Train & Williams
American architectural partnership
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Train & Williams was an architecture partnership in Los Angeles, California. A major contributor to the Arts and Crafts movement, several of the firm's works are listed as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments and/or in the National Register of Historic Places.
Partners
Robert Farquhar Train
Robert Farquhar Train | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 4, 1869 |
| Died | January 10, 1951 (aged 81) |
| Education | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Practice | Howard & Train (1894-1901) Howard, Train & Williams (1901-1903) Train & Williams (1903-1926+) |
Robert Farquhar Train was born in 1869 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England to John Farquhar Train, a commercial traveler, and Elizabeth (Hood) Train. John died in 1872 and Elizabeth in 1883. Robert had one older brother, and also grew up living with two aunts and one servant.[1][2]
Train immigrated to the United States in 1884, first living in Illinois and Nebraska, then in Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he worked as a draughtsman. He studied architectural engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he helped design the World's Columbian Exposition.[2]
Train moved to Los Angeles in 1894, where he started a partnership with G. A. Howard Jr.[2] Train became a naturalized citizen in 1895 and in 1897, he married Vera May Creeth.[1]
According to Los Angeles voter rolls, Train was six feet tall, had blue eyes and light-colored hair, and was a lifelong Republican.[1]
Robert Edmund Williams
Robert Edmund Williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 16, 1874 |
| Died | 1960 (aged 85–86) |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Practice | Howard, Train & Williams (1901-1903) Train & Williams (1903-1926+) |
Robert Edmund Williams was born in 1874 in Hespeler, Ontario, Canada to William Williams, a clergyman, and Mary Burman Williams. Robert moved to Los Angeles, California in 1895, one year after his brother and four years before his parents.[2]
Robert married Annie Pierce, year unknown, and by 1930 he was married to Jean K. Williams. Robert and Jean had one daughter, born in 1925.[2] Robert died in Tustin, Orange County, California in 1960.[3]
Partnership
In 1894, Train partnered with G. A. Howard Jr.[2] Williams joined in 1901 and Howard left two years later, resulting in the partnership Train & Williams. Train & Williams was located in the Rindge Building on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. In 1910, Train & Williams opened a branch office in Taft, California.[4] The partnership is considered one of the major contributors to the Arts and Crafts movement.[5]
Selected works
Train and Williams's most notable works were done during their partnership. These works include:
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
- Robert Edmund Williams House (1905),[2] LAHCM #411[6]
- Angels Flight redesign (1910), NRHP #00001168,[7] LAHCM #4[6]
- Holmes-Shannon House (1911), NRHP #08000202,[8] LAHCM #885[6]
- Judson Studios (1911), NRHP #99000370,[9] LAHCM #62[6]
- Lucy E. Wheeler/Martin E. Weil House (1917 additions),[10] LAHCM #991[6]
Other
- Conservative Life Insurance Company Office Building (with Howard) (1901-1902)[11]
- First Congregational Church (1902),[2] demolished early 1930s[12]
- Allen House (1902)[13]
- Los Angeles Furniture Company Building (1904)[2]
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- Victor Clothing Company Building (1906), contributing property in the NRHP-listed Broadway Theater and Commercial District[14]
- Carlton Building (1907)[2]
- Pythian Castle Hall (1908)[2]
- University of Southern California's Administration Building and first general campus plan (1910)[2][15]
- Woodley Theatre (1913),[2] demolished 1925[16]
- Arroyo Seco Branch Library (1914)[2]
- Diamond Laundry Company Building (1917)[17]
- Plaza Methodist Church (1925-1926)[18]
- Los Angeles Stock Exchange[19]
Elsewhere in California
- First National Bank of Long Beach (1906), NRHP #90001432[20]
- Kern County Hall of Records, Bakersfield (1908-1909)[4]
- J.W. Jamieson Hotel, Taft (1910)[4]
- Frank A. Forster House, San Juan Capistrano (1910), NRHP #86002405[21]
- Strand Theatre, Pasadena (1914)[4]
- Cawston Ostrich Farm Administration Building, Pasadena (1920)[2]
Train also designed Bell High School in Bell, California, in 1925.[1]
