William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry^[1] who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Remarkably prolific, he worked out of Los Angeles, and was known for his love of science fiction and expensive cars, but mostly for his unmistakable style of architecture, which came to define the look of mid-20th century America. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... d Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... The Transamerica Pyramid. ... UCSDs distinctive Geisel Library, named for Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and featured in UCSDs logo. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... An architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person who is involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... Nickname: Motto: “Urbs in Horto” (Latin: “City in a Garden”), “I Will” Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country United States State Illinois Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... The Transamerica Pyramid. ... Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: , Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Founded 1776 Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ... d Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Section of the dome of Florence Cathedral. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

Personal life

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Pereira graduated from the School of Architecture, University of Illinois and began his career in his home city. He had some of his earliest architectural experience helping to draft the master plan for the 1933 "A Century of Progress" Chicago World's Fair. With his brother, Hal, he designed the Esquire Theater at 58 East Oak Street, considered one of Chicago's best examples of Art Deco style. Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Worlds Fair is any of various large expositions held since the mid-19th century. ... Asheville City Hall. ...

Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, 1972

He had two wives, former model and actress Margaret McConnell (married June 24, 1934); and Bronya Galef, the latter marriage ending with his death. He has two children, William Pereira, Jr., and a daughter, Monica Pereira. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (768x1024, 241 KB) Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: San Francisco, California Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (768x1024, 241 KB) Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: San Francisco, California Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Photograph of the once famous model Dovima A model is a person who poses or displays for purposes of art, fashion, or other products and advertising. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

William Pereira died of cancer at age 76 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. At his request, no funeral services were planned. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a world-renowned hospital located in Los Angeles, California. ...

Career

In the 1930s, he and Hal moved to Los Angeles. After working as a solo architect, Bill was hired by the Motion Picture Relief Fund and designed the first buildings for the Motion Picture Country House in Woodland Hills, California, which was dedicated September 27, 1942. Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... The Motion Picture & Television Fund is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries without resources. ... The Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital is a motion picture and television industry complex complete with a retirement community, with individual cottages, and a fully licensed, acute-care hospital, located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California. ... Woodland Hills, California in the foreground, including Warner Center. ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ...

Pereira also had a brief stint as a Hollywood art director. He shared an Academy Award for Best Special Effects for the action/adventure movie Reap the Wild Wind (1942). He was production designer of the drama Jane Eyre (1944), and of the war drama Since You Went Away (1944) . Pereira was also the producer of the noir crime/drama Johnny Angel (1945), and of the Joan Fontaine drama From This Day Forward (1946). Greetings from Hollywood Hollywood is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., that extends from Vermont Avenue on the east to just beyond Laurel Canyon Boulevard above Sunset and Crescent Heights Boulevards on the west; the north to south boundary east of La Brea Avenue... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... Reap the Wild Wind is a serialized story written by Thelma Strabel in 1940 for The Saturday Evening Post. ... See also: 1941 in film 1942 1943 in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Carole Lombard is killed in a plane crash when returning from a War Bond tour. ... Charlotte Brontës novel Jane Eyre (1847) has been the subject of numerous television and film adaptations. ... // July 20 - Since You Went Away is released. ... Since You Went Away is a 1944 film which tells the story of how a woman copes at home while her husband has gone off to fight World War II. It stars Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Joseph Cotten, Monty Woolley, Robert Walker, Lionel Barrymore, Hattie McDaniel, Agnes Moorehead... // July 20 - Since You Went Away is released. ... A film producer creates the conditions for making movies. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... Johnny Angel is a 1945 film starring George Raft. ... // Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring ghost named Casper With Rossellinis Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins. ... See also: 1945 in film 1946 1947 in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Top grossing films North America The Bells of St. ...

Though his buildings were often quite stark and sterile in their appearance (owing largely to the science fiction of the era), they were noted for their functional style with a certain flair that made them unmistakable. He took pride in the concept of designing for the future. A great deal of Pereira's "futurist" style is owed to his longtime design collaborator James Langenheim, who had created the initial design for the Theme Building at LAX. The initials "J.L." have appeared as the designer's signature on a number of blueprints for Pereira projects including the similarly futuristic library at UC Irvine, but it is unsure if the initials are Langenheim's.

In 1949, Pereira became a professor of architecture at the University of Southern California. He then formed a partnership with fellow architect and classmate, Charles Luckman, in the early 1950s. The firm grew into one of the nation's busiest. The duo designed some of Los Angeles's most well-known buildings, including the famed "Theme Building" at Los Angeles International Airport. 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... The Trojan Shrine, better known as Tommy Trojan in June 2006. ... Charles Luckman (1909 Kansas City–January 26, 1999 Los Angeles) was a businessman and an American architect, famous as the Boy Wonder of American Business when he was named president of the Pepsodent toothpaste company in 1939 at the age of thirty. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Runway layout at LAX “LAX” redirects here. ...

The library at University of California, Irvine, illustrating Pereira's paneled facade system

He parted with Luckman in 1959. Afterward, he formed the third and final company of his career, "William L. Pereira & Associates." In the 1960s and 1970s, he and his team completed over 250 projects, including drawing up the master plans for the Los Angeles International Airport expansion and developing the master plan for the 93,000 acre (376 km²) city of Irvine, California, which put his photograph on the cover of Time Magazine in September 1963. He later worked with Ian McHarg on the plan for the new town of The Woodlands, Texas. Image File history File linksMetadata UCILibrary. ... Image File history File linksMetadata UCILibrary. ... The University of California, Irvine is a public research university primarily situated in suburban Irvine, California, USA; a significant portion of the campus falls into the neighboring community of Newport Beach. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Location of Irvine within Orange County, California. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ian McHarg Ian L. McHarg (1920-2001) was a landscape architect and the founder of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. ... A new town, planned community or planned city is a city, town, or community that was designed from scratch, and grew up more or less following the plan. ... The Woodlands is a census-designated place (CDP) and master-planned community located in the the counties of Montgomery and Harris in the state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. ...

Pereira's buildings were easily identified by their unmistakable style, often taking unusual forms such as pyramids and ziggurats. They usually projected a grand presence, heavyset in appearance and often sitting atop "pedestals" that were themselves an integral part of the building. Many of his buildings were complemented by water features and some were almost entirely surrounded by water. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, for instance, was a complex of three Googie-esque buildings rising up out of a lake and interconnected by a series of causeways and bridges. A rectangular base pyramid A pyramid is any three-dimensional structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point. ... Dur-Untash, or Choqa Zanbil, built in 13th century BC by Untash Napirisha and located near Susa, Iran is one of the worlds best-preserved ziggurats. ... The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, also known as LACMA, is the official art museum of the County of Los Angeles, California. ... The Space Needle, built for Seattles Worlds Fair, 1962 Googie, also known as populuxe, is a form of architecture, originating from southern California in the late 1940s and continuing approximately into the mid-1960s. ...

His material of choice in creating his unique geometric forms was pre-cast concrete. Working in this medium, he could create his impressive facades by simply attaching them as panels on to the steel frame of the building. Concrete being poured, raked and vibrated into place in residential construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

Legacy

By the time of his death, Pereira had over 400 projects to his name. Among the structures he designed throughout Southern California were the CBS Television City, the Los Angeles County Art Museum, and the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. He is also responsible for creating the monumental Spanish-inspired facades that defined Robinson's department stores for nearly 20 years. Out of his immense body of work, three have really stood out in the public mind: the master-planned cities of Irvine and Newport Beach, and the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. For the urban complex straddling the United States-Mexico border, see Bajalta California. ... CBS Television City is a television studio located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles West Side at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Beverly and Fairfax Avenue. ... The Disneyland Hotel is the name of hotels at three of The Walt Disney Companys resorts across the globe. ... Location of Anaheim within Orange County, California Coordinates: Country United States State California County Orange Government  - Mayor Curt Pringle Area  - City  50. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Location of Irvine within Orange County, California. ... Location of Newport Beach within Orange County, California. ... The Transamerica Pyramid. ... Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: , Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Founded 1776 Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ...

His most praised and criticized work was probably the Transamerica building, which was completed in 1972. It was first panned as an intrusion on the city's skyline, but has been accepted as having more character than the buildings around it and as being an oddly creative city symbol. Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Perhaps his greatest lasting legacy besides his buildings are the numerous respected architects of today who came out of both Pereira's firm and the classes he taught at USC, including Gin Wong, William Blurock, and Frank Gehry. Pereira's firm was taken over upon his death by his two primary cohorts, Scott Johnson and Bill Fain. The Trojan Shrine, better known as Tommy Trojan in June 2006. ... Frank Owen Gehry (born Ephraim Owen Goldberg, February 28, 1929) is a Pritzker Prize winning architect based in Los Angeles, California. ...

The Geisel Library (1970) at the University of California, San Diego

UCSDs Geisel Library File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... UCSDs Geisel Library File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... UCSDs distinctive Geisel Library, named for Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and featured in UCSDs logo. ... The University of California, San Diego (popularly known as UCSD) is a public, coeducational university located in La Jolla, California. ...

Major Projects

See List of William Pereira buildings This is a list of buildings designed in whole or in part by architect William Pereira. ...

References

1. ^ [1] William L Pereira at (www.everyculture.com/) Portuguese Americans

External links

• Irvine Online Edition World News "Architect's legacy encircles UCI"
• IMDb entry for William Pereira