Birge Malcolm Clark was an American architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, called “Palo Alto's best-loved architect” by the Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto Weekly

The Palo Alto Weekly is a weekly community newspaper in Palo Alto, California, owned by Embarcadero Media. It serves Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, Stanford, East Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills....

; he worked largely in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. He was the son of Arthur B. Clark, a professor of art and architecture at Stanford and the first mayor of Mayfield, California, later part of Palo Alto.

Clark was born April 16, 1893, in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, California, though his birth certificate was destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake. He graduated from Palo Alto High School

Palo Alto High School

Palo Alto Senior High School, known locally as "Paly," was founded in 1898 and is one of the oldest high schools in the region. Located in Palo Alto, California, United States, Paly is nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is adjacent to Stanford University. Paly is known for its academically...

 in 1910, and from Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 in 1914. He served as an observation balloon pilot in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

; he was shot down by a German pilot and won the Silver Star

Silver Star

The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

 for gallantry. He was married to the former Lucile Townley, daughter of Stanford mathematician and astronomer Sidney Dean Townley

Sidney Dean Townley

Sidney Dean Townley was an American astronomer and geodeticist.He was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin to Reverend Robert Townley and his wife Mary Wilkinson. After the equivalent of a high school education, he gained a job as a clerk in the local town bank. A year and a half later he was admitted to...

 for sixty-three years, until her death in 1986. His principal architectural works at Stanford are the Lou Henry Hoover House (assisting his father), now the residence of the university president, the three John Stauffer

John Stauffer

John Stauffer is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania Senate and House.-References:...

 laboratories (1960’s), and the Seeley G. Mudd

Seeley G. Mudd

Seeley Greenleaf Mudd, M.D. was an American physician, professor, and philanthropist.Mudd was born in Denver, Colorado in 1895, and was the son of noted mining engineer Seeley W. Mudd and brother of Harvey S. Mudd, also a miner, businessman, and philanthropist. He was eight when his family moved...

 Chemistry Building (1977). His principal works in Palo Alto include the old police and fire station (now the senior citizen’s center), the Lucie Stern Community Center, the President Hotel, the Palo Alto Post Office, the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, and much of the 500 block of Ramona Street.

Research resources

• Birge Malcolm Clark Papers, 1914-1985 (5 linear ft.) are housed in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford University Libraries