Morgan, Walls & Clements was an architectural firm based in Los Angeles, California and was responsible for many of the city's landmarks, dating back to the late 19th century.
History Morgan, Walls & Clements earliest precursor, Kysor & Hennessy, consisted of partners Ezra F. Kysor and John F. Hennessy,Howard, Rod. "Hennessy, John Francis (Jack) (1853–1924)". https://adb.anu.edu.au/. Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1983. Web. then in 1880, Hennessy left and the firm's draftsman Octavius Morgan was promoted to partner, creating Kysor & Morgan. John A. Walls joined in 1886 to create Kysor, Morgan and Walls,Los Angeles Herald 27 Oct. 1886. and Kysor retired in 1890, resulting in Morgan and Walls. Around 1910, Morgan's son O.W. Morgan was promoted, creating Morgan, Walls and Morgan, then the elder Morgan retired and designer Stiles O. Clements was promoted, resulting in Morgan, Walls and Clements.
Morgan, Walls and Clements hit its stride with a series of theaters and commercial projects around MacArthur Park. Clements often worked in Spanish Colonial revival and Mayan revival styles, but their major project was the black Art Deco Richfield Tower, a commanding presence in downtown from its 1928 completion to its 1969 destruction. Walls did not live to see the completion of the building, as he had died in 1922.
Clements left the firm in 1937 to start his own practice, Stiles O. Clements & Associates, where he remained until his retirement in 1965.
Works National Register of Historic Places
Adamson House, Malibu, California, 1930 Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, California, 1931 Professional Building, Phoenix, Arizona, 1932
Broadway Theater and Commercial District Bumiller Building, 1906 Eshman Building, 1909 Walter P. Story Building, 1909 Arcade Theater, 1910 Bullock's-Hollenbeck, 1912 Title Guarantee Block, 1913 Blackstone Department Store Building, 1939 renovation
Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District
El Capitan Theatre, 1926 Hallmark Building, 1931 remodel Julian Medical Building, 1934 Bank of America Building, 1935 remodel
Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monuments
Arcade Theater, 1910 Artisan's Patio Complex, 1918 El Capitan Theatre, 1926 Belasco Theater, 1926 Mayan Theater, 1927 Chapman Plaza, 1929 Highland Towers Apartments, Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre, 1931
Long Beach City Landmarks Famous Department Store, 1928-9"Famous Department Store/RiteAid", Historic Landmarks, City of Long Beach
Other Works Los Angeles
Bullard Block, 1895 (demolished 1925) Tally's Electric Theater, 1902 Parmelee-Dohrmann Building, 1906 (demolished) Van Nuys Apartments, 1913 Haas Building, S. Broadway, 1915 Olive J. Cobb Building, 1924 Hollywood Storage Company Building, 1925 Hollywood Post Office, 1925 (demolished) Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Building, 1926 Music Box Theater, 1926 Ninth & Hill Building, 1926 Downtown Shopping News, Printing & Distribution Building, 1927 Richfield Tower, 1929 (demolished) Security Pacific Bank, 1930 900 N. La Brea Ave, 1930 (demolished) Leimert Theatre, 1931 Dominguez-Wilshire Building, 1931 5450–4 Wilshire Blvd, 1936
Elsewhere in southern California
Santa Clara Roman Catholic Church, Oxnard, 1903 First National Bank, Orange, 1928 Adams Square Building, Glendale, 1928 Samson Tire and Rubber Factory, Commerce, 1929-30.
References