Reginald Johnson on Display in the McBean

January 13, 2017

On Friday January 13 McBean Library became the temporary home of the display, Building Community: Reginald D. Johnson, Architect. For the past six months, the display, curated by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, was housed at Casa de la Guerra in downtown Santa Barbara. The display will remain at Cate until the end of February.

From the exhibit: Known for his lavish residential projects, many in the Santa Barbara area, Reginald Johnson’s other local projects included Cate School, the Biltmore, and his most notable important public building, Santa Barbara’s Downtown Post Office. Later in his career, he went on to prioritize community life through landmark public housing in the Los Angeles area. By showcasing the work and career of this exceptional architect, we hope to draw attention to the role architecture plays in our daily lives by creating an appealing place to live and work, and reinforce the spirit of preservation that has long been a hallmark of this community.

Apart from his extensive design work at Cate, Johnson’s father, Bishop Joseph Horsfall Johnson was the first president of the Cate Board of Trustees. The opening reception for the exhibit is Saturday, January 14 from noon to 1 p.m. Rose Thomas, as curator from the Trust will provide an overview of the exhibit at 12:15 p.m.