Maxwell Starkman (November 17, 1921 – December 29, 2003) was a Canadian architect based in Los Angeles, California.

Biography

Early life

Maxwell Starkman was born in 1921 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada. He served in England, France, Belgium and Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He graduated from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.

Career

He moved to

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' ...

in 1950. Shortly after, he started working for Richard J. Neutra. In 1953, he started Reichl and Starkman Architects with fellow architect Fritz Reichl. After Reichl died in 1954, he established Maxwell Starkman Associates, an architectural firm. He mostly built

tract home Tract housing is a type of housing development in which multiple similar houses are built on a tract (area) of land that is subdivided into smaller lots. Tract housing developments are found in suburb developments that were modeled on the "Levit ...

s for returning G.I.s. Fallbrook Square

Later, he built commercial buildings such as shopping malls and drugstores. For example, he designed the Park Place Shopping Center and the Sunrise City Shopping Center along the Maryland Parkway in

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 ...

. He also designed the Fallbrook Center in West Hills and some student housing at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

. Later in the 1960s, he designed the Melodyland Theater in Anaheim. Additionally, Starkman designed the

Dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

hotel and casino, which was later demolished and replaced with the

Bellagio Bellagio may refer to: * Bellagio, Lombardy, an Italian town * Bellagio (resort), a luxury resort and casino in Las Vegas * Bellagio (Hong Kong), a private housing building * Bellagio declaration, an intellectual copyright resolution * 79271 Bellag ...

In 1972, he designed the Zenith Tower located at 6300 on

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...

, near Carthay Circle. It was built for the Zenith National Insurance as a sixteen-story skyscraper. Later, he designed the Sony Pictures Plaza. He also designed the Meridian Condominiums, a skyscraper 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 eighth most populous city in the United State ...

. His last design was the

Museum of Tolerance The Museum of Tolerance-Beit HaShoah (MOT, House of the Holocaust), a multimedia museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, is designed to examine racism and prejudice around the world with a strong focus on the history of the Holocaust. Th ...

. He retired in 1987.

Personal life

He was married to Gloria Starkman. They had three sons and one daughter: sons David, Laurence, Robert, and Nancy. He became a widower when his wife died in 1992.

Death

He died on December 29, 2003.

Legacy

The Maxwell Starkman Scholarship in Architecture at the University of Manitoba is named in his honor.Canadian Scholarships
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starkman, Maxwell 1921 births 2003 deaths People from Toronto Architects from Los Angeles Canadian military personnel of World War II University of Manitoba alumni Canadian architects Canadian expatriates in the United States