M. Eugene Durfee (1885-1941) was an American architect prominent in Orange County, California.
Life and career Morien Eugene Durfee was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin in 1885. In 1897 his family moved to Seattle, Washington, where Durfee was educated. Around 1903, at the age of 18, Durfee went to San Francisco to work for architects Shea & Shea, who were known for their commercial buildings. Three years later he returned to Seattle. In 1909 he formed a partnership in Seattle with Emmanuel J. Bresemann, whom he had known in San Francisco."Bresemann, Emmanuel J". http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/. n.d. In late 1913, Durfee took an extended trip to Southern California to visit his wife's family. Interested in the opportunities that it offered, Bresemann & Durfee was dissolved and Durfee moved south to Los Angeles. By early 1914 he was living and practicing in Anaheim.The Central Tower Building: City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation Report. City of Santa Monica: http://www.smgov.net/, Feb. 2010.
As an architect, Durfee had a major impact on the physical character of Anaheim, plus the nearby cities of Fullerton and Santa Ana. However, most of downtown Anaheim (and thus Durfee's buildings) was destroyed by urban renewal in the 1980s.
Durfee relocated to Tucson, Arizona in 1921, but returned only a few months later.Architect and Engineer Aug. 1921: 106. San Francisco. Other than that, he remained in Anaheim until 1927, when he moved to Los Angeles, with offices in the Commercial Exchange Building. By the time of his death on December 26, 1941, he was working in Long Beach, California.
Selected works
Bresemann & Durfee, 1909-1913 1909 - Pemberton Bros. Houses, 4711-4715-4719 Whitman Ave N and 917 N 48th St, Seattle, Washington"Summary for 4711 WHITMAN AVE / Parcel ID 9521101280 / Inv # 0". Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: http://web6.seattle.gov/, 2009. 1910 - Nemias B. Beck Houses, 5800-5804 15th Ave, Seattle, Washington"Summary for 5800-5804 15TH AVE / Parcel ID 0641000200/064100100 / Inv # 0". Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: http://web6.seattle.gov/, 2014. 1910 - Westlake Hotel, 2008 Westlake Ave, Seattle, Washington 1911 - St. James Hotel, 640 Johnson St, Victoria, British Columbia 1912 - First Congregational (Central Presbyterian) Church, 1170 Thurlow St, Vancouver, British ColumbiaEngineering Review May 1912: 53. New York. 1913 - Commercial Hotel, 121 Bastion St, Nanaimo, British Columbia 1913 - First Congregational Church, 1600 Quadra St, Victoria, British Columbia"1600-02 Quadra Street". http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/. 2015.
M. Eugene Durfee, 1914-1941
1914 - Yungbluth Building, 145 W Center St, Anaheim, CaliforniaSouthwest Contractor 10 Oct. 1914: 23. Los Angeles. Demolished. 1915 - Hotel Valencia, 182 W Center St, Anaheim, CaliforniaSouthwest Contractor 29 May 1915: 18. Los Angeles. Burned in 1977. 1916 - First National Bank Building, Center St, Anaheim, CaliforniaSouthwest Contractor 13 May 1916: 13. Los Angeles. Demolished. 1918 - Grand Theatre, 1139 N G Ave, Douglas, ArizonaHayostek, Cindy. Images of America: Douglas. 2009. 1918 - Liberty Theatre, 110 Jerome Ave, Jerome, Arizona"115 Early Arizona Architects List (1880-1930)". http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/. n.d. Facade altered beyond recognition. 1922 - Anaheim City Hall, 204 E Center St, Anaheim, CaliforniaJournal of Electricity and Western Industry 1 Jan. 1922: 39. With Theodore C. Kistner of San Diego. Demolished. 1922 - California Hotel (Villa del Sol), 305 N Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, CaliforniaBuilding and Engineering News 28 Jan. 1922: 15. With Frank K. Benchley of Fullerton. 1923 - Chapman Building, 110 E Wilshire Blvd, Fullerton, CaliforniaBuilding and Engineering News 30 Dec. 1922: 16. 1923 - Kraemer Building, 76 S Claudina St, Anaheim, CaliforniaEngineering News-Record 1923: 39. 1926 - Pickwick Hotel (orig. El Torre Hotel), 225 S Los Angeles St (now Anaheim Blvd), Anaheim, CaliforniaWestern Machinery and Steel World 1926: 227. Demolished in 1988. 1927 - Amphitheatre, Pearson Park, Anaheim, CaliforniaFaessel, Stephen J. Images of America: Early Anaheim. 2006. 1927 - Builder's Exchange Building, 1505 4th St, Santa Monica, CaliforniaGebhard, David and Robert Winter. An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles. 2003. 1928 - El Cortez Apartments, 475 S New Hampshire Ave, Los Angeles, CaliforniaWestern Machinery World March 1928: 144. San Francisco. 1929 - Central Tower Building, 1424 4th St, Santa Monica, CaliforniaCooper, Suzanne Tarbell, Amy Ronnebeck Hall, and Frank E. Cooper, Jr. Images of America: Los Angeles Art Deco. 2005. 1929 - Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W Congress St, Tucson, ArizonaNequette, Anne M. and R. Brooks Jeffrey. A Guide to Tucson Architecture. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2002. 1930 - Georgian Hotel, 1415 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, California
References