Walker & Eisen (1919−1941) was an
architectural partnership of architects
Albert R. Walker and
Percy A. Eisen in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
[PCAD: Walker and Eisen, Architects (Partnership)]
/ref>
Partners in addition to Walker and Eisen included: Clifford A. Balch, William Glenn Balch, and Burt William Johnson.
Walker & Eisen worked on many cinema−theater designs with Clifford A. Balch.[
]
Selected projects
Some of their notable buildings include:[
* Southern Counties Gas Company building (1923) in association with Clark Brothers, Santa Ana, California.
* Taft Building, Hollywood (1923)
* National City Bank of Los Angeles Building (1924), 810 S. Spring St., Los Angeles
* Hotel Normandie, Koreatown, Los Angeles (1925)
* Fine Arts Building, Downtown Los Angeles (1927)
* United Artists Theatre, Downtown Los Angeles, in association with Detroit-based architect C. Howard Crane (1927)
* ]James Oviatt Building
The James Oviatt Building, commonly referred to as The Oviatt Building, is an Art Deco highrise in Downtown Los Angeles located on Olive Street, half a block south of 6th St. and Pershing Square. In 1983, the Oviatt Building was listed in the Na ...
, Downtown Los Angeles (1927−1928)
* El Cortez Hotel, San Diego (1926)
* Beverly-Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills (1926−1928)
* The Platt Building
The Platt Building is a 1927 highrise at 834 South Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles. The Gothic Revival design was by architects Walker & Eisen. The firm also designed The Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
The buildin ...
, Downtown Los Angeles (1927)
* El Mirador Hotel, Palm Springs (1927−1928), remodeled by Paul R. Williams (1952)
* Valley National Bank Building, Tucson, Arizona (1929)
* Ambassador Hotel; 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 ...
entrance pylons (1930)
* Clock Tower Building, Santa Monica
The Clock Tower Building, built between 1929 and 1930 in Art Déco style, is the 4th highest skyscraper in Santa Monica. For around 40 years it held the record for the tallest building in the skyline. The skyscraper was commissioned by the Bay C ...
(1929-1930)
* F. & W. Grand Silver Store Building (later Hartfield's department store), 537 S. Broadway, Los Angeles; Art Deco (1931)
* United Artists Pasadena Theatre, Old Town Pasadena
Old Pasadena, often referred to as Old Town Pasadena or just Old Town, is the original commercial center of Pasadena, a city in California, United States, and had a latter-day revitalization after a period of decay.
Old Pasadena began as the ce ...
, California (1931−1932)
* United Artists Theatre, Berkeley, aka United Artists Berkeley 7; Shattuck Avenue
Shattuck Avenue is a major city street running north–south through Berkeley, California, and Oakland, California. At its southern end, the street branches from Telegraph Avenue in Oakland's Temescal district, then ends at Indian Rock Park ...
, Berkeley, California; Art Deco (1931−1932)
* United Artists Theatre, El Centro, California; Art Deco (1931−1932)
* Sunkist Building, Downtown Los Angeles (1935)
* Farmer's Insurance Company Headquarters Building; Moderne (1937), Architects Claud Beelman
Claud W. Beelman (1883 – January 30, 1963), sometimes known as ''Claude Beelman'', was an American architect who designed many examples of Beaux-Arts, Art Deco, and Streamline Moderne style buildings. Many of his buildings are listed on the ...
& Herman Spackler added 4 floors in 1949.
A number of their buildings are designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.
History
The Historic-Cul ...
. They are mentioned in the film ''(500) Days of Summer
''500 Days of Summer'' (stylized as ''(500) Days of Summer'') is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars ...
''.
National City Bank of Los Angeles building
Built in 1924, the 12-story Beaux-Arts building at 810 South Spring Street Spring Street may refer to:
* Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA
* Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA
* Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia
* Spring Street, Singapore
* Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website
Subway and trolle ...
was the headquarters of National City Bank of Los Angeles. With the important banks and financial institutions being concentrated there, the Spring Street Financial District
Spring Street in Los Angeles is one of the oldest streets in the city. Along Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles, from just north of Fourth Street to just south of Seventh Street is the NRHP-listed Spring Street Financial District, nicknamed ...
was the financial center of Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century, known as Wall Street of the West Wall Street West is a name used by real estate developers, city officials and news media in the United States to call particular streets or places west of Manhattan that have a high concentration of Wall Street companies or a major exchange. The m ...
. The building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #871) in 2007.
The building was converted from offices to 93 residential units in 2008, and was renamed the National City Tower. The building also has retail space.[Howard, Bob (June 24, 2011]
"National City Tower at 8th and Spring Now For Sale - National City Tower Hits Market for $33M"
''Historic Downtown Los Angeles''
References
External links
Los Angeles Conservancy.org: Walker & Eisen architecture firm (1919−1941)
— ''firm's notable buildings with info + images''.
PCAD.edu: Walker and Eisen, Architects
— ''list of firm's buildings and other works, links''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker and Eisen
Defunct architecture firms based in California
Architects from Los Angeles
Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
1919 establishments in California
1941 disestablishments in California
Design companies established in 1919
Design companies disestablished in 1941
20th century in Los Angeles
Historicist architects
Theatre architects
20th-century American architects