John Carl Warnecke, renowned architect who designed Kennedy grave site, dies at 91

John Warnecke, Kennedy grave site architect, dies

SAN FRANCISCO — John Carl Warnecke, the architect who worked closely with the Kennedys on numerous projects, including President John F. Kennedy’s grave site at Arlington National Cemetery, has died. He was 91.

The California native died on April 17 from pancreatic cancer at his ranch near Healdsburg along the Russian River, his son, Fred, said.

Warnecke met Kennedy in the early 1960s through a mutual friend, and he developed a close friendship with the first couple.

The president tapped him to restore Lafayette Square across from the White House in 1962. He also looked at sites for Kennedy’s presidential library and worked on the Kennedy’s homes in Hyannis Port, Mass., said Harold Adams, 71, who worked for Warnecke from 1962 to 1977.

“The Kennedys enjoyed his philosophy,” said Adams, chairman emeritus of the Baltimore, Md.-based design firm, RTKL Associates Inc. “I think they just got very comfortable with him and had great respect for him and his work.”

Warnecke was a proponent of contextual architecture, known for bringing a sensitivity to environment and history in his designs.

In Lafayette Square, his design preserved historic townhouses and placed new government buildings behind them, Adams said.

At the naval academy in Annapolis, Md., his expansion plan worked within the academy’s existing footprint.

And in Hawaii, he designed the state capitol building to blend in with the 19th century Iolani Palace nearby.

Even the president’s grave site with its eternal flame reflected Warnecke’s style.

“He was very firm that it had to be a very simple design that fit the landscape,” Adams said.

After the president’s death, Warnecke developed a romantic relationship with Jacqueline Kennedy, his son said.

“They remained friends even toward the end of her life,” he said.

Warnecke was born in Oakland, Calif., on February 24, 1919. He graduated from Stanford University in 1941 and went on to complete a master’s degree in architecture at Harvard University the following year.

Fred Warnecke said his father spent much time at his ranch and vineyard in Healdsburg after retirement.