Gordon Bernie Kaufmann (19 March 1888 – 1 March 1949) was an English-born American architect mostly known for his work on the

Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...

Early life

On 19 March 1888, Kaufmann was born in Forest Hill, London, England.

Education

Kaufmann attended

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

in south

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, and went on to graduate from the London Polytechnic Institute, circa 1908. Kaufmann then moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, where he spent the next six years.

Career

During Kaufmann's early career, he did much work in the

Mediterranean Revival Style Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

, which had become popular at that time. He was also the initial architect for

Scripps College Scripps College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1 ...

, a

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a popul ...

. It is a member of the

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)—Pomona College, Scr ...

. Kaufmann, along with landscape architect Edward Huntsman-Trout, designed the general campus plan featuring four residence halls to be built the first four consecutive years of the College (1927–1930). The project's design is primarily in the Mediterranean Revival style. While gaining recognition for Kaufmann's work on the Scripps campus, he was also hired by

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 ...

in 1928 to design the complex of dormitories now known as the South Houses, and the building for the

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

, a private club located on the school's campus. Later in his career, Kaufmann worked primarily in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style, with a personal emphasis on massively thick, streamlined concrete walls which gave his buildings a very distinctive appearance. Kaufmann's buildings as a result took on a very "mechanical" appearance, often resembling huge versions of old-fashioned appliances. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

headquarters is a perfect example of this. His work was also part of the architecture event in the art competition at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Projects

This is a selected list of Kaufmann's projects. * 1920 Hacienda del Gato, Tradition Golf Club - 78-505 52nd Avenue, La Quinta, California, Architect * 1924

Hale Solar Laboratory The Hale Solar Laboratory is a historic astronomical observatory in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, United States. Built in 1923, it was the laboratory of astronomer George Ellery Hale (1868-1938), a pioneering figure in the developmen ...

- 740 Holladay Road, Pasadena, California, Architect * 1926

La Quinta Resort & Club The La Quinta Resort & Club is a historic resort in present-day La Quinta, California. Designed by Gordon Kaufmann and built by Walter H. Morgan, the hotel opened in 1926 as a desert getaway. Originally built as a series of adobe bungalows on o ...

- 49-499 Eisenhower Drive, La Quinta, California. Architect. * 1926 Milton Getz House - 1011 North Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California. Architect. * 1926

Scripps College for Women Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pr ...

- 1030 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, California. Architect. * 1928

Greystone Mansion The Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor Revival mansion on a landscaped estate with distinctive formal English gardens, located in Trousdale Estates of Beverly Hills, California, United States. Architect Gordon Kaufma ...

– 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California. Architect. * 1929

Holmby Hall Holmby Hall is an historic landmark building in Westwood Village, Los Angeles, California. Built in 1929 Holmby Hall is a streetscape of six Spanish Colonial Revival storefronts and features a prominent white clock tower, capped by a green pinnacl ...

– 921 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. Architect. * 1930

– 551 South Hill Avenue, Pasadena, California. Architect. * 1932 Harper Hall,

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna Co ...

– 150 East 10th Street, Claremont, California. Architect. * 1934

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

– 285 West Huntington Drive, Arcadia, California. Architect. * 1935

* 1935

Los Angeles Times Building Times Mirror Square is a complex of buildings on the block bounded by Spring, Broadway, First and Second streets in the Civic Center district of Downtown Los Angeles. It was headquarters of the ''Los Angeles Times'' until 2018. It is current ...

– 202 West 1st St, Los Angeles, California. Architect. * 1936

United States Post Office (San Pedro, Los Angeles) U.S. Post Office in San Pedro, California is a historic Streamline Moderne post office built in 1936. Designed by supervising architect Louis A. Simon with architects Gordon Kaufmann and W. Horace Austin, the San Pedro Post Office was listed in th ...

– Architect, with W. Horace Austin. * 1939

Arrowhead Springs Hotel Arrowhead Springs Hotel a resort hotel, and during World War 2 Naval Convalescent Hospital Arrowhead Springs, is near the City of Arrowhead Springs, north of San Bernardino, California. Naval Convalescent Hospital Arrowhead Springs was a US Navy ...

– 24918 Arrowhead Springs Road, San Bernardino, California. Architect. * 1940

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...

– 6201 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California. Architect.

Personal life

In 1914, Kaufmann moved to California and settled in Fresno, California. Kaufmann's wife was Elsie Bryant Kaufmann. On 1 March 1949, Kaufmann died in Los Angeles California. Kaufmann is buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.

References

External links

Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Gordon Kaufmann
— ''projects and completed works''
Master Architects of Southern California 1920–1941: Gordon Kaufmann

Architect Gordon Kaufmann (1888–1949) at modernlivingla.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufmann, Gordon 20th-century American architects Architects from Los Angeles Art Deco architects Mediterranean Revival architects Spanish Colonial Revival architects British emigrants to the United States 1888 births 1949 deaths People educated at Whitgift School Olympic competitors in art competitions