The 3,000-seat Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, opened in 1958.

Welton Becket (1902-1969) was an architect who designed many of the most famous buildings in Hollywood and Los Angeles, California. He was born in Seattle, Washington. Santa Monica (California) Civic Auditorium. ... Santa Monica (California) Civic Auditorium. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... ... Nickname: City of Angels Official website: http://www. ... This article is about the city. ...

Becket's extensive list of credits includes the Theme Building at LAX, The Capitol Tower, the Cinerama Dome, the Los Angeles Music Center (including the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion), the master plan for Century City, the Beverly Hilton, and the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Runway layout at LAX Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX), is the primary airport serving Los Angeles, California. ... LAX may refer to Los Angeles International Airport LAX (TV series) Lacrosse (sport) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, now part of the EMI Music Group. ... The Cinerama Dome, as decorated for Shrek 2 Pacific Theatres Cinerama Dome at 6360 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood has been a landmark movie theater since its opening on November 7, 1963. ... The Los Angeles Music Center (its actual name is the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County) is a complex of four entertainment venues located on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. ... The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center (which is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the nation). ... Century City is the name of: A neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA. See: Century City, Los Angeles, California. ... Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California USA, by the Pacific Ocean, south of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, west of Westwood, Los Angeles, and north of Venice. ...

Becket settled in Los Angeles in 1933 and formed a partnership with his University of Washington classmate Walter Wurdeman and Angelean architect Charles F. Plummer. Their first major commission was the landmark Moderne Pan-Pacific Auditorium in 1935, which won them residential jobs from James Cagney, Robert Montgomery, and other film celebrities. Plummer died in 1939. The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a major public research university in Seattle, Washington. ... The Pan-Pacific Auditorium, June 1981. ... James Cagney was part of the Legends of Hollywood USPS stamp series. ... Robert Montgomery can refer to any of the following people: Robert Montgomery, American actor and director Robert Montgomery, 19th century English poet Robert Montgomery - Archbishop of Glasgow (1581-1585) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

The successor firm Wurdeman and Becket went on to design Bullock's Pasadena (1944) and a couple of corporate headquarters. Wurdeman and Becket developed the concept of 'total design', meaning that their firm should be responsible for master planning, engineering, interiors, furniture, fixtures, landscaping, signage, down to menus, silverware, matchbooks, and napkins.

The 13-story Capitol Records Building.

After Wurdeman's untimely death in 1949, Becket formed Welton Becket Associates and continued to relentlessly grow the firm. Most active in the 1950's and 60's, Becket's architectural work is characterized by a straightforward, 'businesslike' design approach that prioritized his clients' requirements over developing a recognizable signature style for himself. Recenty the work of his firm has been cited as an important 'mid-Century modern' reference point. Reportedly he told one interviewer, "I see no reason to express Welton Becket." At the time of Becket's death in 1969, his architectural firm was the largest in the world. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (921x1742, 2273 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (921x1742, 2273 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

With The Walt Disney Company and the United States Steel Corporation, Becket's firm co-designed Disney's Contemporary Resort, which opened in 1971 at Walt Disney World Resort. The Contemporary was designed as a 14-story steel A-frame with a monorail running through it. Modular guest rooms were assembled, finished, furnished, fully equipped down to Gideon Bibles and toilet paper, and their doors locked, on the ground, then lifted by crane and inserted into the frame like a dresser drawer. This was to give Disney the ability to rapidly 'un-plug' and re-furnish rooms at will. Unfortunately the steel frame settled and trapped the original rooms into their original positions. The Walt Disney Company (most commonly known as Disney) (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... The United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States and Central Europe. ... Disneys Contemporary Resort is a resort hotel located at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Cinderella Castle, at the center of the Magic Kingdom, is freshly decorated for the 18-month Happiest Celebration on Earth The Spaceship Earth sphere is the symbol of Epcot. ...

Welton's son, Bruce Becket, is also a practicing architect.

External links

• History of Welton Becket and Associates
• Welton Becket's Los Angeles Legacy
• Reference for 'unitized' Contemporary Hotel
• Perkins quote, from oral history, pg. 75
• Welton Becket Photo Gallery