S. Charles Lee
Encyclopedia
S. Charles Lee was an American architect
recognized as one of the most prolific and distinguished motion picture theater designers on the West Coast
.
. After his discharge in 1920, he entered the Armour Institute of Technology
to study architecture, where he was exposed to the principles of the École des Beaux-Arts
which are reflected in his later work.
While in Chicago, Lee worked for Rapp & Rapp
, a highly regarded Chicago architectural firm well known for movie theater design. Lee was also influenced by Louis Sullivan
's lectures in his architecture classes and Frank Lloyd Wright's work, particularly Midway Gardens and Wright's Oak Park studio. Lee was also impressed by the 1922 Chicago Tribune Tower
competition, which juxtaposed historicism with modernism. Lee considered himself a modernist, and his career revealed "both the Beaux Arts discipline and emphasis on planning and the modernist functionalism and freedom of form."
was the Tower Theatre
, a Spanish-Romanesque-Moorish design that launched a career that would make Lee the principal designer of motion picture theaters in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s. He is credited with designing over 400 theaters throughout California
and Mexico. His palatial and Baroque Los Angeles Theatre
(1931) is regarded by many architectural historians as the finest theater building in Los Angeles.
Lee was an early proponent of Art Deco
and Moderne
style theaters, including Fresno
's Tower Theatre. The Bruin Theater
(1937) and Academy Theatre (1939) are among his most characteristic. The latter, located in Inglewood
, California
, is a prime example of Lee's successful response to the automobile. After World War II, Lee recognized that the grand theater building had become a thing of the past, and began to focus on new technologies in industrial architecture. His work in the field of tilt-up building systems was published in Architectural Record in 1952.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
recognized as one of the most prolific and distinguished motion picture theater designers on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
Early life
Simeon Charles Levi was born in Chicago in 1899 to American-born parents of German-Jewish ancestry, Julius and Hattie (Stiller) Levi. He grew up going to vaudeville theatres, nickelodeons,and early movie houses. A tinkerer interested in mechanical things, Lee built three motorcars as a teenager. His interest in mechanics led him to Lake Technical High School in Chicago, where he graduated in 1916.Education
While in high school in 1915, he worked after school in the office of Chicago architect Henry Newhouse, a family friend who specialized in theater design: small motion picture houses, nickelodeons and remodeling storefronts into theaters. Lee attended Chicago Technical College, graduating with honors in 1918. His first job was as architect for the South Park Board of the City of Chicago. During World War I he enlisted in the NavyNavy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
. After his discharge in 1920, he entered the Armour Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
to study architecture, where he was exposed to the principles of the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
which are reflected in his later work.
While in Chicago, Lee worked for Rapp & Rapp
Rapp and Rapp
The architectural firm Rapp and Rapp was active in Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The brothers Cornelius W. Rapp and George Leslie Rapp of Carbondale, Illinois were the named partners and 1899 alumnus of the University of Illinois School of Architecture...
, a highly regarded Chicago architectural firm well known for movie theater design. Lee was also influenced by Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
's lectures in his architecture classes and Frank Lloyd Wright's work, particularly Midway Gardens and Wright's Oak Park studio. Lee was also impressed by the 1922 Chicago Tribune Tower
Tribune Tower
The Tribune Tower is a neo-Gothic building located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Company. WGN Radio also broadcasts from the building, with ground-level studios overlooking nearby Pioneer Court and Michigan Avenue. CNN's...
competition, which juxtaposed historicism with modernism. Lee considered himself a modernist, and his career revealed "both the Beaux Arts discipline and emphasis on planning and the modernist functionalism and freedom of form."
Career
In 1922, Lee moved to Los Angeles. His first major movie palaceMovie palace
A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...
was the Tower Theatre
Tower Theatre (Los Angeles)
The Tower Theatre, at 802 S. Broadway, is a historic venue that opened in 1927 in the Broadway Theatre district of Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
, a Spanish-Romanesque-Moorish design that launched a career that would make Lee the principal designer of motion picture theaters in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s. He is credited with designing over 400 theaters throughout California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Mexico. His palatial and Baroque Los Angeles Theatre
Los Angeles Theatre
The Los Angeles Theatre is a 2,000 seat movie palace located at 615 S. Broadway in the historic Broadway Theater and Commercial District in Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
(1931) is regarded by many architectural historians as the finest theater building in Los Angeles.
Lee was an early proponent of Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
and Moderne
Moderne
Moderne may refer to:* Moderne architecture, also sometimes referred to as "Style Moderne" or simply "Modern", a more general term for a style of architecture that became popular in 1925 and was described in the 1960s as "Art Deco"...
style theaters, including Fresno
Fresno
Fresno is the fifth largest city in California.Fresno may also refer to:-Places:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León...
's Tower Theatre. The Bruin Theater
Fox Bruin Theater
The Fox Bruin Theater is a large movie palace located in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, California. The structure was designed by noted movie theater architect, S...
(1937) and Academy Theatre (1939) are among his most characteristic. The latter, located in Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, is a prime example of Lee's successful response to the automobile. After World War II, Lee recognized that the grand theater building had become a thing of the past, and began to focus on new technologies in industrial architecture. His work in the field of tilt-up building systems was published in Architectural Record in 1952.
Buildings
- Hollywood Melrose HotelHollywood Melrose HotelThe Hollywood Melrose Hotel, also known previously as the Melrose Arms and later as the Monte Cristo Island Apartments, is a historic building on Melrose Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Designed by S. Charles Lee, the structure was built in 1927...
(1927) - Tower Theatre (Los Angeles)Tower Theatre (Los Angeles)The Tower Theatre, at 802 S. Broadway, is a historic venue that opened in 1927 in the Broadway Theatre district of Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
(1927) - El Mirador Apartment Building (West Hollywood) (1929)
- Fox Wilshire Theatre, Beverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
(1930) - Fox Theater (Bakersfield, California) (1930)
- Los Angeles TheatreLos Angeles TheatreThe Los Angeles Theatre is a 2,000 seat movie palace located at 615 S. Broadway in the historic Broadway Theater and Commercial District in Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
, Los Angeles (1931) - Hollywood & Western BuildingHollywood & Western BuildingThe Hollywood & Western Building, formerly known as the "Hollywood Western Building," is a four-story Art Deco office building located at 5504 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument on January 1, 1988.Designed by S....
, HollywoodHollywood, Los Angeles, CaliforniaHollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
(1931) - Max Factor Building, Hollywood (1935)
- Bruin TheaterFox Bruin TheaterThe Fox Bruin Theater is a large movie palace located in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, California. The structure was designed by noted movie theater architect, S...
, WestwoodWestwood, Los Angeles, CaliforniaWestwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
, Los Angeles (1937) - Fox (Alpha) Theater, BellBell, CaliforniaBell is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Its population was 35,477 at the 2010 census, down from 36,664 in the 2000 census. Bell is located on the west bank of the Los Angeles River and is a suburb of the city of Los Angeles...
, California (1938) - Tower Theatre (Fresno, California)Tower Theatre (Fresno, California)The Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts is a Streamline Moderne multipurpose theatre built in 1939 in Fresno, California. It was designed by architect S. Charles Lee and originally operated by the Fox West Coast Theatres Circuit. The Tower Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic...
(1939) - Fremont TheaterFremont TheaterThe Fremont Theater is a historic movie theater in San Luis Obispo, California in the United States of America. It is among the last Streamline Moderne theaters built by architect S. Charles Lee. It opened in 1942 on the eve of U.S. entry to World War II. Throughout its early years it served both...
, San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
(1942)
Awards
- Lee's work on the Los Angeles Tower TheatreTower Theatre (Los Angeles)The Tower Theatre, at 802 S. Broadway, is a historic venue that opened in 1927 in the Broadway Theatre district of Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
was featured in the regional architectural journal Architect & Engineer in 1928. - In 1934, Lee was honored for architectural excellence by the Royal Institute of British Architects at the International Exhibition of Contemporary Architecture in London, for his 1931 "Spanish American Mission style" design for the Fox Florence Theatre in Los Angeles.
- One of Lee's non-theater projects, a Jewish synagogue designed in the California Mission tradition, was featured in Architectural Record in 1946.
- Lee received the highest recognition of the Society of Registered Architects, the "Synergy Award," in 1975.
- The UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning established an endowed chair honoring Lee in 1986.