John Fraser was a Scottish-born American architect who practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 and Washington, DC.

His most significant surviving building is the Union League of Philadelphia (1862–65), a High Victorian, Second Empire gentlemen's club constructed of brick and brownstone.

His career is overshadowed by that of his former student and one-time partner, Frank Furness

Frank Furness

Frank Heyling Furness was an acclaimed American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his eclectic, muscular, often idiosyncratically scaled buildings, and for his influence on the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan...

 (Fraser, Furness & Hewitt: 1867-71), whose influence is visible in Fraser's Washington, DC mansions for James G. Blaine and John T. Brodhead.

He served as acting supervisory architect for the U.S. Treasury (December 1878 - May 1879), created a master plan for the U.S. Capitol grounds, and served on the commission to complete Robert Mills

Robert Mills (architect)

Robert Mills , most famously known for designing the Washington Monument, is sometimes called the first native born American to become a professional architect, though Charles Bulfinch perhaps has a clearer claim to this honor...

's Washington Monument

Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...

.

He was one of the founders of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects

American Institute of Architects

The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...

.

He maintained a residence in Riverton, New Jersey

Riverton, New Jersey

Riverton is a Borough located in Burlington County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough had a total population of 2,759....

, and designed a number of buildings there. By 1888, he had entered into a partnership with his son Archibald, and continued working until about 1902.

Notable buildings

• Union League of Philadelphia (1862–65)
• General Plan for the Extension of the U.S. Capitol Grounds (1874)
• Calvary Presbyterian Church, Riverton, New Jersey (1878–79)
• Brodhead-Bell-Morton Mansion
  Brodhead-Bell-Morton Mansion
  The Brodhead-Bell-Morton Mansion, also known as the Levi P. Morton House is an historic house, located at 1500 Rhode Island Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Logan Circle neighborhood.-History:...
  
  , Washington, D.C. (1879)
• James G. Blaine Mansion
  James G. Blaine Mansion
  The James G. Blaine Mansion, is an historic house, located at 2000 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.-History:The Queen Anne style house was built in 1881, designed of architect John Fraser....
  
  , Washington, D.C. (1881).
• Christ Episcopal Church, Riverton, New Jersey (1884)
• Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland (1922)

External links