Josias Joesler

Josias Joesler was a Swiss-American Tucson, Arizona architect.

Born in 1895 in Zurich. Joesler’s architectural legacy would come to articulate the romantic revival Tucson style of the first half of the 20th century.

His major surviving commercial architectural masterpieces are spread throughout the historic Tucson core. Extant buildings are clustered along the Forth Avenue shopping district, the Broadway Shopping center on the corner of County Club and Broadway. The Saint Philips Church and Plaza at Campbell and River Road, St Michel’s Church at 5th and Wilmot and The Ghost Ranch Lodge on Miracle Mile.

Many of his residential buildings are in the Catalina Foothills Estates.

His buildings utilized traditional southwestern hand crafted decorative motifs including: hand applied plaster, hand hewn beams, colored concrete floors and decorative iron/tin work.

Joesler died in Tucson 12 February 1956

Extant Buildings

All buildings located in Tucson unless otherwise noted.

*Broadway Village Shopping Center (1939) - Southwest corner of Broadway Blvd. and Country Club Road.

*Don Martin Apartments - 650 East 9th Street.

*Haynes Building (1928) - 310 East 6th Street

*Forth Avenue Shops (1928) - 616 North 4th Avenue

*Ghost Ranch Lodge - 801 West Miracle Mile

*Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity House (1949) - 1509 East 2nd Street

*Seventh-Day Adventist Chapel (1942) - 1200 North Mountain Avenue

*St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church (1936) - Northeast corner of River Road and Campbell Avenue

*Murphy-Keith Office Building & Catalina Foothills Estate Estate Sales Office/Joesler Studio (1937) - River Road and Campbell Avenue

*Hutton Webster Studio and Residence (1939) - River Road and Campbell Avenue

*Murphy-Keith Building Company Office (1940) - River Road and Campbell Avenue.

*El Merendero Tea Room & Gift Shop (1937) - River Road and Campbell Avenue.

*St. Philip's Park (1936) - River Road and Campbell Avenue.

*Catalina Foothills School (1931) Built by the WPA - River Road east of Campbell Avenue.

*Catalina Foothills Estates - North of River Road between Campbell Avenue and Hacienda del Sol

*Grace Mansion (Eleven Arches) (1937) - Catalina Foothills Estates

*Hacienda Del Sol reconstruction (late 1930s) - Hacienda Del Sol

*Joseler/Loerpabel Residence (1936)

*Johnson Residence (1936)

*El Conquistador Water Tower (1925) - Broadway Blvd.

*St. Michael's and All Angels Episcopal Church (1953) - 620 North Wilmot Road

Demolished Buildings

*Old World Addition (1927 -1928) - Mabel Street, Campbell Avenue, Elm Street and Martin Avenue. Demolished (1970s)

References

Jeffery, R. Brooks. Joesler & Murphey: An Architectural Legacy for Tucson. (1994)

http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/josiasjoesler/index.html

Tucson Home Magazine. A Joesler Retrospective Two Parts: http://www.tucsonhomemagazine.com/features/joesler.html

AZ Daily Star: http://regulus.azstarnet.com/azcommunityprofiles/index.php?comm=catfoo&subsection=realestate

Gellner, Arrol. Red Tile Style: America's Spanish Revival Architecture. Penguin Group, 2002.

Wangner, The Arts and Decoration Book of Successful Houses, Robert M. McBride & Co. 1940.

Tibbets, Joe. Adobe News, Issue #10, 1976.

Regan, Margaret, Joesler Jostle, Tucson Weekly March 15, 2001: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/arts/Content?oid=oid:43791

External links

St. Phillips Church: http://www.stphilipstucson.org

St. Michael Episcopal Parish: http://smaa.mavarin.com/smaa.html

Ghost Ranch Lodge: http://www.ghostranchlodge.com