Lester S. Moore
Encyclopedia
Lester Sherwood Moore was an American architect.
Moore designed residential homes and other buildings in the early 20th century. He was based in Los Angeles
, California, United States, and is credited for being one of the first to recognize and appreciate Mission Style
as a worthy architectural form. Moore's office was located in the Tajo Building, #307, at the NW corner of First and Broadway in Los Angeles.
in September 1871, was the second of five children born to Douglas J. and Cynthia A. Moore. His father, a farmer, painter and occasional huckster, was a Canadian immigrant who fought with the 11th Kansas Cavalry
during the American Civil War
, but did not become a naturalized citizen of the United States until 1886. He enlisted in the war as a private, but was a corporal before the war's end. Moore's mother was born in Illinois.
After moving to California, Moore married Anna "Belle" Russ in Los Angeles on June 6, 1894. Initially the two lived with Anna's parents, John and Louise Russ, but subsequently moved to 3301 Griffin Ave, Los Angeles. They had two children. Dorothy L. Moore was born in 1901 and Barbara M. Moore was born in 1906. Around 1918 Moore and his family moved to Kern County, where he worked for the CCM (Chanslor-Canfield Midway) Oil Company as a Geologic Engineer. Moore died in 1924. The 1930 Federal Census shows his wife Anna, and Daughter Barbara, were back living in Los Angeles with Anna's mother, who was now living at their old address on Griffin Ave.
" which was declared Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #529 on April 23, 1991. This 1909 house is a 1½ story California bungalow
in the Craftsman style
overlooking the Arroyo Seco from Montecito Heights, and is located at 4115 Berenice Place, Los Angeles. He also designed the Thomas J. Washburn House (1911) which was purchased in 1941 by Hattie McDaniel
, the first black actress to win an Academy Award when she won the Best Supporting Actress
Oscar for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind
.
Moore became associated with Riverside, California
when he submitted plans for a new Riverside County courthouse in 1902. Moore did not win the contract, but he did subsequently design a number of homes and other structures in Riverside. Many of the Riverside homes Moore designed were located in the somewhat exclusive area now known as the Rubidoux Heights Historic District, which included one section commonly referred to as "Banker's Row".
Moore designed residential homes and other buildings in the early 20th century. He was based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California, United States, and is credited for being one of the first to recognize and appreciate Mission Style
Mission Revival Style architecture
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
as a worthy architectural form. Moore's office was located in the Tajo Building, #307, at the NW corner of First and Broadway in Los Angeles.
Biography
Moore, born in Topeka, KansasTopeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
in September 1871, was the second of five children born to Douglas J. and Cynthia A. Moore. His father, a farmer, painter and occasional huckster, was a Canadian immigrant who fought with the 11th Kansas Cavalry
11th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
The 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 11th Kansas Cavalry was organized at Kansas City, Kansas in late April 1863 from the 11th Kansas Infantry, which ceased to exist...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, but did not become a naturalized citizen of the United States until 1886. He enlisted in the war as a private, but was a corporal before the war's end. Moore's mother was born in Illinois.
After moving to California, Moore married Anna "Belle" Russ in Los Angeles on June 6, 1894. Initially the two lived with Anna's parents, John and Louise Russ, but subsequently moved to 3301 Griffin Ave, Los Angeles. They had two children. Dorothy L. Moore was born in 1901 and Barbara M. Moore was born in 1906. Around 1918 Moore and his family moved to Kern County, where he worked for the CCM (Chanslor-Canfield Midway) Oil Company as a Geologic Engineer. Moore died in 1924. The 1930 Federal Census shows his wife Anna, and Daughter Barbara, were back living in Los Angeles with Anna's mother, who was now living at their old address on Griffin Ave.
Work
One of Moore's notable achievements is the "Montecito View HouseMontecito View House
The Montecito View House, located at 4115 Berenice Place in the Montecito Heights community of Los Angeles, is a Craftsman bungalow designed by architect Lester S. Moore and built in 1909. It was one of the very first homes constructed in Montecito Heights, and was featured on the cover of the...
" which was declared Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #529 on April 23, 1991. This 1909 house is a 1½ story California bungalow
California Bungalow
California bungalows, known as Californian bungalows in Australia and are commonly called simply bungalows in America, are a form of residential structure that were widely popular across America and, to some extent, the world around the years 1910 to 1939.-Exterior features:Bungalows are 1 or 1½...
in the Craftsman style
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
overlooking the Arroyo Seco from Montecito Heights, and is located at 4115 Berenice Place, Los Angeles. He also designed the Thomas J. Washburn House (1911) which was purchased in 1941 by Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
, the first black actress to win an Academy Award when she won the Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
Oscar for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
.
Moore became associated with Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
when he submitted plans for a new Riverside County courthouse in 1902. Moore did not win the contract, but he did subsequently design a number of homes and other structures in Riverside. Many of the Riverside homes Moore designed were located in the somewhat exclusive area now known as the Rubidoux Heights Historic District, which included one section commonly referred to as "Banker's Row".
List of structures designed by Lester S. Moore
| Year Built | Style | Location | Structure Name & Details | Ref Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNK | South Pasadena, CA | J. A. Hobert House; Built before 1911 | ||
| UNK | Bungalow | San Marino, CA | The Hart Bungalow; Built before 1911 | |
| UNK | Los Angeles, CA | Apartment Building at W. 6th St; Built around 1900 | USC Digital Archives | |
| UNK | Pasadena, CA | A. Truenan House, 5201 Pasadena Ave, Pasadena, CA | LA Planning Document | |
| 1903 | Montebello, CA (aka Newmark, CA) | Mrs. G. Reeves-Collins House | ||
| 1908 | Craftsman | 3587 Mount Rubidoux Dr, Riverside, CA | William B. Clancy Residence;Riverside Structure of Merit #350; Mt Rubidoux Historic District | |
| 1909 | Craftsman | 4115 Berenice Place, Los Angeles, CA | The Montecito View House; Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #529 | Fisher |
| 1909 | Spanish Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was a United States architectural stylistic movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in California and Florida as a regional expression related to history, environment, and nostalgia... -Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival Style architecture The Mediterranean Revival was an eclectic design style that was first introduced in the United States about the end of the nineteenth century, and became popular during the 1920s and 1930s... |
3563 Mount Rubidoux Dr, Riverside, CA | Stanley J. Castleman Residence; Riverside Structure of Merit #349; Mt Rubidoux Historic District | |
| 1909 | Craftsman | 4540 University Ave, Riverside, CA | M. B. Sleeper House; Riverside Structure of Merit #230; Mt Rubidoux Historic District | |
| 1909 | Craftsman | 4522 Indian Hill Rd, Riverside, CA | A.M. Pier Residence; Riverside Structure of Merit #361; Mt Rubidoux Historic District | |
| 1910 | Craftsman | 4555 Mission Inn Mission Inn The Mission Inn, now known as The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, is a historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California. Although a composite of many architectural styles, it is generally considered the largest Mission Revival Style building in the United States.-History:The property began as a... Ave, Riverside, CA |
Residence of Isaac Logan; Riverside City Structure of Merit #339; Mount Rubidoux Historic District; Seventh St Historic District | |
| 1910 | Craftsman | 3511 Mount Rubidoux Dr, Riverside, CA | W. T. Dinsmore Residence; Riverside City Structure of Merit #347; Mount Rubidoux Historic District | |
| 1910 | Craftsman | 4526 University Ave, Riverside, CA | W.P. Danchy Residence; Riverside City Structure of Merit #169; Mount Rubidoux Historic District | |
| 1910 | Craftsman | 3471 Redwood Dr, Riverside, CA | M.J. Wade Residence; Riverside City Structure of Merit #359; Mount Rubidoux Historic District | |
| 1910 | Craftsman/California Bungalow | 2041 Arroyo Dr, Riverside, CA | A.D. Shamel House | |
| 1910 | Craftsman | 335 Monterey Rd, South Pasadena, CA | Ezra & Ida Thompsan Residence | |
| 1911 | Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival Style architecture The Mediterranean Revival was an eclectic design style that was first introduced in the United States about the end of the nineteenth century, and became popular during the 1920s and 1930s... |
2203 South Harvard Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA | Thomas J. Washburn House | |
| 1911 | 4625 Glenwood Dr, Riverside, CA | Bigelow's Bungalow | ||
| 1911 | 4495 Fifth St, Riverside, CA | The Phillips House | ||
| 1912 | Mission Revival Mission Revival Style architecture The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California.... |
? San Andreas Ave, Riverside, CA | The University of Riverside Citrus Exp Station University of California Citrus Experiment Station The University of California Citrus Experiment Station is the founding unit of the University of California, Riverside campus in Riverside, California, United States. The station contributed greatly to the cultivation of the orange and the overall agriculture industry in California... |
|
| 1912 | 814 South Flower St; Los Angeles, CA | Pierce Brothers and Company Funeral Home | ||
| 1912 | Prairie Prairie School Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,... |
3783 & 3811 Mount Rubidoux Dr, Riverside, CA | LeRoy and LaMonte Simms Houses (twins); Riverside City Structure of Merit #353 and 354; Mt Rubidoux Historic District | |
| 1912 | Craftsman | 4509 University, Riverside, CA | The Harry Stewart House | |
| 1912 | Craftsman | 4495 Fifth St, Riverside, CA | Residence of Nora A. Philips; Coloney Heights Historic District | |
| 1913 | Italianate Italianate architecture The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and... Craftsman |
2835 Holliston Ave, Altadena, CA | The Richard and Mabelle Hill House | Zillow.com |
| 1913 | Craftsman, river rock | Big Santa Anita Canyon, CA | Sierra Club's Muir Lodge; Destroyed by flood in March 1938 | |
| 1913 | Wilmington, Los Angeles, CA | Calvary Presbyterian Church | ||
| 1913 | Buena Vista and Florida Ave, Hemet, CA | Hemet Public Library Hemet Public Library The Hemet Public Library is a public library in Hemet, California, which opened its current new library in July 2003. The library is one of the newest libraries in Riverside County, California.-History:... - The Carnegie Library (razed 1969) |
||
| 1914 | Craftsman/American Foursquare American Foursquare The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was... |
4477 University Ave, Riverside, CA | The Hugh Craig House; Evergreen Quarter Historic District | |
| 1915 | Mediterranean Revival | 4495 Mission Inn Mission Inn The Mission Inn, now known as The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, is a historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California. Although a composite of many architectural styles, it is generally considered the largest Mission Revival Style building in the United States.-History:The property began as a... Ave, Riverside, CA |
Residence of Robert J. Lutz; Colony Heights Historic District, Seventh St Historic District | |
| 1917 | Prairie | 3354 Orange St, Riverside, CA | E.E. Stewart Residence; Riverside City Structure of Merit #538; Heritage Square Historic District | |
| 1917 | Mediterranean Revival | 4541 Mission Inn Mission Inn The Mission Inn, now known as The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, is a historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California. Although a composite of many architectural styles, it is generally considered the largest Mission Revival Style building in the United States.-History:The property began as a... Ave, Riverside, CA (Orig. 1541 Seventh St) |
Residence of Mary E. Brehm; Riverside City Structure of Merit #338; Mount Rubidoux Historic District; Seventh St Historic District |
General & Informational Links
- University of Washington Libraries, Digital Initiative Program, Architect Database (Search the Architects for "Moore, Lester S.")
- "City of Riverside Historic Districts and Homes Database"
- "Mount Rubidoux Historic District Design Guidelines, Riverside, California" by Thirtieth Street Architects. September 2, 1992
- Brent C. Dickerson, A Visit to Old Los Angeles and Environs; (See "8. Broadway (part 2). First Street to Fourth Street." for a glimpse of the Tejo Building)