William and Alexander Curlett

Los Angeles Board of Trade Building

William F. Curlett (County Down, Ireland, March 3, 1846 – January 21, 1914, San Francisco)[1] and Alexander Edward Curlett (called Aleck) (San Francisco, February 6, 1881 – September 5, 1942)[2] were a father-and-son pair of architects. They worked together as partners under the name of William Curlett and Son, Architects from c. 1908–1916.[3] Aleck Curlett partnered with Claud Beelman as Curlett & Beelman (1919–1932).[4]

The San Francisco firm of Curlett, Eisen, & Cuthbertson, Architects, was active in the 1880s; it designed the Los Angeles County Courthouse in 1887. In 1888, the firm occupied Room #41 of the Downey Block. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1888, p. 768.)[5]

Works

National Register of Historic Places

A number of works by either or both Curletts and by Curlett & Beelman are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[6] These works include:

Alex Curlett

• Board of Trade Building, 111 W. 7th St. Los Angeles, California
• Building at 816 South Grand Avenue, 816 S. Grand Ave. Los Angeles, California
• Equitable Building of Hollywood, 6253 W. Hollywood Blvd.[7]
• Fifth Street Store Building, 501-515 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California[8]
• Roosevelt Building, 727 W. Seventh St. Los Angeles, California

William Curlett

• Haas Californiandy Factory, 54 Mint St. San Francisco, California
• Packard Library, 301 4th St. Marysville, California
• Theodore F. Payne House, 1409 Sutter St. San Francisco, California
• Villa Montalvo, 14800 Montalvo Rd. Saratoga, California
• Mutual Savings Bank Building, 700 Market St., San Francisco, California[9]
• Phelan Building, 760 Market St. San Francisco, California

Alex and William Curlett

• Hotel Congress, 303–311 E. Congress St. Tucson, Arizona
• Rialto Building, 300–320 E. Congress St. Tucson, Arizona
• Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Tucson, Arizona

Curlett & Beelman

• Cooper Arms Apartments, 455 E. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, California
• Chester Williams Building, 215 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, California[8]
• Culver Hotel, 9400 Culver Blvd. Culver City, California
• Heinsbergen Decorating Company Building, 7415 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, California
• Security Building, 234 N. Central Phoenix, Arizona

Other works

Other of their works include:

• Proper Hotel, orig. Commercial Club of Southern Californialifornia, later Californiase Hotel, 1100 S. Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles (1926, as of 2020 under renovation to open as hotel)[10]
• St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Berkeley, California)[11]
• Foreman & Clark Building, 701 South Hill St., Los Angeles (Curlett & Beelman)

Block, Curlett & Eisen

Potomac Block, W side of Broadway between 2nd and 3rd, 1890s

Works attributed to Block, Curlett & Eisen:

• Potomac Block, west side of Broadway between 2nd and 3rd, Los Angeles, retail and offices, opened 1890.

Curlett, Eisen & Cuthbertson

• New Lanfranco Block, built 1888, 214–222 North Main St., Los Angeles[12][13]

References

1. "William F. Curlett (Architect)". Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
2. "Alexander Edward Curlett (Architect)". Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
3. "Curlett, William, and Son, Architects (Partnership)". Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
4. "Curlett and Beelman, Architects (Partnership)". Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
5. "PCAD - Curlett, Eisen, and Cuthbertson, Architects". pcad.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
7. "AMBER-20150127111802" (PDF).
8. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form - California SP Broadway Theater and Commercial District". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. 9 May 1979.
9. National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet: Mutual Savings Bank Building, National Park Service, 22 January 2014
10. "DTLA-Fact-Sheet_Dec2019" (PDF). December 2019.
11. "Campus Outreach". St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
12. "Lanfranco Block - Romanesque Revival Downtown - PocketSights". pocketsights.com. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
13. "To Be Replaced". Los Angeles Herald. 15 January 1888. p. 9.