John Wellborn Root, Jr.

The homonymous father of John Wellborn Root, Jr. (1887-1963) was one of the first American architects to build skyscrapers in Chicago. Root, Jr. graduated from Cornell University and then went to Paris to attend the École des Beaux-Arts. He submitted his project in 1932, the “Field House - University of Chicago”, with the office Holabird & Root. John Root, Jr. was a friend of John Augur Holabird (see also Holabird & Roche) since student times and together they ran the company after the death of Holabird, Sr. and Roche. The company survived the Great Depression and still exists today.

Holabird & Root designed a series of spectacular Art Deco buildings. In 1945, Root became a member of the Planning Commission of Chicago. The Field House at the University of Chicago named “Henry Crown Field House” was built in 1932 in the neo-Gothic style. The hall housed a clay ground for football and baseball training, a running track and a raised wooden floor for basketball. In 1976, the building was renovated and the interior rebuilt.