Alberto Owen Treganza, sometimes known as Albert Treganza or A.O. Treganza (March 24, 1876 in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

– July 18, 1944 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

), was an American architect and

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

in the early 20th century.

Architectural career

Treganza trained at a technical school in

Healdsburg, California Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, in California's Wine Country. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,254. Owing to its three most important wine-producing regions (the Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valley ...

and then took architectural classes under

William S. Hebbard William Sterling Hebbard (1863–1930) was an American architect most noted for his work in San Diego County, California. Hebbard briefly worked as a draftsman and assistant for the firm, Burnham and Root in Chicago, and in 1888 for Curlett, Eise ...

. He was later employed in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

for Hebbard's firm he had formed with

Irving Gill Irving John Gill (April 26, 1870 – October 7, 1936), was an American architect. He did most of his work in Southern California, especially in San Diego and Los Angeles. He is considered a pioneer of the modern movement in architecture. Twelve ...

(Hebbard & Gill) where he learned contemporary architectural styles, including modern, craftsman and prairie school styles. He moved to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

in 1900 and formed

Ware & Treganza Ware & Treganza was a leading American architectural firm in the intermountain west during the late 19th and early 20th century. It was a partnership of Walter E. Ware and Alberto O. Treganza and operated in Salt Lake City, Utah. They designed c ...

with Walter E. Ware, a partnership that continued for 25 years from 1901 to 1926. Treganza and Ware were prolific designers during a building boom in Utah. One of his first works was designing the home of an artist and friend

John Hafen John Hafen (March 22, 1856 – June 3, 1910) was a Swiss-born American artist, primarily of landscapes and portraits. As a child, Hafen immigrated to the United States from Switzerland and settled in Utah. There, he demonstrated artistic abilitie ...

, which still stands in

Springville, Utah Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, Utah that is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 35,268 in 2020, according to the United States Census. Springville is a bedroom community for commuters who work ...

and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as John Hafen House. Treganza has many of his architectural designs listed on the U.S.

with his design partner Ware. In 1926 he moved with his family to Florida for a short time before returning to

Lemon Grove, California Lemon Grove is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The population was 27,627 at the 2020 census, up from 25,320 at the 2010 census. History The area that eventually became Lemon Grove was part of Mission San Diego de Alcal ...

. In California, Treganza continued to design many civic buildings and homes in the

Spanish revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

style such as the MacGregor house in Lemon Grove and the former

San Diego Police Department The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of San Diego, California. The department was officially established on May 16, 1889. History Prior to the establishment of the San Diego Police Departme ...

in San Diego. Treganza was a member of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

from 1921 until his death in 1944.

Ornithology

Treganza was an avid birder throughout his life. The

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

''Ardea herodias treganzai'', commonly known as the "Treganza blue heron" was discovered by Treganza on

Antelope Island Antelope Island, with an area of 42 square miles (109 km2), is the largest of ten islands located within the Great Salt Lake in the US state of Utah. The island lies in the southeastern portion of the lake, near Salt Lake City and Davis Coun ...

in the

Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particula ...

in 1907. Treganza, with his family amassed a collection of 30,000 bird eggs from around the world that have since been portioned out into various museums. Treganza and his second wife, Antwonet Kaufman, were both active members of the

Cooper Ornithological Club The Cooper Ornithological Society (COS), formerly the Cooper Ornithological Club, was an American ornithological society. It was founded in 1893 in California and operated until 2016. Its name commemorated James Graham Cooper, an early California b ...

and she wrote a weekly birding column in the

San Diego Union ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

for many years between 1926 and 1940.

Personal life

Treganza married Alma Stevens, who died at the age of 34 in San Diego in 1910. They were the parents of Mary E. and Josephine E. Treganza. He later remarried to Antwonet Kaufman and they were the parents of Dr. Amorita Treganza a noted pediatric optometrist in

(and who the Annual Treganza Essay Contest in Lemon Grove is named after), Adán Treganza a well known anthropologist at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

who the Treganza Anthropology Museum is named after, and Adalaida Maria Treganza a mother of four and an accomplished elementary school educator who taught in East San Diego County for twenty-five years. Treganza also founded the

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

in Salt Lake City in 1922.

Images of architectural works

File:Old Lehi Utah City Hall.jpeg, Lehi City Hall (1926) File:City of San Diego Police Headquarters Jails and Courts.JPG, Former San Diego Police Headquarters (1939) File:Lemon grove monument.jpg, Lemon Grove Monument File:Spanish Village Art Center, Balboa Park 3.JPG, Spanish Village buildings in Balboa Park

Other Individual Works

* Morton A. Cheesman House, 2320 Walker Lane, Salt Lake City, UT, *

NRHP The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

listed * John Hafen House, 956 S. Main St., Springville, UT, *

listed *Alberto O. Treganza House (1909), 1135 East 600 South, Salt Lake City, UT *MacGregor House, 3260-3262 Main St., Lemon Grove, CA *House, 7365 Remley Place, La Jolla, CA *Bank Building (Currently Randall Lamb engineering firm) (1942), 4757 Palm Ave. La Mesa, CA 91941 * Albert G. Wheeler Residence (1928) 4005 Acacia Ave., Bonita, CA

Notes