San Francisco County
JOHN M. CURTIS
John M. Curtis.–The American people are, above all others, characterized by the individual ambition and self-reliance which leads each to set out for himself, fixing the goal of his endeavor upon the high limit of accomplishment afforded by freedom and equality; the consequence is that while a certain portion of what are so properly styled “self-made men” will be found in every land, nowhere will the proportion of that better element of the population be found greater than here. It is that class above all others that the American people delight to honor, and most deservedly so, for the man of humble origin whose industry, energy and power have enabled him to surmount those drawbacks, and place himself on the same plane with his more favored contemporaries, commands our good opinion in a higher degree, and proves himself the possessor of genuine worth and effective capacity. He has been tried and has been found worthy.
The above short statement is a fitting preface to the article which follows, describing briefly the life of one who, as much as any we know of in San Francisco, is deserving of the honor of his fellow-citizens. We refer to John M. Curtis, the distinguished architect, who owes nothing of his success to fortune or birth, but all to his indomitable perseverance and indefatigable determination. He was born September 7, 1852, at Warsaw, Illinois. At an early age he was left an orphan, and his early boyhood was spent upon a farm in Missouri. He was thrown upon his own resources, and his early lessons were those of independence and persevering industry. He was educated in St. Louis, Missouri, and evinced great merchanical genius; entered into service of Bent & Garrity, leading contractors and builders, and afterward entered the office of Mitchell & Brady, prominent architects of that city.
In 1874 he came to the Pacific coast, and since then for the past sixteen years he has been prominently identified with the building interests as superintendent of the largest and finest buildings in the city and on the coast, and was assistant architect of Baldwin’s hotel and theater, and architect of the Sonoma county court-house, jail and hall of records at Ukiah, Mendocino county, and Humboldt county court-house, the mutual Relief building, Petaluma; Santa Cruz county buildings and jail, the Mammoth winery, corner of Second and Folsom, occupied by Messrs. Kohler and Frohling, and many others. He is a member of the San Francisco Chapter of American Institute of Architects, and Treasurer of the same; is a member of the Pacific Coast Technical Society, and has attained a high reputation in his profession. Mr. Curtis is prominently identified with the leading fraternal societies. His is a member of Mission Lodge, No. 169, F. & A. M.; California Chapter, No. 5; California Council, No. 2; California Commandery, No. 1, and Islam Temple. Is a member of the I. O. O. F., Fidelity, 222, Oriental Encampment, No. 57, Uniform Degree, No. 5, and Templar (Rebekah) degree. He holds membership also in the San Francisco group of Good Samaritans, No. 1, Ivy Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, and is also a staff officer of the Fifth Regiment, National Guards of California.
Transcribed by Donna
L. Becker
Source: "The Bay
of San Francisco," Vol. 2, pages 122-23, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.
©
2005 Donna L. Becker.