John B. Abbott was born in El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, on May 16, 1912.
Abbott graduated from high school in Little Rock in 1930, then attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana to study architecture. He moved back to Little Rock and continued self-directed studies there.
Abbott designed storefronts for Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company starting in 1933 and then returned to El Dorado in 1936 where he worked for the Lion Oil Company designing gas stations and other projects. In 1946 he started his own architecture firm.
Over the course of his career, Abbott designed schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and post offices in El Dorado and across the state. Among his Union County works are the 1940 WPA gymnasium, the Nelson House, Memorial Stadium, and the South Arkansas Arts Center. Abbott was a life member of the American Institute of Architects.
John B. Abbott passed away on February 19, 2012.
#1: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with John B. Abbott at the Newton House Museum; El Dorado, Arkansas, 2009
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with John B. Abbott at the Newton House Museum; El Dorado, Arkansas, 2009
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with John B. Abbott at the Newton House Museum; El Dorado, Arkansas, 2009
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with John B. Abbott at the Newton House Museum; El Dorado, Arkansas, 2009
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
