John Upton Clowdsley (1889-1971)

John Upton Clowdsley was born in 1889 to prominent San Joaquin County residents, William Forsythe and Virginia Olive Clowdsley. He had two siblings, a brother, Forsythe Charles [Tod] Clowdsley, a former district attorney and state assemblyman (d.1840), and a sister, Olive Virginia Clowdsley.

Clowdsley pursued architectural training at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1914 through 1917, but he did not receive a degree. Apparently his service in the United States Army, 1917-1919, ended his formal training as an architect. He received his license in 1920, however a Stockton City and San Joaquin County Directory of 1917 lists Clowdsley's profession as architect. Remaining in Stockton throughout his career, he established several partnerships and executed the majority of his work in San Joaquin County. He was a long-time member of the Central Valley Chapter of the AIA (1946-1971).

From 1920-1923, Clowdsley was junior partner in Losekann & Clowdsley (Stockton). He practiced independently between the years 1924-1944. In 1945 he practiced for one year under the firm Clowdsley, Ernst, Johnson & Mayo (Stockton). He partnered in Clowdsley & Ernst (Stockton) for the year 1947-1948. Upon the dissolution of his partnership with Ernst, Clowdsley worked with Jack Freeman Whipple during the years 1949-1964 as Clowdsley & Whipple (Stockton). He retired in 1965 and continued to work on occasion with his son's (John Clowdsley, Jr.) San Francisco architectural firm, Page, Clowdsley & Baleix.

Clowdsley designed many residential structures in Stockton and San Joaquin County during the decades spanning 1920-1950. In 1922, Losekann & Clowdsley associated with Davis, Heller & Pierce and Peter L. Sala to design the Stockton City Hall. He also contributed work to buildings on the Stockton campus of the University of the Pacific. His designs include: Weber Hall, (presently Eberhardt School of Business) 1924; Omega Phi Alpha (first fraternity house on campus; later Delta Upsilon); Rhizomia (later Sigma Alpha Epsilon); Archania; Grace Covell Hall, 1957-1958; and additions to Epsilon Lambda Sigma (1959) and Delta Delta Delta (1959). Between 1961-1963 he participated in planning UOP's cluster colleges.

Clowdsley died on August 4, 1971, at 82 years of age. _____________

Sources:

American Institute of Architects Membership Directory

[Obituary, William Forsythe Clowdsley] Stockton Daily Independent, November 19, 1917, 4.

[Obiturary, Virginia Olive Clowdsley] Stockton Record, September 22, 1948, 1.

Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library

Stockton, California City Directory (1947-48)

Stockton City Directory (1970)

Stockton City and San Joaquim County Directory (1917)

University Archives, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California