John J. McMahon (architect)

John J. McMahon (architect)
John Joseph McMahon (April 22, 1875 – September 8, 1958) was an American architect who even today remains highly regarded for his churches, schools and other buildings for Catholic clients in Connecticut, especially Hartford and New Haven.
Early life and architectural training
McMahon was born April 22, 1875, in Hartford, Connecticut, where he would live for the rest of his life. He studied as a boy at St. Patrick School where one of his classmates, John F. Callahan, would later become a Catholic priest and one of McMahon's clients. He left school a few months before graduation in 1890 and took a job as an errand boy.
Three years later he was hired by the architectural firm of Frederick R. Comstock as an apprentice. He worked both in Hartford and New York City. His most notable project was the 1899 Second Church of Christ Scientist, located at 68th Street and Central Park West, New York City. His architectural training was cut short when he enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard to take part in the Spanish–American War. Eventually McMahon attained the rank of colonel and was henceforth known, professionally and otherwise, as "the Colonel".
Architectural practice
In 1900 McMahon became associate architect of the Hartford, CT firm J. J. Dwyer & J. J. McMahon, with John J. Dwyer. He remained in this position until 1911 when he entered into a long partnership with Frank Warren Whiton, forming the firm of Whiton and McMahon. They continued together until 1932 when the practice was dissolved due to the economic depression. After that McMahon practiced under his own name and briefly with architect Russell Hills.
Works include
J. J. Dwyer and J. J. McMahon
Mount Saint Joseph Academy, West Hartford, Connecticut
St. Michael Church, Hartford, Connecticut
St. Augustine Church, Hartford, Connecticut (basement only)
St. Joseph Church, Danbury, Connecticut
St. Mary Church, Simsbury, Connecticut (this church has since been replaced)
St, Mary Church, Branford, Connecticut (this church has since been replaced)
St. Patrick Church, Bridgeport, Connecticut (superstructure only, built on a basement church by James Murphy
St. Francis Hospital Hartford, Connecticut (administration building)
Elks Club Lodge, Hartford, Connecticut
St. Teresa Church, Woodbury, Connecticut
St Mary's Home for the Aged, West Hartford, Connecticut
St. Peter's Parochial School, Hartford, CT
St. John's School for Boys, Deep River, CT
St. John's Parochial School, Watertown, CT
St. Joseph's Novitiate, West Hartford, CT
Whiton and McMahon
St. Luke Church, Hartford, Connecticut (basement church, later completed by another unknown architect)
St. Justin Church, Hartford, Connecticut
St. Augustine Church, Hartford, Connecticut (superstructure, school and rectory)
St. Paul Church, Glastonbury, Connecticut
St. Lawrence O'Toole Church, Hartford, Connecticut (with Russell Hills)
St. John of the Cross Church, Middlebury, Connecticut
St. Brendan Church, New Haven, Connecticut
St. Rose of Lima Church, New Haven, Connecticut
St. Bernard Church, Sharon, Connecticut
St. Peter Church, Hartford, Connecticut (new towers)
St. Gabriel Church, Windsor, Connecticut
* St. Mary Chapel, Newington, Connecticut (this church has since been replaced)
Most Holy Trinity Church, Hartford, Connecticut
St. Thomas the Apostle Church, West Hartford, Connecticut
Wilson St. School, Hartford CT
Arsenal School, Hartford CT
Alfred E. Burr School, Hartford CT
St James Parochial School, Manchester, CT
Washington St. School additions, Hartford CT
Richard J. Kinsella School, (now the Betances School), Hartford CT
Dr. James H Naylor School, Hartford, CT
Moylan (Hillside Ave)School, Hartford, CT
John J. McMahon
Corpus Christi Church, Wethersfield, Connecticut
St Peter and Paul Church, Norwich, Connecticut
St. Thomas the Apostle Church (superstructure), School and rectory, West Hartford, Connecticut
References
Reading
Architects of Roman Catholic churches
Architects from Hartford, Connecticut
1875 births
1958 deaths
American ecclesiastical architects