06-24 at the
Wayback Machine at
E. W. Marland Mansion official website (accessed May 26, 2016).
^
Oklahoma Main Street Saturday Walking Tours: Ponca City, OK
Archived 2009-07-03 at the
Wayback Machine (accessed March 16, 2010).
^
National Register Properties in Oklahoma: Lamerton House (accessed March 16, 2010).
^ John Brooks Walton "The Architecture of John Duncan Forsyth", (JBW Publications, 2007),
ISBN
0-9759799-3-0 .
^ Charles Faudree, Jenifer Jordan, M. J. Van Deventer, Charles Faudree Interiors (Gibbs Smith, 2008),
ISBN
978-1-4236-0209-5
(
excerpt available at
Google Books ).
^
John Duncan Forsyth Residence
Archived 2009-10-22 at the
Wayback Machine at Tulsa Preservation Commission website (accessed March 16, 2010).
^ Michael Wallis, Way Down Yonder in the Indian Nation: Writings from America's Heartland , (University of Oklahoma Press, 2007),
ISBN
0-8061-3824-6 ,
ISBN
978-0-8061-3824-4 (
excerpt available at
Google Books ).
^
John Duncan Forsyth Residence
Archived 2012-03-24 at the
Wayback Machine ,
Tulsa City-County Library website (accessed March 16, 2010).
^
Art Deco Buildings in Tulsa: Daniel Webster High School
Archived 2009-10-22 at the
Wayback Machine at Tulsa Preservation Commission website (accessed March 4, 2010).
^
Tulsa Art Deco
Archived 2010-10-10 at the
Wayback Machine at
Price Tower Arts Center website (accessed March 4, 2010).
^
"Facility History: The Original Campus" at
Bartlesville High School official website (accessed March 16, 2010).
^
Pensacola Dam
Archived 2011-07-20 at the
Wayback Machine at Oklahoma National Register Properties,
Oklahoma Historical Society , State Historic Preservation Office website.
^ Donald C. Jackson, Great American Bridges and Dams: A National Trust Guide (John Wiley and Sons, 1988)
ISBN
978-0-471-14385-7 , p.254 (
excerpt available at
Google Books ).
^ Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (
University of Oklahoma Press , 2006), p. 12,
ISBN
978-0-8061-3483-3 (
excerpt available at
Google Books ).
^
The American Indian Arts and Humanities Project
Archived 2010-05-30 at the
Wayback Machine at
USAO website (accessed March 16, 2010).
^
National Register Properties in Oklahoma: Oklahoma College for Women Historic District
Archived 2010-06-20 at the
Wayback Machine (accessed March 16, 2010).
^
John Duncan Forsyth
Archived 2011-07-17 at the
Wayback Machine at Tulsa Foundation for Architecture website (accessed March 16, 2010).
^ Kirby Lee Davis,
"These Walls: The Blair Mansion in Tulsa"
Archived 2017-09-07 at the
Wayback Machine , The Journal Record , April 25, 2008.
^ Brian Barber,
"Famed Blair estate to be purchased" ,
Tulsa World , March 11, 2008.
^
Riverside Historic District
Archived 2010-12-01 at the
Wayback Machine at Tulsa Preservation Commission website (accessed October 30, 2009).
^ Kevin Canfield,
"Blair Mansion set for demolition" ,
Tulsa World , January 31, 2014.
International National Other