Architect. Parkinson was an architect whose designs influenced the downtown Los Angeles skyline and commercial buildings of the surrounding area. His body of work exemplifies Los Angeles' styles going from Romanesque to Art Deco and Moderne. Born in England, he moved to Seattle, Washington in 1889 where his projects included the Olympia Hotel and the Seattle First National Bank Building. In 1894, he moved to Los Angeles and opened his own office in downtown and in 1896, he designed the city's first Class "A" fireproof steel-frame structure, the Homer Laughlin Building at Third Street and Broadway. His design for the 1904 Braly Block at Fourth and Spring Streets became the first "skyscraper" built in the city, holding the distinction of being the tallest structure in town for nearly 25 years. In 1905, he formed a partnership with G. Edwin Bergstrom and Parkinson and Bergstrom became the dominant architectural firm for major structures in Los Angeles. After their ten year partnership ended, Parkinson went into business with his son, Donald B. Parkinson. Some of the structures they went on to design over the next 20 years were the University of Southern California's campus master plan and several noted campus buildings (1919-1939), the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923), Los Angeles City Hall (1928), Bullocks Wilshire (1929), Union Station (1939), Saks Fifth Ave (1939) and early renovations of Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles. Parkinson designed many other structures which defined the urban landscape of Los Angeles and Southern California.
Architect. Parkinson was an architect whose designs influenced the downtown Los Angeles skyline and commercial buildings of the surrounding area. His body of work exemplifies Los Angeles' styles going from Romanesque to Art Deco and Moderne. Born in England, he moved to Seattle, Washington in 1889 where his projects included the Olympia Hotel and the Seattle First National Bank Building. In 1894, he moved to Los Angeles and opened his own office in downtown and in 1896, he designed the city's first Class "A" fireproof steel-frame structure, the Homer Laughlin Building at Third Street and Broadway. His design for the 1904 Braly Block at Fourth and Spring Streets became the first "skyscraper" built in the city, holding the distinction of being the tallest structure in town for nearly 25 years. In 1905, he formed a partnership with G. Edwin Bergstrom and Parkinson and Bergstrom became the dominant architectural firm for major structures in Los Angeles. After their ten year partnership ended, Parkinson went into business with his son, Donald B. Parkinson. Some of the structures they went on to design over the next 20 years were the University of Southern California's campus master plan and several noted campus buildings (1919-1939), the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923), Los Angeles City Hall (1928), Bullocks Wilshire (1929), Union Station (1939), Saks Fifth Ave (1939) and early renovations of Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles. Parkinson designed many other structures which defined the urban landscape of Los Angeles and Southern California.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Parkinson memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
