I read an article in the City Newspaper by
editor, Mary Anna Towler, about architect James Johnson, who recently passed
away. I have a story about him that I’d
like to share.
Sometime in the late 1970’s our family took a cross-country
trip from New York to California. We
were driving down from the north rim of the Grand Canyon when we pulled over in
a rest stop to take a look around at the amazing vista. An Air Stream trailer pulled in besides our
truck camper with a New York State license. We had not encountered any New
Yorkers in several days of our journey and we’re happy to exchange
greetings. A young man, his wife, and
children got out and in our conversation said they were from Pittsford.
“Hey! We’re from
Rochester!” I exclaimed.
I asked, “So what do you do in Rochester?”
He answered he was an architect, at which I asked, “Is there
a building I would recognize?”
He smirked, “You don’t want to know!”
I looked at him and smirked back, “Did you design the
Liberty Pole?”
He grinned, “Yeah.”
I was elated to meet the guy who created the once infamous Liberty
Pole. Like many creative artists, his work was ahead of the popular imagination at that time. He created beautiful sanctuaries and structures that still stand as creative and stunning buildings in Rochester.
I would never have imagined in my
lifetime bumping into James Johnson. But
there we were, on the edge of the Grand Canyon looking out at the vastness of
the scene before us, and together fondly smirking about the Liberty Pole.
Photo: The Big Picture - RIT
