Exhibition

Architects of a Golden Age: Highlights from The Huntington's Southern California Architecture Collection

Documenting one of the most creative and influential periods in Southern California architecture, "Architects of a Golden Age" spotlights about 20 original drawings and plans selected from The Huntington's important Southern California architecture collection.
Roger Hayward (1899-1979), Los Angeles Stock Exchange, façade, ca. 1929, Samuel E. Lunden, architect, John & Donald Parkinson, consulting architects, Gouache on board, 39 x 25 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Dr. James and Mrs. Miriam Kramer, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Roger Hayward (1899-1979), Los Angeles Stock Exchange, façade, ca. 1929, Samuel E. Lunden, architect, John & Donald Parkinson, consulting architects, Gouache on board, 39 x 25 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Dr. James and Mrs. Miriam Kramer, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Roger Hayward (1899–1979), renderer, Los Angeles Stock Exchange, interior of trading room floor, ca. 1929. Samuel E. Lunden (1897-1995), architect, John Parkinson (1861-1935) and Donald Parkinson (1895-1945), consulting architects. Watercolor over graphite on illustration board, 25 1/2 x 39 inches. © Courtesy of Dr. James and Mrs. Miriam Kramer, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Roger Hayward (1899–1979), renderer, Los Angeles Stock Exchange, interior of trading room floor, ca. 1929. Samuel E. Lunden (1897-1995), architect, John Parkinson (1861-1935) and Donald Parkinson (1895-1945), consulting architects. Watercolor over graphite on illustration board, 25 1/2 x 39 inches. © Courtesy of Dr. James and Mrs. Miriam Kramer, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Erle Webster (1898-1971) and Adrian Wilson (1898-1988), architects, Buildings for Mr. You Chung Hong, Los Angeles Chinatown, East elevation facing Broadway, ca. 1936-37. Colored pencil and pastel on tracing paper, 17 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Jane Wilson Higley, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Erle Webster (1898-1971) and Adrian Wilson (1898-1988), architects, Buildings for Mr. You Chung Hong, Los Angeles Chinatown, East elevation facing Broadway, ca. 1936-37. Colored pencil and pastel on tracing paper, 17 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Jane Wilson Higley, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

William Haines (1900-1973), interior designer, Living room of the Sidney and Frances Brody residence, Beverly Hills, ca. 1952. A. Quincy Jones (1913-1979), architect. Ink and watercolor on board, 26 x 47 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of William Haines Designs, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

William Haines (1900-1973), interior designer, Living room of the Sidney and Frances Brody residence, Beverly Hills, ca. 1952. A. Quincy Jones (1913-1979), architect. Ink and watercolor on board, 26 x 47 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of William Haines Designs, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Edward Warren Hoak (1901-1978), chief designer, Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, ca. 1935. John Parkinson (1861-1935) and Donald Parkinson (1895-1945), architects. Charcoal on tracing paper, 16 x 29 5/8 inches. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Edward Warren Hoak (1901-1978), chief designer, Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, ca. 1935. John Parkinson (1861-1935) and Donald Parkinson (1895-1945), architects. Charcoal on tracing paper, 16 x 29 5/8 inches. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Electrical Products Corp. (artist unknown), Neon study for You Chung Hong buildings, Chinatown, Los Angeles, ca. 1936-37. Airbrush, black chalk, colored pencil, and gouache on board, 16 x 25 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Federal Signal Corporation, on behalf of Electrical Products Corporation, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Electrical Products Corp. (artist unknown), Neon study for You Chung Hong buildings, Chinatown, Los Angeles, ca. 1936-37. Airbrush, black chalk, colored pencil, and gouache on board, 16 x 25 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Federal Signal Corporation, on behalf of Electrical Products Corporation, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Elizabeth Calovich (active ca. 1945), renderer, Airform residence for Manuel Reachi, Ensenada, Mexico, ca. 1945. Wallace Neff (1895-1982), architect. Matte opaque paint on cardboard, 10 5/8 x 17 5/8 inches. © Courtesy of Mr. Arthur M. McNally Neff, on behalf of Wallace Neff, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Elizabeth Calovich (active ca. 1945), renderer, Airform residence for Manuel Reachi, Ensenada, Mexico, ca. 1945. Wallace Neff (1895-1982), architect. Matte opaque paint on cardboard, 10 5/8 x 17 5/8 inches. © Courtesy of Mr. Arthur M. McNally Neff, on behalf of Wallace Neff, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

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Roger Hayward (1899-1979), Los Angeles Stock Exchange, façade, ca. 1929, Samuel E. Lunden, architect, John & Donald Parkinson, consulting architects, Gouache on board, 39 x 25 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Dr. James and Mrs. Miriam Kramer, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Roger Hayward (1899–1979), renderer, Los Angeles Stock Exchange, interior of trading room floor, ca. 1929. Samuel E. Lunden (1897-1995), architect, John Parkinson (1861-1935) and Donald Parkinson (1895-1945), consulting architects. Watercolor over graphite on illustration board, 25 1/2 x 39 inches. © Courtesy of Dr. James and Mrs. Miriam Kramer, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Erle Webster (1898-1971) and Adrian Wilson (1898-1988), architects, Buildings for Mr. You Chung Hong, Los Angeles Chinatown, East elevation facing Broadway, ca. 1936-37. Colored pencil and pastel on tracing paper, 17 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Jane Wilson Higley, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
William Haines (1900-1973), interior designer, Living room of the Sidney and Frances Brody residence, Beverly Hills, ca. 1952. A. Quincy Jones (1913-1979), architect. Ink and watercolor on board, 26 x 47 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of William Haines Designs, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Edward Warren Hoak (1901-1978), chief designer, Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, ca. 1935. John Parkinson (1861-1935) and Donald Parkinson (1895-1945), architects. Charcoal on tracing paper, 16 x 29 5/8 inches. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Electrical Products Corp. (artist unknown), Neon study for You Chung Hong buildings, Chinatown, Los Angeles, ca. 1936-37. Airbrush, black chalk, colored pencil, and gouache on board, 16 x 25 1/2 inches. © Courtesy of Federal Signal Corporation, on behalf of Electrical Products Corporation, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Elizabeth Calovich (active ca. 1945), renderer, Airform residence for Manuel Reachi, Ensenada, Mexico, ca. 1945. Wallace Neff (1895-1982), architect. Matte opaque paint on cardboard, 10 5/8 x 17 5/8 inches. © Courtesy of Mr. Arthur M. McNally Neff, on behalf of Wallace Neff, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Documenting one of the most creative and influential periods in Southern California architecture, “Architects of a Golden Age” spotlights about 20 original drawings and plans selected from The Huntington’s important Southern California architecture collection. Depictions of elegant, powerful, whimsical, and iconic buildings tease out the story of a place and time (1920 to 1940) that was ripe for architectural innovation—with rapid growth and the arrival of new talent from other parts of the U.S. The exhibition highlights renderings that helped bring into existence some of the most extraordinary buildings in the greater Los Angeles area, including Downtown L.A.’s Union Station, Mayan Theater, Stock Exchange building, and Chinatown structures, as well as seminal examples of the California Bungalow.

The Huntington’s focus on collecting architectural documentation coincided with the inception of Los Angeles’s preservation movement, which sprang into action around 1978, when there was a dire need to rescue the records of local architects as archives were being destroyed and buildings demolished to make way for redevelopment. The Huntington, with an existing strong foundation of rare architecture book holdings and Californiana, joined in the cause and committed to collecting these records. In the last 40 years, the collection has grown to a trove of thousands of plans, renderings, photographs, and project records.

Related Event

Tour of Downtown Los Angeles with Esotouric Bus Adventures
Saturday, Nov. 24 , 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Join a special exhibition tour and all-day bus adventure exploring several of the buildings featured in “Architects of a Golden Age” with Erin Chase, The Huntington’s assistant curator of architecture and photography and exhibition curator. $90.
Register

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