John C. Austin
Encyclopedia
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, including the Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
, Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council...
, and the Shrine Auditorium
Shrine Auditorium
The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue, in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners.-History:...
.
Life
Born in BodicoteBodicote
Bodicote is a village and civil parish south of the centre of Banbury in Oxfordshire.-History:A windmill that stood next to the grove at the top of Bodicote is mentioned in the Domesday Book of AD 1086...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Austin was an apprentice to architect Williams S. Barwick in the late 1880s. He moved to the United States and worked as a draftsman for architect Benjamin Linfoot of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
from 1891–1892, before reloacting to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
where he was a draftsman at Mooser and Devlin from 1892-1895. He moved to Los Angeles in 1895, and became one of the city's leading architects.
Austin was also active in civic affairs in Los Angeles. He was elected President of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in January 1930. As head of the Chamber of Commerce, Austin initiated a public-art campaign to beautify the city through the erection of statuary and monuments. One of the issues on which Austin became a leader was the need to develop a larger water system for Los Angeles. He spoke publicly and was an advocate in the business community in favor of a 1930 bond issue to raise $38.8 million to develop the city's water supply.
As the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
deepened in Los Angeles, Austin also advocated federal spending as a means to stimulate the economy. In April 1930, a letter from Austin to Pres. Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
was published in the Los Angeles Times. In it, Austin proposed the creation of an emergency fund, raised by taxation or appropriation, which could be used to develop public improvements and to provide needed employment. Austin argued that such programs were needed so that otherwise good citizens not fall "prey to the propaganda of Communists and agitators against our institutions." In January 1931, after expressing concern that "we are just drifting along in this matter," Austin traveled to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to press for federal construction projects in Los Angeles. Austin announced that he was going east "with a crowbar to try and pry something loose," vowing to stay as long as he felt he could help get things started. Later that year, Pres. Hoover appointed Austin to coordinate the federal government's unemployment relief efforts in ten Southern California counties. Shortly after his appointment to the relief effort, however, Austin's wife of 29 years, Hilda Violet Austin, the mother of nine children with Austin, died at their home in Pasadena.
Austin also served as the President of the State Board of Archtiectural Examiners, a member of the National Labor Board responsible for labor disputes in Southern California, President of the Southern California Historical Society, President of the Jonathan Club
Jonathan Club
The Jonathan Club is a private social club in Los Angeles, California, U.S. It maintains two clubhouses, one in downtown Los Angeles at 545 South Figueroa Street and one on the beach in Santa Monica. The Los Angeles headquarters has dining and residential facilities, ballrooms, a health club, a...
, and a 32nd degree Mason. In 1949, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce presented Austin with its first ever Achievement Award. In 1963, Los Angeles Mayor Samuel Yorty presented Austin with a scroll commending him "for serving in an outstanding manner as a distinguished architect."
Austin died in 1963 at his home in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
Work
Austin's work as an architect includes:- Potter Hotel, a five-story, 600-room resort hotel, Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, 1902-1903 (burned 1921) - Virginia Hotel, Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, 1907, razed circa 1935 - The Carnegie Library in AnaheimAnaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, 1909, now the home of the Anaheim Museum. - Hollywood Masonic TempleHollywood Masonic TempleHollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California that was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The building was designed by architect John C. Austin, also noted as the lead architect of...
, Hollywood Boulevard, directly across the street from Grauman's Chinese Theater, 1921, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 - Guaranty BuildingGuaranty Building (Hollywood, California)Guaranty Building is a Beaux Arts office building in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California built in 1923 and designed by John C. Austin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979....
, Hollywood, 1923 - Shrine AuditoriumShrine AuditoriumThe Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue, in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners.-History:...
, Los Angeles, the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the ShrinersShrinersThe Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also commonly known as Shriners and abbreviated A.A.O.N.M.S., established in 1870, is an appendant body to Freemasonry, based in the United States...
, 1925-1926. When opened, the Los Angeles Times called it a "Triumph of Art" and credited the Moorish style architecture to Austin as the man "who drew plans and specifications for the group of magnificent structures." The Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
have been held at the Shrine on ten occasions. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. - Los Angeles City HallLos Angeles City HallLos Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council...
, 1928. Along with John ParkinsonThe ParkinsonsJohn B. and Donald D. Parkinson were a father-and-son architectural team operating in Los Angeles in the early 20th century.-Early years:...
and Albert C. Martin, Sr.Albert C. Martin, Sr.Albert Carey Martin was an American architect and engineer.He founded the architectural firm of Albert C...
, Martin was hired to design what has become the most recognized building in Los Angeles. The selection of an architect for the city hall led to fierce competition among the city's leading architects. The City Council selected the firm of Curlett and Beelman, but the Board of Public Works chose Martin, Parkinson, and Austin. Controversy continued when the architects turned in drawings for 28-story tower to house a municipal government that could adequately fit into the first four floors. The city ultimately accepted the tower plan, and in March 1928 the Board of Public Works passed a resolution commending the architects "for the eminently satisfactory and beautiful design of the monumental building." - Monrovia High SchoolMonrovia High SchoolMonrovia High School is a public high school located in Monrovia, California, a northeastern suburb of Los Angeles. Monrovia High School is the only 9-12 comprehensive high school in the Monrovia Unified School District...
, Monrovia, CaliforniaMonrovia, CaliforniaMonrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,590 at the 2010 census, down from 36,929 at the 2000 census...
, 1928 - Memorial Branch LibraryMemorial BranchMemorial Branch is a branch library of the Los Angeles Public Library. It was built in 1930 based on a Gothic Revival design by architect John C. Austin, also noted as the lead architect of the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Masonic Temple...
, Los Angeles, 1930. This Gothic Revival library building includes a large heraldic work of stained glass created by artists at Judson StudiosJudson StudiosJudson Studios is a fine arts studio specializing in stained glass located in the Highland Park section of northeast Los Angeles. The stained glass studio was founded in the Mott Alley section of Downtown Los Angeles in the mid-1890s by English-born artist William Lees Judson and his three sons...
. The building was dedicated to the memory of Los Angeles high school students who died in World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. - Griffith ObservatoryGriffith ObservatoryGriffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
, Griffith ParkGriffith ParkGriffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
, 1933-1935 - NBC Radio City StudiosNBC Radio City StudiosNBC Radio City Studios is the name given to radio and television studio complexes in New York's Rockefeller Center, San Francisco, and the former radio-TV complex located at the northeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California....
, Hollywood and Vine, 1938-1939 (razed) - St. Vincent's Hospital
- Los Angeles Hall of Justice - While with Allied Architects, Austin also worked on the Hall of Justice building. It is the oldest building in the Los Angeles Civic Center and was the site of the trials of Charles MansonCharles MansonCharles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
and Sirhan SirhanSirhan SirhanSirhan Bishara Sirhan is a Jordanian citizen who was convicted for the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He is serving a life sentence at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California.Sirhan was a Christian Arab born in Jerusalem who strongly opposed Israel...
. It has been vacant since 1994. - St. Paul's Catholic Church.
- The first State Building in the Los Angeles Civic Center.