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William Lee Woollett

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William Lee Woollett, AIA (1873-1953) was an early 20th century architect practicing mainly in California. He is most widely known for a number of theaters in Los Angeles built in the 1920s including the largest movie theater ever built in Los Angeles, Grauman's Metropolitan Theatre which opened in 1923.

Early Years

Early Life

William Lee Woollett was born in Albany, NY on November 13, 1873 to William M. Woollett, FAIA and Sarah Louise Woollett (née Knappen).[1] His father died when he was seven years old.[2]

Education

Woollett studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) c.1892. He apprenticed as a draftsman for Fehmer and Page, Architects, Boston, MA (1892-1896).[3]

Early Career

Woollett returned to Albany, NY in 1896 to open his office. He was joined a few years later by his younger brother, John Woodward Woollett, also an architect. Together, they founded the firm, Woollett and Woollett Architects becoming the 3rd consecutive generation of Woolletts to practice architecture in Albany.[4] After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Woollett and Woollett opened a branch office in San Francisco. William Woollett moved his family to Berkeley in 1908 and closed the Albany office. Woollett and Woollett was located in San Francisco until 1917 when William Lee Woollett relocated to Los Angeles. In 1921, the firm relocated permanently to Los Angeles.[5]

Significant Buildings

Woollett & Woollett are responsible for a number of significant structures in California including:

  •  Tajo Building, Downtown Los Angeles, CA 1896-97
  •  Municipal Rose Garden, Oakland, CA
  •  Syndicate Building, Downtown Oakland, CA 1910-11
  •  The Berkeley Piano Club, Berkeley, CA 1912
  •  Hotel Royal, Oakland, CA 1912/13
  •  Quinn’s Rialto Theater, Los Angeles, CA 1916-17[6]
  •  Million Dollar Theater, Downtown Los Angeles, 1917-18[7]
  •  Otis Hoyt House, Long Beach, CA 1920
  • McClain House, Beverly Hills, CA 1920
  • Lee B. Memefee House, Hollywood, CA 1920
  • Grauman’s Metropolitan Theater & Office Building, Downtown Los Angeles, 1921-23[8]
  • Lakeside Country Club, Toluca Lake, CA 1924-25
  • George Lockwood Eastman House, West Hollywood, CA 1926
  • City of Los Angeles Public Library Malabar Branch #2, Boyle Heights, CA 1926/7
  • E.J. Longyear House, Alta Dena, CA 1927
  • John J. Iten House, Lake Arrowhead, CA 1930
  • City of Oakland, Parks Department, Linda Vista Park, Oakland Park, CA 1933-37
  • Borrego Valley Defense Program Airfield, Salton Sea, CA 1942
  • William Woollett House, Glendale, CA
  • Paramount Theater (Destroyed), Los Angeles, CA
    • Malabar Branch Library, Los Angeles, CA
      Malabar Branch Library, Los Angeles, CA
    • Million Dollar Theater, Los Angeles, CA
      Million Dollar Theater, Los Angeles, CA

    Publications

    William Lee Woollett's work has been published in the following publications:[9]

    Publications

    • Naylor, David, American Picture Palaces The Architecture of Fantasy, 83, 85, 217, 1981.
    • "Grauman's Metropolitan Theater", Architect and Engineer, 73: 2, 51-85, 1923-05.
    • "West Hollywood residence", Architect & Engineer, 75, 5/1927.
    • "Metropolitan Theatre", Concrete in Architecture, 28-39, 1927.
    • "Boyle Heights libraries renovations underway", Eastside Sun, 02/21/1991.
    • Gebhard, David, Winter, Robert, Los Angeles An Architectural Guide, 234, 1994.
    • "Eastman most valuable Los Angeles citizen in'28", Los Angeles Examiner, 1/13/1929.
    • "Interior Design for New Hill Street Motion Picture Playhouse", Los Angeles Times, 1, 1921-05-22.
    • Jones, Roger E., "Decoratively, artistically, architecturally - it presents something unique and beautiful: the Million Dollar Theatre, Los Angeles, California", Marquee, 34: 2, 6-13, 32, 2002.
    • "George Lockwood Eastman article", Southern California Business, 24, 10/1928.
    • "Woollett, William Lee Notice", Southwest Builder and Contractor, 11, col. 3, 1920-08-06.
    • "McClain House plans, Beverly Hills", Southwest Builder and Contractor, 12, col 3, 08/20/1920.
    • "Iten, John J., House plans, Lake Arrowhead", Southwest Builder and Contractor, 58, col 2, 06/20/1930.
    • "Eastman House preliminary plans", Southwest Builder & Contractor, 43, col 1, 11/2/1923.
    • "Eastman, George L., House plans", Southwest Builder & Contractor, 45, 1/4/1924.
    • Ingels, Margaret, Willis Haviland Carrier Father of Air Conditioning, 144-145, 1952.

    Legacy

    William Lee Woollett's papers were given to the Architecture and Design Collection of the Art, Design and Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), in 1981 by his son, William Lee Woollett, FAIA.

    References

    1. ^ "PCAD - William Lee Woollett". pcad.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
    2. ^ Waite, Diana S. (2009). Architects in Albany. Mount Ida Press. ISBN 9780962536861.
    3. ^ "PCAD - William Lee Woollett". pcad.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
    4. ^ Waite, Diana S. (2009). Architects in Albany. Mount Ida Press. ISBN 9780962536861.
    5. ^ "PCAD - William Lee Woollett". pcad.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
    6. ^ "William Lee Woollett | Los Angeles Conservancy". www.laconservancy.org. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
    7. ^ "William Lee Woollett | Los Angeles Conservancy". www.laconservancy.org. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
    8. ^ Architect and Engineer. 1923.
    9. ^ "PCAD - William Lee Woollett". pcad.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
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