C Frank Mahon

Christopher Frank Mahon

• American

Tacoma Architect

Born in 1888, Mahon was a grandson of Christopher Mahon, well-known Pierce County pioneer who sailed around Cape Horn to settle in the Puget Sound region in 1849. Mahon was born on his grandfather's donation claim in Tacoma. In 1913, he entered into a partnership with fellow Tacoma architect Charles Frederick W Lundberg. Their firm was unique because it offered architectural design and engineering services. The firm designed commercial, industrial, and residential buildings of varying sizes. Extant examples of their work in Tacoma include the C.O. Lynn Funeral Home (1918; listed on the national, state, and local registers), Holy Rosary Catholic Church (1920; listed on the Tacoma Register of Historic Places), Scandinavian Salvation Army (1914), Antone Davis Building-Spar Restaurant (1916), Steam Baking Co. (1917), Sauriol-Martin Building-Orpheum Theater (1919), Northern Pacific Bank (1914), City Transfer and Storage Co. (1916), and the P.N. Wallerich House (1923).

The partnership lasted ten years, during which time they designed over 230 buildings. After dissolving their partnership, Mahon took over the Seattle office and Lundberg remained in Tacoma and opened his own office. - NRHP, 23 July 2008