Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Joseph Brevitt IV TOWNSEND
Joseph B. Townsend (Jr.) was born in Philadelphia, the son of Natalie Richards and Joseph Brevitt Townsend, and graduated from Episcopal Academy in Merion, PA before earning a B.Arch. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1934. Townsend won a Beaux Arts Institute of Design first mention for a Class B Project "A Walled Garden" his senior year. In 1932, he took a leave from his Penn studies to attend lectures at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Shortly after completing his architecture degree, Townsend joined the office of Tilden, Register & Pepper as a draftsman, and remained with the successor firm, Tilden & Pepper. He continued to work for George Wharton Pepper Jr., a fellow Episcopal Academy and Penn graduate, after his departure from the firm in 1940. Townsend's career was interrupted by World War II service in the U.S. Air Force, but he returned to Philadelphia in 1945 and joined the office of Sydney E. Martin. Townsend left in 1948 to establish his own firm, but he continued to work in association with Martin in the 1950s.
Townsend joined the national AIA in 1948, and was a member of the Philadelphia Chapter. He served as the chairman of the Zoning Commission for the Borough of Chester Heights, PA from 1954 to 1955; he was a member of the Borough Council of Chester Heights from 1952 until 1961. Townsend's wife was the former Annis Lee Furness, the granddaughter of well-known Philadelphia architect Frank Furness.
Written by Emily T. Cooperman, and Rima M. Girnius.
| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |
Return to The Pennocks of Primitive Hall website.
The information in this database may contain errors. If you find any questionable data, or if you have something to add my findings, please feel free to e-mail me by clicking on the "E-MAIL" link above. Thank you!
Page built by Gedpage Version 2.21 ©2009 on 07 July 2020