George Vernon Russell (September 4, 1905 – March 17, 1989) was an American architect. He designed many residential properties and commercial buildings in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He also designed the masterplans and a library unit for the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

as well as the 1976 expansion of the

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Its collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. This large col ...

Early life

George Vernon Russell was born on September 4, 1905 in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

. He attended the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

for a year and graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. He also attended the École des Beaux-Arts at Fontainebleau in Fontainebleau, France in 1928.

Career

Russell began his career as a draughtsman in New York City. With fellow architect

Douglas Honnold Douglas Honnold (August 17, 1901 – March 14, 1974) was an award-winning Canadian-born American architect. He designed many residential properties and commercial buildings in Los Angeles, California. He won an Honor Award from the Southern Califo ...

, Russell designed the Alexander Kiam House in Los Angeles circa 1927. He also became a movie set designer in Los Angeles in 1933. A decade later, in 1937, Russell, Honnold and Arthur W. Hawes designed the Hollywood Reporter Building on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...

. During World War II, Russell designed air bases and units for the

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in England and Ireland. After the war, he taught architecture at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. Meanwhile, in 1946, he was hired by William R. Wilkerson to design the

Flamingo Hotel Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly The Fabulous Flamingo and Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The property includes a casino along with 3,4 ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

; however, when

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...

acquired the building, he replaced him with his own architectural team. Also in 1946, Russell and fellow architect Eduardo Jose Samaniego designed the

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factory in Van Nuys. In 1950, Russell designed the Joyce Shoe Company Factory in Los Angeles. He later designed the Republic Supply Co. building in

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...

, for which he won awards at the 1953 Berlin Trade Fair in Germany. In 1952, he designed the Avery Adhesive Label Corporation Office Building in

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...

. He also designed the John J. Pike House at 6675 Whitley Terrace in Hollywood, for which he won a Merit Award in the Single Family Residence Category from the American Institute of Architects in 1954. A few years later, he designed the Cate School in

Carpinteria Carpinteria (; es, Carpintería, meaning "Carpentry") is a small seaside city in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, it had a population of 13,264 at the 2020 census. Carpinteria is a po ...

, for which he won the first prize from the Church Architectural Guild of America in 1958. Russell designed the master plans of the

, where he also designed the Library Unit II in 1963. By 1976, he designed a three-story, 56,000-square-foot expansion of the

. Russell became a Fellow 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 ...

and served as the president of its Southern California chapter in 1958.

Personal life and death

Russell was married in 1942, and he had two children. They lived in Pasadena, California. He died on March 17, 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, George Vernon 1905 births 1989 deaths People from San Bernardino, California People from Pasadena, California Architects from Los Angeles 20th-century American architects University of Southern California faculty Fellows of the American Institute of Architects