Wemple, Emmet L. (Emmet Leroy), 1920-1996.

Emmet Wemple (1921-1996) was a renowned Southern California landscape architect, who played a critical role in the development of what has become known as "California Style." He blended architecture and nature in an effort to create a seamless whole. Born in San Francisco, Wemple had spent most of his life in Southern California. He graduated from the USC School of Fine Arts in 1947 and earned his license from the Board of Landscape Architects in 1954. He immediately opened a practice and became President of Emmet L. Wemple & Associates (ELWA), a site planning and urban design firm with offices in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa. The staff consisted of registered architects and landscape architects, with a number of individuals holding advanced degrees in fine arts, horticulture, landscape architecture and architecture. Over the course of 40 years, Wemple and his firm completed thousands of jobs both nationally and internationally. The versatile firm worked on a broad variety of projects, everything from large-scale urban design and master planning, corporate and commercial facilities, housing development and recreational centers, to smaller residential commissions. Some notable ones in the United States are the Getty Villa, J. Paul Getty Center, the Richard Nixon Library, Industry Hills, Home Savings of America Headquarters, Magic Mountain, MCA Citywalk (now called Universal CityWalk), Naval Medical Regional Center in San Diego, San Jacinto Civic Center, Valencia Town Center, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, and various university campuses, including USC and UCLA. International projects had been executed in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and Central America. Some examples are Taman Anggrek in Indonesia, the El Salvador Government Center and the United Overseas Bank in Singapore. In 1993, due to increasing thefts, the firm moved from its MacArthur Park office in Los Angeles to Pasadena. The firm came to a halt when Wemple passed away in 1996. Wemple had a tremendous impact at USC. He was the founding director of the masters program for Landscape Architecture and taught at the school from 1951 to 1988. His wife Meguila Seno Wemple (1930-2009) was an alumna of the USC School of Music. In 1988, Wemple was recognized as the distinguished alumnus of USC, and Ms. Wemple and friends established the Emmet L. Wemple Endowment for Landscape Architecture in his honor. Wemple served as interim dean of the USC School of Architecture in 1989 while heading the selection committee for a new dean. During his career, Wemple was honored as juror for awards, and given much recognition for his leadership and community service.

From the description of Emmet Wemple papers, 1960-1996 (bulk 1970-1995). (San Leandro Community Library). WorldCat record id: 710844689

Biographical Note

Emmet Wemple (1921-1996) was a renowned Southern California landscape architect, who played a critical role in the development of what has become known as "California Style." He blended architecture and nature in an effort to create a seamless whole. Born in San Francisco, Wemple had spent most of his life in Southern California. He graduated from the USC School of Fine Arts in 1947 and earned his license from the Board of Landscape Architects in 1954. He immediately opened a practice and became President of Emmet L. Wemple & Associates (ELWA), a site planning and urban design firm with offices in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa. The staff consisted of registered architects and landscape architects, with a number of individuals holding advanced degrees in fine arts, horticulture, landscape architecture and architecture.

Over the course of 40 years, Wemple and his firm completed thousands of jobs both nationally and internationally. The versatile firm worked on a broad variety of projects, everything from large-scale urban design and master planning, corporate and commercial facilities, housing development and recreational centers, to smaller residential commissions. Some notable ones in the United States are the Getty Villa, J. Paul Getty Center, the Richard Nixon Library, Industry Hills, Home Savings of America Headquarters, Magic Mountain, MCA Citywalk (now called Universal CityWalk), Naval Medical Regional Center in San Diego, San Jacinto Civic Center, Valencia Town Center, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, and various university campuses, including USC and UCLA. International projects had been executed in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and Central America. Some examples are Taman Anggrek in Indonesia, the El Salvador Government Center and the United Overseas Bank in Singapore. In 1993, due to increasing thefts, the firm moved from its MacArthur Park office in Los Angeles to Pasadena. The firm came to a halt when Wemple passed away in 1996.

Wemple had a tremendous impact at USC. He was the founding director of the masters program for Landscape Architecture and taught at the school from 1951 to 1988. His wife Meguila Seno Wemple (1930-2009) was an alumna of the USC School of Music. In 1988, Wemple was recognized as the distinguished alumnus of USC, and Ms. Wemple and friends established the Emmet L. Wemple Endowment for Landscape Architecture in his honor. Wemple served as interim dean of the USC School of Architecture in 1989 while heading the selection committee for a new dean. During his career, Wemple was honored as juror for awards, and given much recognition for his leadership and community service.

From the guide to the Emmet Wemple papers, Bulk, 1970-1995, 1960-1996, (Archivists' Toolkit)