William G. Kerckhoff
William G. Kerckhoff | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 30, 1856 |
| Died | 1929 |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Louise Kerckhoff |
William G. Kerckhoff (1856–1929) was an American businessman.
Biography
Early life
He was born on March 30, 1856 in Terre Haute, Indiana.[1]
Career
He moved to Los Angeles County, California from Indiana in 1878-1879 and worked for the Jackson Lumber Company.[2] In 1887, he built the first ocean-going vessel to use oil for fuel.[2] In the 1890s, he founded the San Gabriel Power Company, a hydroelectric power company in Los Angeles.[2] By the turn of the century, together with A.C. Balch, he owned half the stock of Henry E. Huntington Pacific Light & Power Company used to provide electricity to Pacific Electric, and he served as its President.[2] In 1902, they purchased the San Joaquin Electric Company.[2] They also founded Southern California Gas Corporation in 1910, and built a 120-mile pipeline from the San Joaquin Valley to Los Angeles.[2]
In 1900, together with Burton E. Green (1868-1965), Charles A. Canfield (1848-1913), Max Whittier (1867–1928), Frank H. Buck (1887-1942), Henry E. Huntington (1850-1927), William F. Herrin (1854-1927), W.S. Porter and Frank H. Balch, known as the Amalgated Oil Company, he purchased Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas from Henry Hammel and Andrew H. Denker and renamed it Morocco Junction.[3] After drilling for oil and only finding water, they reorganized their business into the Rodeo Land and Water Company to develop a new residential town later known as Beverly Hills, California.[2][3]
As President of the South Coast Land Company, he also helped found the city of Del Mar, California.[2]
Personal life
He was married to Louise Kerckhoff in 1883.[1] They lived in a grand mansion at 734 West Adams Boulevard designed by architects Sumner Hunt (1865-1938), Abraham Wesley Eager (1864-1930), and Silas Reese Burns (1855-1940).[2][4][5] It is now home to the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California.[2]
Legacy
The Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach is named in his honor, as is the W.G. Kerchoff at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, Germany.[1] Kerckhoff Hall, designed by Allison & Allison, is home to the student union on the UCLA campus.[6] It was the result of a US$815,000 ($100,000 for furnishing) donation from his widow Louise.[7][8]
References
- ^ a b c Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j West Adams Heritage Association
- ^ a b Marc Wanamaker, Early Beverly Hills, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2005, pp. 17-18 [1]
- ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: William G. Kerckhoff House
- ^ 'Residence for W.G. Kerckhoff, Los Angeles', Architect and Engineer of California, 77, 07/1908
- ^ UCLA Campus Tour
- ^ Marc Wanamaker, Westwood, Arcadia Publishing, 2010, p. 74 [2]
- ^ Kerckhoff’s Wish Realized, UCLA Alumni, January 23, 2014