James Pulliam (1925−2005) was a noted

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

in the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

Works

Pulliam was known for a "cut into box" style exhibited by the All-State Savings and Loan building in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

, and original Bronco Student Union Building at

Cal Poly Pomona California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''name'' section of this article for more infor ...

in 1976, and the interior remodeling of the

San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building is a former Los Angeles Harbor Department ferry terminal building located at Sixth Street at Harbor Boulevard in the community of San Pedro in Los Angeles, California. The historic landmark building now houses t ...

to house the

Los Angeles Maritime Museum The Los Angeles Maritime Museum is a non-profit maritime museum, located at Sixth Street at Harbor Boulevard in the community of San Pedro, in Los Angeles, California. The Museum The Los Angeles Maritime Museum is housed in the former Municip ...

. Noted architectural historian

David Gebhard David S. Gebhard (1927 – 1 March 1996) was a leading architectural historian, particularly known for his books on the architecture and architects of California. He was a long-time faculty member at the University of California, Santa Barbara ...

cited a house he designed in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

as "monumental," and the Bronco Student Center at Cal Poly Pomona as the best building on campus. He worked in the offices of

Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; April 8, 1892 – April 16, 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for the majority of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. He ...

and

Welton Beckett Welton David Becket (August 8, 1902 – January 16, 1969) was an American modern architect who designed many buildings in Los Angeles, California. Biography Becket was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated from the University of Washingt ...

. He was later a partner in the architectural firm Pulliam Zimmerman Matthews. As president of the Los Angeles chapter of the

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

, he advocated for preserving the integrity of the

Los Angeles Central Library Richard J. Riordan Central Library, also known as the Los Angeles Central Library, is the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), in Downtown Los Angeles. It is named after Mayor of Los Angeles Richard Riordan. It consists of two b ...

. He served as the campus architect at

where he also served as an instructor at the College of Environmental Design.

Death

James Pulliam died in 2005, at his home in

La Cañada Flintridge, California La Cañada Flintridge, commonly known as "La Cañada" (Spanish for "The Canyon"), is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of Southern Califor ...

. In his obituary, the Los Angeles Times said: ::"''Jim Pulliam, FAIA was a gentleman Los Angeles modernist architect, known for his highly detailed custom modernist residential and commercial commissions. Jim's mid career works were celebrated in a major Los Angeles area architectural exhibit identified as The Los Angeles 12 Architects, of which Jim Pulliam was one of the distinguished twelve architects. Pulliam's works were included in the Los Angeles Twelve Architects exhibit and conferences at the Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles; Cal Poly Pomona Bookstore and Student Center Building (which he designed) and the Aspen Design Conference, Aspen Co.''."

References

Modernist architects 1925 births 2005 deaths Architects from Los Angeles California State Polytechnic University, Pomona faculty Dartmouth College alumni People from Lyons, Kansas 20th-century American architects People from La Cañada Flintridge, California {{US-architect-stub