The Parkinsons

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John and Donald Parkinson were a father-and-son architectural team operating in Los Angeles in the early 20th Century.

John Parkinson was born in the small village of Scorton, in Lancashire, England in 1861. At the age of sixteen, he was apprenticed for six years to a contractor/builder in nearby Bolton, where he learned the meaning of craftsmanship and gained a strong knowledge of practical construction. Simultaneously, he attended night school, where he developed architectural drafting and engineering skills. Upon completion of his apprenticeship at age 21, he immigrated to North America as an adventure, where he built fences in Winnipeg and learned stair building in Minneapolis. Seeking to pursue his career back home, he returned to England only to discover that the English construction trades demanded more time and service for advancement. He decided that his then capabilities would be more appropriate to the less-structured opportunities in America.

This time, Parkinson went to California, settling in Napa. In 1890, he moved to Seattle, where he opened his first architectural practice. He served as School Board Architect from 1891-94, and designed numerous schools there. Today, four buildings remain as evidence of his Seattle accomplishments.

By the winter of 1893, a serious economic depression had developed in Seattle. Faced with no projects, nor prospects for work, John Parkinson moved on to Los Angeles and opened his architecture office on Spring Street between Second and Third Streets. By 1896, Parkinson had designed the city's first Class "A" fireproof steel-frame structure: the Homer Laughlin Building at Third Street and Broadway. His design for the 1904 Braly Block at Fourth Street and Spring became the first "skyscraper" built in Los Angeles. It held the distinction of being the tallest structure in town until the completion of City Hall in 1928.

In 1905, Parkinson formed a partnership with G. Edwin Bergstrom which lasted for ten years. Parkinson and Bergstrom became the dominant architectural firm for major structures in Los Angeles. Five years after Bergstrom left to establish his own successful practice, John Parkinson was joined in 1920 by his son, Donald B. Parkinson. Parkinson & Parkinson designed many of Los Angeles' finest buildings, which became some of the city's most enduring landmarks. Found on the impressive roster are: the Campus Master Plan and several noted buildings of the University of Southern California (1919-39)[1], the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923 and 1930-31), Los Angeles City Hall (1928, with Albert C. Martin/structural and John C. Austin/working drawings), Bullocks-Wilshire (1929) and Union Station (1939). There are many others which, though less well-known, help to define the urban landscape of Los Angeles and Southern California.


[edit] Evolution of the continuously operating Parkinson Firm

  • 1888–1894 John Parkinson, Architect (Napa, California and Seattle, Washington)
  • 1894–1895 Burton and Parkinson, Architects (Los Angeles, California)
  • 1895–1905 John Parkinson, Architect (Los Angeles, California)
  • 1905–1915 John Parkinson and G. Edwin Bergstrom, Architects (Los Angeles, California)
  • 1915–1920 John Parkinson, Architect (Los Angeles, California)
  • 1920–1945 John Parkinson and Donald B. Parkinson, Architects (Los Angeles, California)
  • 1945–1955 Parkinson, Powelson, Briney, Bernard & Woodford, Architects (Los Angeles, California)
  • 1955–1984 Woodford & Bernard, Architects (Los Angeles, California)
  • 1984–1990 Woodford, Parkinson, Wynn & Partners, Architects (Los Angeles and San Diego, California)
  • 1990–1992 DWL Parkinson Architects (Los Angeles and San Diego, California)
  • 1992–present Parkinson Field Associates (Los Angeles, California and Austin, Texas)
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