Résumé

Partner, Paff and Baur, Architects, San Francisco, CA, c. 1910-1914.

Principal, John A. Baur, Architect, San Francisco, CA, 1915. Baur had an office in the Sharon Building in 1915, as per Crocker-Langley Company's San Francisco City Directory, 1915, (p. 2066.)

Military service, US Army Air Corps, 1917-1918. The Architect and Engineer of California stated of Baur in 12/1917: “Mr. John Baur, formerly of the architectural firm of Paff & Baur and later associated with Mr. Loring P. Rixford, architect of San Francisco, has been appointed a captain in the U.S. aviation corps. The profession will lose a valuable man (we trust for a short time only), while Uncle Sam will be the gainer in more respects than one.” (See “With the Architects,” Architect and Engineer of California, vol. 51, no. 3, 12/1917, p. 107.)

Architect, Bakewell and Brown, Architects, San Francisco, CA, c. 1915-1927. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1927, p. 328.) The San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1925, (p. 305), indicated that Baur was a draftsman working for Bakewell and Brown. It is likely that Baur's duties were well advanced beyond that of a draftsman by this time.

Architect Arthur Brown, Jr., Architect, San Francisco, CA, 1929-1934. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1929, p. 291 and San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1934, p. 99.)

Relocation

John Albert Baur was born in Petaluma, CA, in Sonoma, County. He lived with his family on 6th Street, according to the 1880 US Census. The family consisted of John’s parents, John and Eliza Baur, and his four siblings, William, Arthur, Lucy, John and Ralph. The Baurs waere well-enough off to afford a nurse, Lucy Porter, (born c. 1815 in England), to assist with the children.

The 1910 US Census noted that Baur resided in Rebecca Stanwood's boarding house at 1946 Post Street in San Francisco. (See Ancestry, Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 40, San Francisco, California; Roll: T624_101; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0252; FHL microfilm: 1374114, accessed 06/15/2020.) Baur had an apartment at 551 Post Street, in 1914, the same building in which architect and colleague John Bakewell, Jr., (1872-1963), also lived in that year. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968, accessed 06/15/2020.)

As per the 1920 US Census, he had a room in an apartment building at 521 Post Street in San Francisco. He lived at this same address in 1927. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 32, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_138; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 195, accessed 06/15/2020. See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1927, p. 328.)

By 1929, at least, he had an apartment at San Francisco's Hotel Paisley at 432 Geary Street. This was confirmed by the US Census of 1930 and the San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1934.(The census recorded that he occupied Room #19 in 1930.) (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0367; FHL microfilm: 2339943, accessed 06/15/2020 and San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1934, p. 99.)

In 1939, Baur maintained his residence at 251 Kearny Street in San Francisco. on 04/26/1942, Baur was unemployed and living at the Hotel Roosevelt in San Francisco, located at 240 Jones Street, on the corner of Jones and Eddy Streets. He remained at the Hotel Roosevelt in 1947. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at San Pedro/Wilmington/Los Angeles, California; NAI Number: 4486355; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 8, accessed 06/15/2020.)

Parents

Baur's parents immigrated to the US from Switzerland, coming to CA by 1868, at least. John Baur, his father, (born c. 1840-d. 01/25/1915 in San Francisco, CA), was a jeweler in Petaluma in 1880. His mother, Eliza, (born c. 1841), managed the household.

His siblings were William Baur, (born c. 1868 in CA), Arthur Baur, (born c. 1869 in CA), Lucy Baur, (born 1873 in CA), and Ralph Baur (born c. 12/1879 in CA).

Biographical Notes

At.age 60, Baur traveled to the Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. He arrived there aboard the Norddeutsche Lloyd liner, S.S. Europa, a ship that originated in Copenhagen on 01/23/1939 and continued through Southampton, England., San Francisco and Los Angeles. Baur got on in San Francisco and landed on the US Virgin Islands on 02/03/1939. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: The National Archives at Washington, D.C; Washington, D.C; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; NAI Number: 2953511; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A3901; NARA Roll Number: 28, accessed 06/15/2020.)

In 1942, Baur stood 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighted 172 pounds. He had a ruddy Caucasian complexion, with blue eyes. His World War II draft registration card indicated that he was bald at the time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) for the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147, accessed 06/15/2020.)

In 1947, Baur sailed from Le Havre, France in 11/1947 arriving in Los Angeles on 12/11/1947. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at San Pedro/Wilmington/Los Angeles, California; NAI Number: 4486355; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 8, accessed 06/15/2020.)