Walker & Eisen

Walker & Eisen was an American architectural partnership formed in Los Angeles in late 1919 by Albert Raymond Walker, Percy Augustus Eisen, and, initially, Charles M. Hutchison Sr. Hutchison departed in 1921, after which the practice became principally associated with Walker and Eisen. The partnership operated during a formative period in the growth of Los Angeles, when rapid population expansion, the motion-picture industry, automobile-oriented commerce, and large-scale real-estate development created strong demand for offices, hotels, theaters, department-store buildings, apartment houses, civic facilities, and entertainment venues. The firm was based in Los Angeles but worked throughout California and on at least one notable project in Arizona. Its portfolio included buildings in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Long Beach, Santa Ana, San Diego, Palm Springs, Santa Monica, Upland, Torrance, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and other communities. The partners were particularly associated with large urban landmarks and with the architectural development of Hollywood Boulevard and Broadway. Their work encompassed the Taft Building, Hollywood Plaza Hotel, James Oviatt Building, Beverly-Wilshire Hotel, El Cortez Hotel, Hotel Normandie, Fine Arts Building, United Artists Theatre, Southern Counties Gas Company Building, and a range of civic and institutional projects. Walker & Eisen frequently collaborated with theater specialist Clifford A. Balch during the 1920s and 1930s. This relationship connected the practice to the expansion of California's cinema-theater network, including theaters in Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, Inglewood, Long Beach, Pasadena, Berkeley, El Centro, and Ventura. The firm also employed William Glenn Balch as a draftsman and John E. Costello as a civil engineer, reflecting the multidisciplinary organization required for large commercial and entertainment projects. The partnership's buildings drew on the period's varied architectural vocabularies, including revival styles, ornamental commercial design, and forms associated with the booming theater and hotel industries. Several surviving works have received recognition through the National Register of Historic Places, Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument designations, or inclusion in historic districts. Other projects, including the Four Star Theatre, Sunkist Building, Empire Theater, and El Mirador Hotel, were later demolished. Walker & Eisen dissolved in 1941 after more than two decades of activity. The firm is no longer active as a business, but its surviving buildings remain important examples of early twentieth-century Southern California architecture and of the commercial development of Los Angeles during the interwar period. The partnership has also received a small reference in popular culture through its mention in the film (500) Days of Summer.

Albert Raymond Walker was born in Sonoma, California, in 1881. He began his architectural career as a draftsman for William S. Hebbard and Irving Gill in San Diego from 1901 to 1904, contributing to work that included the George W. Marston House. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked for or alongside architects including John Parkinson, George Bergstrom, Alfred Rosenheim, Myron Hunt, and Elmer Grey. Walker obtained his California architectural license in February 1908 and established an independent Los Angeles practice in the Homer Laughlin Building. Among his early commissions was the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Fullerton, later recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Walker entered a partnership with John Terrell Vawter in 1910. Their projects included houses and commercial or religious buildings in the Los Angeles area, but the association ended in 1916. Walker then practiced independently in 1917 and 1918. Percy Augustus Eisen, born in Los Angeles in 1885, came from an architectural family. His father, Theodore Eisen, was a recognized architect, and Percy worked with him from 1908 to 1917. Their projects included the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood and the Gates Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Walker, Eisen, and Charles M. Hutchison Sr. formed an architectural association in late 1919. Hutchison left the arrangement in 1921, leaving Walker and Eisen as the firm's principal partners. The practice grew during the 1920s as Los Angeles experienced rapid commercial, residential, and cultural development. Walker & Eisen designed buildings in major commercial districts, including Hollywood Boulevard and Broadway, while also accepting commissions elsewhere in Southern California. The firm became especially active in hotels, theaters, office buildings, and retail structures. Its theater work was often undertaken with Clifford A. Balch, a specialist in movie-theater design. This collaboration produced a series of venues connected with the expansion of the film exhibition industry, including theaters in several California cities. The practice also employed William Glenn Balch as a draftsman between 1922 and 1928 and John E. Costello as a San Francisco-based civil engineer from 1927 to 1931. Notable projects from the 1920s included the Taft Building, Hollywood Plaza Hotel, Apparel Center Building, United Artists Theatre, Platt Building, National City Bank of Los Angeles, Hotel Normandie, Fine Arts Building, James Oviatt Building, Breakers Hotel, El Cortez Hotel, Beverly-Wilshire Hotel, and El Mirador Hotel. The 1930s brought further civic, insurance, commercial, and theater commissions, including the Ambassador Hotel entrance pylons, Four Star Theatre, Upland City Hall and Police Station, Torrance civic buildings, and Farmers Insurance facilities. The partnership's work spread beyond Los Angeles to cities such as Long Beach, Santa Ana, San Diego, Palm Springs, Santa Monica, Upland, Torrance, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. The Valley National Bank Building in Tucson, Arizona, demonstrates that the firm's reach was not limited to California. A number of its surviving buildings have subsequently been listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places, designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, or included as contributing resources in historic districts. Walker & Eisen ended its association in 1941. Eisen died in Los Angeles County in 1946, while Walker died in Westwood, Los Angeles, in 1958. Although the firm no longer exists, its surviving landmarks continue to document the architectural and urban history of interwar Los Angeles and the wider development of Southern California.

• 1941

  The partnership dissolves

  [1]Walker & Eisenen.wikipedia.org

  The Walker and Eisen architectural partnership ended after more than two decades of practice.

• 1927

  James Oviatt Building is designed

  [1]Walker & Eisenen.wikipedia.org

  Walker & Eisen designed the James Oviatt Building in Los Angeles, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

• 1921

  Hutchison leaves the association

  [1]Walker & Eisenen.wikipedia.org

  Charles M. Hutchison Sr. departed, leaving Walker and Eisen as the principal partners.

• 1919

  Walker & Eisen is established

  [1]Walker & Eisenen.wikipedia.org

  Albert Raymond Walker, Percy Augustus Eisen, and Charles M. Hutchison Sr. formed the association that became Walker & Eisen.

• 1910

  Walker partners with John Terrell Vawter

  [1]Walker & Eisenen.wikipedia.org

  Walker formed an architectural partnership with John Terrell Vawter, which continued until 1916.

• 1908

  Walker receives his California architecture license

  [1]Walker & Eisenen.wikipedia.org

  Albert Raymond Walker obtained his California architectural license and began operating his own Los Angeles practice.

A prominent early twentieth-century Los Angeles architectural practice specializing in large commercial, hospitality, entertainment, civic, and institutional commissions. Its market position was built on the partners' ability to deliver prominent urban buildings during the expansion of Southern California's business, tourism, and motion-picture economies.

• Commercial architecture

  Commercial and office buildings

  The firm designed prominent commercial and office structures in Los Angeles and other California cities. Examples include the Taft Building, Apparel Center Building, Platt Building, National City Bank of Los Angeles, Fine Arts Building, Southern Counties Gas Company Building, and Sunkist Building. These projects supported the growth of downtown business districts, retail corridors, and specialized commercial areas during the 1920s and 1930s.

• Hospitality architecture

  Hotels

  Walker & Eisen produced a substantial body of hotel architecture, including the Hollywood Plaza Hotel, Hotel Normandie, Breakers Hotel, El Cortez Hotel, Beverly-Wilshire Hotel, El Mirador Hotel, Mar Monte Hotel, and Hilton Hotel in Long Beach. Their hospitality work reflected the expansion of tourism, entertainment, and automobile travel across Southern California.

• Entertainment architecture

  Movie theaters

  The firm designed theaters independently and with Clifford A. Balch, a specialist in cinema architecture. Its theater portfolio included the United Artists Theatre, Roosevelt Theater, Four Star Theatre, Empire Theater, and a group of United Artists theaters in cities including East Los Angeles, Inglewood, Long Beach, Pasadena, Berkeley, El Centro, Los Angeles, and Ventura.

• Civic architecture

  Civic and institutional buildings

  Walker & Eisen also designed public and institutional facilities, including Upland City Hall and Police Station, Torrance City Hall, Municipal Auditorium and Public Library, and the San Luis Obispo County Court House. These commissions extended the firm's work beyond commercial development into municipal and public architecture.

• Residential architecture

  Residential and apartment buildings

  The partnership designed residential work alongside its larger commercial commissions. Known examples include an apartment building at 1861 North Whitley Avenue in Los Angeles and other housing-related projects recorded in the firm's historical portfolio.

1. 1Walker & Eisenen.wikipedia.org