John A. Carter (1924–2017) was an American architect in practice in Nashua, New Hampshire, from 1953 to 1995.
Life and career John Avery Carter was born June 16, 1924, in Nashua to Eliot Avery Carter and Edith (Gardner) Carter."Carter, John Avery" in Who's Who in the East (Wilmette: Marquis Who's Who, 1988): 142. His grandfather, James R. Carter, was the founder of the Nashua Corporation, one of Nashua's largest employers, and the family maintained a close relationship with the company. Carter was educated at Phillips Academy and at Yale University, graduating in 1949 with a BArch. He worked as a drafter for architects Robert T. Coolidge and E. Carleton Granbery in New Haven and as a designer for Kane & Fairchild in Hartford before returning to Nashua in 1953 to open his own office."Carter, John Avery" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 84. His first work was St. George's Episcopal Church, a small modernist church in Durham. In 1956 he formed a partnership with former classmate Bliss Woodruff, a New Haven native."Carter, John Avery" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1962): 107. In the 1970s Carter & Woodruff was the largest architecture firm in the region.Cynthia Jones, "Building a reputation" in Telegraph, August 16, 1992, F1 and F3. In 1974 the partnership was expanded to include David W. Cheever, an employee since 1958, but was dissolved in 1976. Carter then returned to private practice until his retirement in 1995.
Carter was among the leading New Hampshire architects during his lifetime. He and his firms were frequently honored for their work by the local and national bodies of the American Institute of Architects.Bryant F. Tolles Jr. and Carolyn K. Tolles, New Hampshire Architecture: An Illustrated Guide (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1979) Carter joined the AIA in 1954 as a member of the New Hampshire chapter. He was elected to several chapter leadership positions, and served as president from 1965 to 1968 and as New England regional director from 1980 to 1982."Carter, John Avery" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 141.AIA Journal 69, no. 1 (January 1980): 3. In 1984 he was elected a Fellow, the organization's highest membership honor.John Avery Carter, AIA Historical Directory of American Architects. Accessed October 16, 2022.
Personal life Carter was married in 1950 to Julie Adelaide Macauley, and they had six children. The couple lived in a house on Bartlett Street in Nashua, designed by and built for Carter in 1963, until their retirement to Florida in 1999. Carter died January 11, 2017, in West Palm Beach."Prolific Nashua architect dies at 92," The Telegraph, January 29, 2017. Accessed October 16, 2022.
Architectural works St. George's Episcopal Church, 1 Park Ct, Durham, New Hampshire (1953–54) Holy Trinity Methodist Church, 16 Sylvan St, Danvers, Massachusetts (1957–58) Nashua Corporation office building addition, 44 Franklin St, Nashua, New Hampshire (1959) Temple Beth Abraham, 4 Raymond St, Nashua, New Hampshire (1959–60) Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua White Wing, 58 Lowell St, Nashua, New Hampshire (1959)"Woodruff, Bliss" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1962): 778. Broad Street Elementary School, 390 Broad St, Nashua, New Hampshire (1962–63) YMCA-YWCA (former), 17 Prospect St, Nashua, New Hampshire (1963–64, altered) First Baptist Church, 105 Maple Ave, Keene, New Hampshire (1964–66) McLane Building, White Mountain School, Bethlehem, New Hampshire (1964–65) Mount Sunapee Resort summit lodge, 1398 NH-103, Newbury, New Hampshire (1964–65) Media Arts Center, Keene State College, Keene, New Hampshire (1965) St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 52 Gould Rd, New London, New Hampshire (1966)Lisa Mausolf, Mid 20th Century Architecture in New Hampshire: 1945–1975 (Concord: New Hampshire Department of Employment Security, 2012) Contoocook Valley Regional High School, 184 Hancock Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire (1967–70)Barry Palmer, "$2 Million School Is Seen For Peterborough; Contoocook District To Vote On Regional Plan" in Telegraph, July 18, 1967, 1. Kelley Library, 234 Main St, Salem, New Hampshire (1967) Babcock Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire (1968) Belknap Hall, Plymouth State College, Plymouth, New Hampshire (1969)"Woodruff, Bliss" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 1012–1013. Derryfield School, 2108 River Rd, Manchester, New Hampshire (1969–70) Gibbs Dining Hall, Eaglebrook School, Deerfield, Massachusetts (1969) Baines House, Eaglebrook School, Deerfield, Massachusetts (1970) Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St, Nashua, New Hampshire (1970–71) Bank of New Hampshire Building, 300 Franklin St, Manchester, New Hampshire (1971) Abbie Greenleaf Library addition, 439 Main St, Franconia, New Hampshire (1971)Abbie Greenleaf Library NRHP Registration Form (2003) Nashua Arts and Science Center, 14 Court St, Nashua, New Hampshire (1972–74) James H. Hayes Safety Building, 33 Hazen Dr, Concord, New Hampshire (1975) Merrimack Public Library addition, 470 Daniel Webster Hwy, Merrimack, New Hampshire (1978–79)"Invitation to Bid" in Telegraph, December 27, 1978, 25. Veterans Memorial Library, Daniel Webster College, Nashua, New Hampshire (1985–86)Donald Dillary, "It may look like more books, but its all in the arrangement" in Telegraph, May 8, 1986, 56.
See also John A. Carter Architectural Papers, 1950–1999, New Hampshire Historical Society.
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