John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was a significant American architect who worked out of Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago school style. Root was born son of Sidney Root in Lumpkin, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta. When Atlanta fell during the American Civil War, he fled to Liverpool, England; it is said his later work was influenced by the work of Liverpool Architect Peter Ellis. While t...
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John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was a significant American architect who worked out of Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago school style. Root was born son of Sidney Root in Lumpkin, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta. When Atlanta fell during the American Civil War, he fled to Liverpool, England; it is said his later work was influenced by the work of Liverpool Architect Peter Ellis. While there he studied at Clare Mount School. He returned to the U.S. and received a degree from New York University in 1869. After he graduated, Root took a job with James Renwick, Jr. of Renwick and Sands of New York as an unpaid apprentice. Later he took a job with J.B. Snook in New York. While working for John Butler Snook, he was a construction supervisor on New York City's Grand Central Station. He and Daniel Burnham formed the firm of Burnham and Root and worked together for 18 years. During an economic downturn in 1873, he earned extra income...
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