Samuel Juster


Samuel Juster, AIA was an American architect who practiced during the mid-20th century in New York City and New Jersey.

Career

Early life and education

Juster was born in Bucharest, Romania. He earned a diploma from Cooper Union in 1917. He studied Beaux Arts, Corbett-Gugler, Atelier, between 1915 and 1917, and earned a diploma from the International Correspondence School in 1918. In 1956, his office was located at 36G Broadway, New York City.

Early career

While earning his diplomas, Juster was Squad Leader, draftsmen and writer for Goldner & Goldberg from 1913 to 1917; he was a draftsman, writer, and supervisor at the firm of Alfred C. Bossom from 1918 to 1924 where he met Anthony J. DePace with whom, in 1923, he formed the partnership DePace & Juster, an architectural firm.

DePace and Juster (1923–1947)

Anthony DePace left the firm of Cass Gilbert in 1923 and formed DePace and Juster with Juster. The firm continued in practice until 1947, when the partnership was dissolved. Juster claimed in 1956 that the practice was established in 1925 and disestablished in 1948.

Works

Samuel Juster, AIA (1948–present)

Juster established his own firm under his own name in 1948, a year after DePace had done the same, suggesting that DePace disbanded the partnership and Juster was slower to reestablish himself. As the junior partner of DePace & Juster, the multiple differences in the dates between the Juster and the DePace could be explained by DePace taking the initiative in their joint activities with Juster playing catch-up. Juster was registered as an architect in New York City and New Jersey.

Works

Awards, honors, and professional affiliations

Legacy

Juster's former partner, DePace, had a prolific career as a designer of Roman Catholic buildings. Juster appears to have balanced out the firm's portfolios with non-Catholic commissions, including many Jewish commissions. Between the first and third editions of the American Architects Directory, he made no changes to his original entry, including prominent commissions. He did not file an entry in 1970 but, most of his 1956 commissions were as DePace & Juster.

Family

On March 12, 1922, Juster married Minnie Silberman in Brooklyn. They had two children, Howard Herbert Juster and Norton Juster, both of whom became architects. One of his grandsons, Kenneth Ian Juster, served as U.S. Ambassador to India from 2017 to 2021.

Home addresses

In 1956, Samuel Juster resided at 25 Lefferts Avenue, Brooklyn.