Morgan, Walls & Clements

Mayan Theater, Los Angeles

Morgan, Walls & Clements was an architectural firm based in Los Angeles, California and was responsible for many of the city's landmarks, dating back to the late 19th century. ^[1]

History

Morgan, Walls & Clements earliest precursor, Kysor & Hennessy, consisted of partners Ezra F. Kysor and John F. Hennessy, ^[2] then in 1880, Hennessy left and the firm's draftsman Octavius Morgan was promoted to partner, creating Kysor & Morgan. John A. Walls joined in 1886 to create Kysor, Morgan and Walls, ^[3] and Kysor retired in 1890, resulting in Morgan and Walls. Around 1910, Morgan's son O.W. Morgan was promoted, creating Morgan, Walls and Morgan, then the elder Morgan retired and designer Stiles O. Clements was promoted, resulting in Morgan, Walls and Clements.

Morgan, Walls and Clements hit its stride with a series of theaters and commercial projects around MacArthur Park. Clements often worked in Spanish Colonial revival and Mayan revival styles, but their major project was the black Art Deco Richfield Tower, a commanding presence in downtown from its 1928 completion to its 1969 destruction. Walls did not live to see the completion of the building, as he had died in 1922.

Clements left the firm in 1937 to start his own practice, Stiles O. Clements & Associates, where he remained until his retirement in 1965.

Works

National Register of Historic Places

Professional Building

• Adamson House, Malibu, California, 1930
• Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, California, 1931
• Professional Building, Phoenix, Arizona, 1932

Broadway Theater and Commercial District contributing properties

• Bumiller Building, 1906 ^[4]
• Eshman Building, 1909 ^[4]
• Walter P. Story Building, Broadway and 6th Street, 1909 ^[4]
• Arcade Theater, 500 block of S. Broadway, 1910 ^[4]
• Bullock's-Hollenbeck, 639 S. Broadway, 1912 ^[4]
• Title Guarantee Block, now Jewelry Trades Building, 500 S. Broadway, 1913 ^[4]
• Blackstone Department Store, 1939 renovation ^[5]

Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District contributing properties

Julian Medical Building, considered "one of the crowning achievements of Streamline Moderne"

• El Capitan Theatre, 1926
• Hallmark Building, 1931 remodel ^[7]
• Julian Medical Building, 1934 ^[7]
• Bank of America Building, 1935 remodel ^[7]

Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monuments

Highland Towers Apartments

• Arcade Theater, 500 block of S. Broadway, 1910 ^[4]
• Artisan's Patio Complex, 1918 ^[8]
• El Capitan Theatre, Los Angeles, 1926
• Belasco Theater, 1926
• Mayan Theater, 1927
• Chapman Plaza, 3400 Block W. 6th St., 1929
• Highland Towers Apartments c. 1929 ^[9]
• Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre, 1931

Long Beach City Landmarks

• Famous Department Store, 1928-9 ^[10]

Other Works

Los Angeles

Bullard Block in 1900

• Grand Opera House, 110 S. Main St., 1884 (Octavius Morgan and Ezra F. K)
• Bullard Block, housing The Hub department store, 154-160 N. Main St., 1895 (demolished 1925)
• Tally's Electric Theater, 1902 ^[11]
• Parmelee-Dohrmann Building, 436–444 S. Broadway, 1906 (demolished)
• Van Nuys Apartments, 1913
• Haas Building, S. Broadway, 1915 ^[4]
• Olive J. Cobb Building, 1924
• Hollywood Storage Company Building, 1925 ^[12]
• Hollywood Post Office, Hollywood and Vine, 1925 ^[7] (demolished) ^[13]
• Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Building, 1926
• Music Box Theater, 1926
• Ninth & Hill Building, 1926
• Downtown Shopping News, Printing & Distribution Building, 1927
• Richfield Tower, 1929 (demolished)
• Security First National Bank, 1929
• 900 N. La Brea Ave, 1930 (demolished) ^[14]
• Leimert Theatre, Leimert Park, 1931
• Dominguez-Wilshire Building (5410 Wilshire Boulevard), 1931
• Brooks Clothing Co. (after 1947: Harris & Frank, Miracle Mile, 5450–4 Wilshire Boulevard at Cochran, 1936. ^[15]

Elsewhere in southern California

Samson Tire and Rubber Factory, now Citadel Outlets

• Santa Clara Roman Catholic Church, Oxnard, 1903
• First National Bank, Orange, 1928
• Adams Square Building (1100 E. Chevy Chase Dr), Glendale, 1928
• Samson Tire and Rubber Factory (now Citadel Outlets), Commerce, 1929-30.

References

1. "Morgan, Walls, and Clements". Los Angeles Conservancy . Retrieved September 23, 2017.
2. Howard, Rod. "Hennessy, John Francis (Jack) (1853–1924)". https://adb.anu.edu.au/ . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1983. Web.
3. Los Angeles Herald 27 Oct. 1886.
4. "California SP Broadway Theater and Commercial District". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. May 9, 1979.
5. "Blackstone Department Store Building". Los Angeles Conservancy . Retrieved November 28, 2024.
6. Winter, Robert (2009). An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles. Gibbs Smith. p. 181. ISBN   978-1-4236-0893-6.
7. "Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. April 4, 1985.
8. Alan Michelson. "Artisan's Patio Building, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA". University of Washington Pacific Coast Architecture Database . Retrieved August 20, 2024.
9. Stolberg, Sherly (March 17, 1990). "From Laundry Room to City Hall : Architecture: Tenants tackle problems at a faded but special Hollywood apartment building". Los Angeles Times .
10. "Famous Department Store/RiteAid", Historic Landmarks, City of Long Beach
11. Sitton, Tom (2008). "GC 1323 - Historic Sites Surveys" (PDF). Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
12. "Historic Resource - Toberman Storage Company 1025 N Highland Ave". City of Los Angeles. September 22, 2015.
13. Gregory Paul Williams (2005). The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History. BL Press LLC. p. 340. ISBN   9780977629909.
14. "Hollywood Media District - History". Hollywood Media District. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
15. "Contract Let for New Structure". The Los Angeles Times. February 16, 1936. p. 62. Retrieved April 10, 2024.