Lee, S. Charles

S. Charles Lee was born in Chicago on Sept. 5, 1899; graduated, Technical College, Chicago, 1918; senior architect, South Park Board, City of Chicago, 1918; US Navy, 1918-20; graduated, Armour Institute of Technology, Art Institute of Chicago, 1921; moved to Los Angeles, 1921; opened architectural office, LA, 1922; designed and built Tower Theatre (1927), Fox Wilshire Theatre and Los Angeles Theatre (1929), Max Factor buildings, Hollywood (1931-35), Fox Florence Theatre (1931), Municipal Light, Water and Power Buildings, Los Angeles (1934-35), Bruin Theatre (1937), Tower Bowl, San Diego (1940), and built several theaters in Mexico City (1942); honored by Royal Institute of British Architects at International Exhibit of Contemporary Architects, London, 1934; began partnership with Sam Hayden, 1948; began development of Los Angeles International Airport Industrial District, 1948; established S. Charles Lee Foundation, 1962; named Vice Consul to Beverly Hills by President of Panama, 1963; established S. Charles Lee Chair, UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, 1986; died in 1.

From the description of Papers, 1919-1962. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 39693327

Biography

S. Charles Lee was born in Chicago on September 5, 1899; graduated, Technical College, Chicago, 1918; senior architect, South Park Board, City of Chicago, 1918; U.S. Navy, 1918-20; graduated, Armour Institute of Technology, Art Institute of Chicago, 1921; moved to Los Angeles, 1921; opened architectural office, Los Angeles, 1922; designed and built Tower Theatre (1927), Fox Wilshire Theatre and Los Angeles Theatre (1929), Max Factor buildings, Hollywood (1931-35), Fox Florence Theatre (1931), Municipal Light, Water and Power Buildings, Los Angeles (1934-35), Bruin Theatre (1937), Tower Bowl, San Diego (1940), and built several theaters in Mexico City (1942); honored by Royal Institute of British Architects at International Exhibit of Contemporary Architects, London, 1934; began partnership with Sam Hayden, 1948; began development of Los Angeles International Airport Industrial District, 1948; established S. Charles Lee Foundation, 1962; named Vice Consul to Beverly Hills! by President of Panama, 1963; established S. Charles Lee Chair, UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, 1986; died in 1990.

Biographical Narrative

Born Simeon Charles Levi in Chicago in 1899, Lee was the son of American-born parents of German-Jewish ancestry, Julius and Hattie (Stiller) Levi. Lee (who later changed his name from Levi) grew up in the Chicago of Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Lee's own favorite building was Sullivan's Carson Pirie Scott Department Store. He also grew up with the evolving motion picture; he went to vaudeville theatres, nickolodeons,and early movie houses. A tinkerer interested in mechanical things, Lee built three motorcars as a teenager.

His interest in mechanics took him to Lake Technical High School in Chicago. He started out in architecture in 1915 by working after school in the office of Chicago architect Henry Newhouse, a family friend. Newhouse specialized in theatre design: small motion picture houses, nickolodeons and remodeling storefronts into theatres. After graduation in 1916, Lee attended Chicago Technical College, graduating with honors in 1918. His first job was as architect for the South Park Board of the City of Chicago. During World War I he enlisted in the Navy. After his discharge in 1920, he entered the Armour Institute of Technology to study architecture. The course followed the principles of the Ecole des Beaux Arts and this training is reflected in the composition and imagery of his later drawings. It is also reflected in his own emphasis on the plan as the driving force of the design. This practical approach would serve him well in his many commercial designs.

Other influences on the young architect were Sullivan's lectures in his architecture classes and Wright's work, particularly Midway Gardens and Wright's house and studio in Oak Park. Lee was also impressed by the 1922 Chicago Tribune tower competition, which juxtaposed historicism with modernism. Lee considered himself a modernist, and his career revealed both the Beaux Arts discipline and emphasis on planning and the modernist functionalism and freedom of form (Valentine, p.32). He was also a pragmatist, designing his buildings to support and enhance the commercial ventures they housed.

Scheid

3/13/2000

Chronology

• 1899: Born Chicago, Illinois.
• 1914: Built full-scale gas-powered automobile.
• 1915: Licensed radio operator.
• [191_]: Graduated Technical College, Chicago, with honors.
• 1918: Senior architect, South Park Board, City of Chicago.
• 1918 - 20 : Served United States Navy, Great Lakes Training Station.
• 1921: Graduated Armour Institute of Technology, Art Institute, Chicago.
• [192_]: Worked in office of Rapp and Rapp, Chicago.
• 1921: Came to Los Angeles.
• Licensed by State of Illinois to practice architecture.
• 1922: Opened architectural office in Los Angeles.
• 1920s: Designed and built houses, apartment buildings, hotels.
• 1927: Married Miriam (Midge) Zelda Aisenstein, Los Angeles.
• Designed and built Tower Theatre, Los Angeles.
• 1928: Daughter Constance born, Los Angeles.
• Designed and built Hollywood-Western Building for Motion Picture Producers Association, Hollywood.
• 1929: Designed and built Fox Wilshire Theatre, Beverly Hills.
• Designed and built Los Angeles Theatre, Los Angeles.
• 1931: Designed and built Fox Florence Theatre, Beverly Hills.
• 1931 - 35 : Designed and built Max Factor Buildings, Hollywood.
• 1930s: Designed dozens of commercial buildings and remodellings.
• 1934: Honored by Royal Institute of British Architects at International Exhibit of Contemporary Architects, London.
• 1934 - 35 : Designed and built Municipal Light, Water and Power Buildings, Los Angeles.
• 1935: Licensed airplane pilot.
• 1935 - 50 : Designed and built scores of small theatres throughout California and elsewhere in United States.
• 1937: Designed and built Bruin Theatre, Los Angeles.
• 1939: Designed and built Academy Theatre, Inglewood.
• 1940: Designed and built Twoer Bowl, San Diego.
• 1942: Built several theatres, Mexico City.
• 1948: Began partnership with Sam Hayden.
• Began development of International Airport Industrial District.
• 1948 - 50s : Built dozens of small factories throughout Los Angeles.
• 1959: Began serving on Board of Directors, Braille Institute (treasurer).
• 1960: Wife died, Los Angeles.
• 1962: Established S. Charles Lee Foundation.
• 1963: Named Vice Consul to Beverly Hills by President of Panama.
• 1966: Married Hylda Moss, Buenos Aires.
• 1968: Received Presidential Medal, Order of Vasco Nuñez Balboa, Panama's highest order of merit.
• 1974: Named Consul to Beverly Hills from Panama.
• 1986: Established S. Charles Lee Chair, UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Los Angeles.

From the guide to the S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)