Benno Janssen (March 12, 1874 – October 14, 1964) was an American architect.
Childhood, education and career
Benno Janssen was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Oscar Janssen and Thekla Susenbeth. Janssen studied at the University of Kansas. In 1899, he began working in architecture in Boston, Massachusetts. He also continued his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1902, Janssen headed for Paris, France, and further studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1905, he returned to the United States to work in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the architectural firm MacClure & Spahr. Janssen left that firm, along with Franklin Abbott, to form their own partnership in 1906, Janssen & Abbott, which remained active until Abbott's retirement in 1918. Janssen next joined with William York Cocken in 1922, and together they started the architectural firm Janssen & Cocken.
Architectural work - commercial
Alumni Hall (1915) at the University of Pittsburgh, formerly the Masonic Temple, went through a two-year, $16 million preservation and renovation effort that was completed in 2000
Janssen also designed many fine residences, including the country estate of George Calvert (1912); the Lee L. Chandler House (1924) in Shadyside; Elm Court, the estate of B.D. Phillips in Butler, Pennsylvania (1929); as well as Fox Chapel's Frank B. Ingersoll House (1931) and La Tourelle, the Edgar J. Kaufmann house (1923). Janssen received many Kaufmann commissions over the years.
The prevailing architectural motif of these Benno Janssen homes was a picturesquely irregular configuration of buildings rambling around a central courtyard. Other features these homes shared include: complex slate roofs with many gables, large groups of rectangular windows, rich oriel and bay windows, interesting chimney treatments, and intricately carved stone detailing.
Many of Janssen's buildings also boast museum-quality wrought-iron by noted Philadelphia artisan Samuel Yellin. Janssen collaborated with Yellin for 25 years, resulting in gracious iron details in his most important projects.
Personal life
Mellon Institute (1937) is known for its monolithic columns, the largest such one-piece columns in the world
Benno Janssen married Edith Patton, the daughter of Central Pennsylvania businessman and future State Senator Alexander Ennis Patton and Mary Boynton Dill, on December 28, 1889, in Curwensville, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. The Janssens were the parents of Mary Patton Janssen, Benno Janssen Jr., and Alexander Patton Janssen.
