S. Charles Lee (September 5, 1899 - January 27, 1990) was an American
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
recognized as one of the most prolific and distinguished motion picture theater designers on the
West CoastThe "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Coastline" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. It most often comprises California, Oregon and Washington...
.
Simeon Charles Levi was born in Chicago in 1899 to American-born parents of German-Jewish ancestry, Julius and Hattie (Stiller) Levi. He grew up going to vaudeville theatres, nickelodeons,and early movie houses.
S. Charles Lee (September 5, 1899 - January 27, 1990) was an American
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
recognized as one of the most prolific and distinguished motion picture theater designers on the
West CoastThe "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Coastline" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. It most often comprises California, Oregon and Washington...
.
Early life
Simeon Charles Levi was born in Chicago in 1899 to American-born parents of German-Jewish ancestry, Julius and Hattie (Stiller) Levi. He grew up going to vaudeville theatres, nickelodeons,and early movie houses. A tinkerer interested in mechanical things, Lee built three motorcars as a teenager. His interest in mechanics led him to Lake Technical High School in Chicago, where he graduated in 1916.
Education
While in high school in 1915, he worked after school in the office of Chicago architect Henry Newhouse, a family friend who specialized in theater design: small motion picture houses, nickelodeons and remodeling storefronts into theaters. 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
NavyA navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
. After his discharge in 1920, he entered the
Armour Institute of TechnologyIllinois Institute of Technology , commonly called Illinois Tech, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
to study architecture, where he was exposed to the principles of the
École des Beaux-ArtsÉcole des Beaux-Arts ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement...
which are reflected in his later work.
While in Chicago, Lee worked for
Rapp & RappThe architectural firm Rapp and Rapp was active in Chicago during the early 20th century. The brothers Cornelius W. Rapp and George L. Rapp were the named partners. The firm is well-known as one of the leading designers of early 20th century movie palaces...
, a highly regarded Chicago architectural firm well known for movie theater design. Lee was also influenced by
Louis SullivanLouis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of modernism." He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an inspiration to the Chicago...
's lectures in his architecture classes and Frank Lloyd Wright's work, particularly Midway Gardens and Wright's Oak Park studio. Lee was also impressed by the 1922
Chicago Tribune TowerThe Tribune Tower is a neo-Gothic building located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Company. WGN Radio also broadcasts from the building, with ground-level studios overlooking nearby Pioneer Court and Michigan Avenue. CNN's...
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."
Career
In 1922, Lee moved to Los Angeles. His first major
movie palaceA movie palace or picture palace is a term used to refer to the grand cinemas of the 1910s to early 1960s.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed under the label movie palace...
was the
Tower TheatreThe Tower Theatre, at 802 S. Broadway, is a historic venue that opened in 1927 in the Broadway Theatre district of Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
, a Spanish-Romanesque-Moorish design that launched a career that would make Lee the principal designer of motion picture theaters in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s. He is credited with designing over 400 theaters throughout
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and Mexico. His palatial and Baroque
Los Angeles TheatreThe Los Angeles Theatre is a 2,000 seat movie palace located at 615 S. Broadway in the historic Broadway Theater and Commercial District in Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
(1931) is regarded by many architectural historians as the finest theater building in Los Angeles.
Lee was an early proponent of
Art DecoArt Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film...
and
ModerneModerne has several meanings:* A more general term for a style of architecture that became popular in 1925 and was described in the 1960's as "Art Deco"...
style theaters, including
FresnoFresno may refer to:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León* Fresno el Viejo, Tierra del Vino, Valladolid...
's Tower Theatre. The
Bruin TheaterThe Fox Bruin Theater is a large movie palace located in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, California. The structure was designed by noted movie theater architect, S...
(1937) and Academy Theatre (1939) are among his most characteristic. The latter, located in
InglewoodInglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. In 2006, its population was estimated at 129,900. The city is in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, is a prime example of Lee's successful response to the automobile. After World War II, Lee recognized that the grand theater building had become a thing of the past, and began to focus on new technologies in industrial architecture. His work in the field of tilt-up building systems was published in Architectural Record in 1952.
Buildings
- Hollywood Melrose Hotel
The Hollywood Melrose Hotel, also known previously as the Melrose Arms and later as the Monte Cristo Island Apartments, is a historic building on Melrose Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Designed by S. Charles Lee, the structure was built in 1927...
(1927)
- Tower Theatre (Los Angeles)
The Tower Theatre, at 802 S. Broadway, is a historic venue that opened in 1927 in the Broadway Theatre district of Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
(1927)
- Los Angeles Theatre
The Los Angeles Theatre is a 2,000 seat movie palace located at 615 S. Broadway in the historic Broadway Theater and Commercial District in Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
, Los Angeles (1931)
- Hollywood & Western Building
The Hollywood & Western Building, formerly known as the "Hollywood Western Building," is a four-story Art Deco office building located at 5500 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument on January 1, 1988.Designed by S....
, HollywoodHollywood is a district in Los Angeles, California, United States, situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is often used as a metonymy of American cinema...
(1931)
- Max Factor Building, Hollywood (1935)
- Bruin Theater
The Fox Bruin Theater is a large movie palace located in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, California. The structure was designed by noted movie theater architect, S...
, WestwoodWestwood Village is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States. Westwood is best known as the home of the University of California, Los Angeles . The eastern portions of the district are often thought of as a distinctly different neighborhood, Holmby Hills...
, Los Angeles (1937)
- Fox (Alpha) Theater, Bell
Bell is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,664 at the 2000 census.Bell is located on the west bank of the Los Angeles River and is situated north of South Gate...
, California (1938)
Awards
- Lee's work on the Los Angeles Tower Theatre
The Tower Theatre, at 802 S. Broadway, is a historic venue that opened in 1927 in the Broadway Theatre district of Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...
was featured in the regional architectural journal Architect & Engineer in 1928.
- In 1934, Lee was honored for architectural excellence by the Royal Institute of British Architects at the International Exhibition of Contemporary Architecture in London, for his 1931 "Spanish American Mission style" design for the Fox Florence Theatre in Los Angeles.
- One of Lee's non-theater projects, a Jewish synagogue designed in the California Mission tradition, was featured in Architectural Record in 1946.
- Lee received the highest recognition of the Society of Registered Architects, the "Synergy Award," in 1975.
- The UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning established an endowed chair honoring Lee in 1986.
External links