James Creighton
1856 - 1946
bornDouglastown, New Brunswick, Canada
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BiographyArchitect.James Creighton moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1879 and apprenticed with a builder, studying drafting in night school.
Started his architectural career in 1885. He moved to Tucson and went into a partnership with the successful bidder on carpentry and metal work for the Pima County courthouse. They also worked on construction at Fort McDowell and Fort Huachuca. In 1888 he opened an architectural office and won the bid to design a City Hall for Phoenix. His business grew quickly, extending throughout the territory within a few years. When a severe drought curtailed growth, he moved to Birmingham, Alabama, for a few years. He returned to help rebuild the city of Prescott after the 1900 fire destroyed much of the downtown area. He stayed in Arizona and maintained an office in Phoenix until he was 70. A founding elder of the First Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, he strongly promoted missionary work among the Indians. He designed the first building at Phoenix Indian School, taught classes there, and maintained strong ties with religious missions beyond the city. In 1922 he traveled around the world. He continued to travel and write until his death in 1946 at the age of 90. Many of his writings were later donated by a daughter to the Phoenix Historical Society (now Arizona Historical Society, Central Arizona Division). He was probably Arizona's most prolific architect during the Territorial period. He designed the Old Main Building at the University of Arizona and the Pinal County Courthouse in Florence, both completed in the 1890s. He built the first Phoenix City Hall in 1888, and the first building at the Territorial Normal School in Tempe in 1885 (neither of these two building still stands). He also designed the Dominion Hotel in Globe, the Adams Hotel in Phoenix, and several buildings on Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe, including the (original) Andre Building (1888), the Petersen-Chipman Building (1898), and the Tempe Hardware building (1898). The best remaining examples of Creighton's Victorian style are the Titus house (1310 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale) and the Niels Petersen House (1414 W. Southern Avenue, Tempe), both built in 1892, and the W.J. Murphy house (514 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix), built in 1897. The last buillding he designed was the President's House at the Territorial Normal School (1907).
BIO-Creighton
HPS-171; HPS-237; HPS-242; HPS-244
Hopkins and Thomas, The ASU Story, p. 75.
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