By Lookout Staff

November 19, 2013 -- His buildings have been seen on movie and television screens by hundreds of millions of viewers for more than eighty years, helping to establish the very identity of the City of Los Angeles.

John Parkinson -- whose more than 400 LA structures include such iconic buildings as Los Angeles City Hall, Bullocks Wilshire, the Memorial Coliseum, and Grand Central Market -- will be the subject of a presentation at the Santa Monica Public Library next month.

Stephen Gee, the author of Iconic Vision: John Parkinson, Architect of Los Angeles, will use images from his book to tell the story of Parkinson and the city that bears his stamp.

“John Parkinson was the most important architect in Los Angeles at a time when the city was inventing itself,” library officials said. “His work includes many of the structures that, nearly eighty years after his death, continue to define the city.

“Until Stephen Gee wrote the definitive biography, Iconic Vision, few people really knew the innovations and impact Parkinson made while designing the architectural foundation of the City of Angels.”

Parkinson designed Los Angeles’ first world-class hotel, the Alexandria, and many of the banks that funded the city's expansion. His Homer Laughlin Building, now Grand Central Market, was the city's first Class "A" steel frame structure and the Braly Block, at Fourth and Spring Streets, its first skyscraper.

He also created a master plan for the expansion of USC and designed many of the University's renowned structures, including the Bovard Administration Building.
Those are among the more than 50 buildings designed by Parkinson that still stand, shaping a skyline that has fixed the look and identity of Los Angeles around the world.

“What makes Parkinson's story even more remarkable is that he was born the son of a mill worker in the industrial northwest of England,” library officials said.

“He had little training and became an architect almost by accident, transforming burgeoning Los Angeles into a booming city.”

After Parkinson's death in 1935, his son Donald continued his projects and led the firm of Parkinson and Parkinson, seeing through to completion his father's design for Union Station, solidifying Parkinson's legacy throughout history.

The presentation will take place Wednesday, December 4, at 7 p.m. in the Main Library's MLK Jr. Auditorium, 601 Santa Monica Boulevard.

The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and on a first arrival basis.

The Santa Monica Public Library is wheelchair accessible. For special disabled services, call Library Administration at (310) 458-8606 at least one week prior to the event.

For more information, visit smpl.org or contact the Santa Monica Public Library at 310.458.8600.