William L. Johnston
William L. Johnston was a carpenter-architect who taught architectural drawing at the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia, and won a number of important Philadelphia commissions. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 38 after a trip abroad for his health.
Philadelphia buildings
- Phil-Ellena, Germantown, Philadelphia, PA. This mammoth Greek-Revival mansion on a estate was the largest private residence in Philadelphia.
- Mercantile Library, 125 S. 5th St., Philadelphia, PA.
- Bank of Commerce, 211 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA.
BANK OF COMMERCE, formerly the Moyamensing Bank. Incorporated in the year 1832, with a capital of $250,000. The present banking-house of this institution, located in Chestnut west of Second Street, is constructed of brown stone. In the design of this building, the architect, the late Mr. JOHNSTON, has evidently studied utility more than display; yet the genius of the true artist manifests itself throughout, and few of our public buildings of this order, surpass it as an imposing piece of architecture.
- Central Presbyterian Church, 832–836 Lombard St., Philadelphia, PA. Founded by Rev. Stephen H. Gloucester, a former slave, this was the first black Presbyterian church in Philadelphia. The congregation moved to West Philadelphia in 1939, and the building is now a private residence.
- Entrance Gate to Hood Cemetery, 4901 Germantown Ave., Germantown, Philadelphia, PA.
- Jayne Building, 242–44 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA . Charles E. Peterson argued that Johnston's building was a proto-skyscraper, and influenced the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, who worked directly across the street from it in the office of Frank Furness. Peterson's efforts to save the building were unsuccessful; it was demolished in 1957 in the creation of Independence National Historical Park.