John Collins This is Me

 View all 9 references Web References

1. 1. ANDROPOGON: Personnel E-mail List

   www.andropogon.com/email.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/27/2005   Last Visited: 1/27/2005

   John Collins

2. 2. capegazette.com - Cape Region's Home Page

   www.capegazette.com/storiescur - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/31/2003   Last Visited: 5/31/2003

   "I came to this project about two months ago with a fresh pair of eyes," said John Collins, an architect with Andropogon. "It was my job to take the space and make it work with the canal."
   
   The location of the bathrooms was one of the first design elements Collins amended. The facilities no longer jut out into the park and have been relocated under the slope of the grade change. Both community center visitors and those outside have easy access. A 180-square-foot kitchen is located on the first floor which greatly enhances the use of the center, said Collins.
   ...
   "The life saving station was my inspiration for this building," said Collins, "and the gable structure allows for maximum light into the gallery space.

3. 3. www.dailyprogress.com

   www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/15/2007   Last Visited: 4/15/2007

   What makes the structure all the more remarkable is that its designer, Thomas Jasper "T.J." Collins, didn't have any formal training in architectural design. What he did have were family members who were architects and carpenters, and they likely shared their knowledge with him.
   
   Collins' grandfather, John Collins, had been a respected Washington architect.
   ...
   Collins apparently didn't enjoy the same level of success in this arena as many of his relatives had before him. By 1890 he was looking for a new start and happened to see an advertisement generated by the Staunton Development Co.
   
   On to the valley
   
   The company was looking for a draftsman, and after reviewing Collins' qualifications, it hired him. Collins pulled up stakes and headed south to the Shenandoah Valley, where he would leave an indelible mark.
   
   Collins worked for the company for about a year, but things didn't pan out as he had hoped. He was a family man with children, and the job apparently wasn't providing him with the security he needed.
   
   Staunton was an important railroad hub, and Collins correctly supposed that it would continue to need new homes and commercial buildings. So in 1891 he left the company and set his sights on building a career in the field of architecture.
   ...
   Collins also had two daughters.
   
   During the remaining years of his life, Collins designed or remodeled nearly 200 buildings in Staunton. He came out of retirement in 1912 to help his sons design the Dixie Theater.
   
   The theater was to be an elegant showpiece, where the citizenry could gather to enjoy vaudeville shows and silent movies in luxurious comfort. The exterior was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, which incorporated arches and ornate flourishes.
   
   It's been suggested that Collins got many of his ideas from reading architectural journals. In this period before rapid transit, journals were the way architects often shared their designs with others.
   
   But the journals only could provide Collins with basic ideas. It was his innate genius that transformed the raw knowledge into the unique creations that continue to awe viewers to this day.
   
   Charlottesville also has been blessed with many talented architects.