Jack Hall

Who is Jack Hall?

John "Jack” Hughes Hall was an American architect and industrial designer working in the Modernist style. Hall is best known for his residential works on Massachusetts' Cape Cod which were designed to nestle within, rather than overtake, the natural landscape.

Hughes was born on Long Island. He graduated from Princeton University in 1935. Following graduation he worked as a freelance news reporter in Europe. Hall began visiting Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1938, and immediately became fascinated by the landscape – enough to purchase an 180-acre farm compound on Bound Brook Island in Wellfleet from Katie Dos Passos, wife of the writer John Dos Passos. Following the U.S. entry in World War II Hall enlisted in the United States Army and was discharged honorably in 1946.

Hall and friends, Jack Phillips and Hayden Walling were three self-taught, designer-builders in Wellfleet who created a welcoming environment for European Modernists arriving in the mid-1940s. In 1946, Hall began a design-build practice in Wellfleet which he continued intermittently until he retired. Projects included the Peter’s Hill Restaurant building, the Hatch Cottage, and many studios, renovations, and additions.