Gilbert Leong

Gilbert Lester Leong
Gilbert and Florence "Sissee" Leong, c. 1943.
Born	1910 or 1911
Died	August 23, 1996 (aged 85) Pasadena, California
Occupation	Architect
Spouse	Florence "Sissee" (née See)
Children	Leslee See Leong
Buildings	Chinatown's Baptist church Chinatown's Methodist church Kong Chow Family Association and Temple Interior court and authentic Chinese garden in the Pacific Asian Museum in Pasadena

Gilbert Lester Leong (1911-1996) was a Chinese-American architect who designed churches and public buildings in the Los Angeles area.[1] He was the first Chinese-American to graduate from USC with a degree in architecture. His designs helped shape the architecture of postwar Los Angeles and Chinatown. Leong was also a co-founder of the East West Bank in 1973. The bank was set up to serve the Chinese American community in Southern California.[1][2]

Education

• Leong studied painting and sculpture at Chouinard Art Institute[3] under Millard Sheets
• USC degree in architecture (1936) [1][4]

Career

After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in architecture, Leong worked with architects Paul Williams and Harwell Hamilton Harris. Leong eventually began to work on his own.[5] Leong designed both residential and public buildings in his career. He had an influence on the postwar California architecture of Los Angeles.[6][7]

Exhibitions

• In 1936 the work of Leong was featured at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition was entitled "Oriental Artists".[8]
• In 2012 Steven Wong and Floridia Cheung highlighted Leong's work at the Chinese American Museum in an exhibit called "Breaking Ground", alongside three contemporaneous Chinese American architects active in Los Angeles: Eugene Kinn Choy, Helen Liu Fong, and Gin D. Wong.[9]

Designs

Selected Chinatown buildings by Gilbert Leong

Name	Image	Year	Address	Notes/Refs.
Chinese United Methodist Church		1947	825 N Hill	[10]
First Chinese Baptist Church		1951	942 Yale	[11]
Kong Chow Family Association and Temple		1960	931 N Broadway
King Hing Theater		1962	647 N Spring	[12]: 4
Bank of America		1972	850 N Broadway	With Richard Layne Tom[12]: 5
Phoenix Bakery		1977	969 N Broadway	[12]: 10

Other designs by Leong include:

• Tract homes for builder George Ponty in the Ponty-Vanowen (San Fernando Valley) and Ponty-Anaheim developments.[13][14]
• Homes for Judge Delbert Wong (1954)[15] and Dr. Miguel Tirado (1959)[16] in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
• Interior court and authentic Chinese garden in the Pacific Asian Museum in Pasadena. Co-designed[4]
• Logo for the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California[17]

Personal

Leong was born in 1911: he was the son of Chinese immigrant parents. He was the first Chinese American to graduate from USC with a degree in architecture.[12]: 4  Leong served in the U.S. Army during World War II,[5][18] and worked for Paul R. Williams after the war.[11] Leong and his family owned the Soochow Restaurant in Los Angeles.[19] Leong co-founded the East West Bank in 1973.[20] Leong died in Pasadena California on August 23, 1996.[21]

Leong married Florence "Sissee" See in 1942;[22][23] she was the daughter of Chinatown businessman Fong See and the great-aunt of novelist Lisa See, who documented the family's history in her memoir On Gold Mountain at Sissee's request.[24] Leslee Leong, the daughter of Gilbert and Florence, inherited the F. Suie One Co., which had been founded by Fong See.[25]

References

1. "Gilbert Lester Leong; Architect, Founder of East West Bank". Los Angeles Times. 28 August 1996. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
2. "Things To Know About The East West Bank". routingnumberusa. RoutingNumberUSA. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
3. "Chinatownia: Los Angeles News". Chinese Digest. Vol. 2, no. 8. February 21, 1936. p. 4. Retrieved 17 June 2021. A first prize of $200 goes to Gilbert Leong for his piece of sculpturing displayed at the last Los Angeles County Fair held at Pomona, California. For his outstanding artistic ability he has earned scholarships to the Chouinard School of Art, one of the leading art schools on the Pacific Coast. Presently, he will be transferred to U. S. C.
4. O'Connor, Pauline. "Midcentury modern by Gilbert Leong in Silver Lake seeks second-ever owner". La.curbed. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
5. "Midcentury modern by Gilbert Leong in Silver Lake seeks $1.699M". bestlaneighborhoods. Best LA Neighborhoods, Inc. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
6. RAGO, DANIELLE. "Hidden in Plain Sight". archpaper. The Architect's Newspaper, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
7. "Chinese American Architects in Los Angeles, 1945-1980". archpaper. The Architect's Newspaper, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
8. "Benji Okubo". encyclopedia.densho. Densho. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
9. GILMARTIN, WENDY (13 February 2012). "'BREAKING GROUND' AT CHINESE AMERICAN MUSEUM SHOWS THAT NOT ALL L.A. ARCHITECTS ARE OLD, WHITE DUDES". LA WEEKLY. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
10. Historic-Cultural Monument Application for TIRADO HOUSE (PDF) (Report). Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Cultural Heritage Commission. February 6, 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
11. Brightwell, Eric (October 5, 2016). "Pan-Asian Metropolis — Pioneering Asian-American Architects in Los Angeles". Retrieved 17 June 2021.
12. Exploring Chinatown: Past and Present (PDF) (Report). Los Angeles Conservancy. April 17, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
13. "Tract Opening Set for Today". Los Angeles Times. June 5, 1955. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
14. "Heavy Selling for Ponty-Anaheim Homes". Long Beach Independent. March 25, 1956. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
15. "Judge Delbert Wong Residence, Gilbert Leong 1954". Silver Lake News. July 28, 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
16. "Tiorado-Lion-Peligri Residence, Gilbert Leong 1959". Silver Lake News. July 27, 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
17. Cho, Jenny; Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (2013). Chinese in Hollywood. Arcadia Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7385-9973-1. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
18. Lee, Marjorie, ed. (1998). Duty & Honor: A tribute to Chinese American World War II veterans of Southern California. Los Angeles: Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. p. 147. ISBN 0-930377-99-0. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
19. Cho, Jenny (2009). Chinatown in Los Angeles (1st ed.). San Francisco California: Arcadia Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7385-6956-7.
20. Lin, Daisy (June 22, 2020). "Treasure Hunt: The Huntington Library Acquires Papers of Chinese American Family". East West Bank. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
21. "Gilbert Leong obit". Los Angeles Times. 28 August 1996. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
22. "See Family Archival Material". lisasee.com. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
23. "The Huntington Acquires the Papers of the Chinese American Family Featured in the Book "On Gold Mountain" by Lisa See" (Press release). The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. May 13, 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
24. Cheng, Scarlet (June 4, 2000). "It Began With a Family Secret". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
25. "See Leong Papers: A Chinese American Family's History". The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 17 June 2021.

External links

• Gilbert Leong (March 27, 1979). "Southern California Chinese American Oral History Project, Interview #19" (Interview). Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

• Locke, Michael. "Gilbert Leong 1911-1996". flickr. Includes images of private homes and public buildings designed by Leong.