Charles G. Kanner was an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was the second generation owner of Kanner Associates, founded by his father Herman Kanner in 1946. His son

Stephen Kanner Stephen H. Kanner (July 30, 1955 – July 2, 2010) was an American modern architect who co-founded the A+D Museum of Los Angeles in 2000. Kanner was born in 1955 in Chandler, Arizona, but raised in the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood in Los Ang ...

later took over the firm. Kanner was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and studied architecture at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. The company completed many commercial projects from bowling centers to shoe stores during the 1950s and 60s, often in the

googie Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the U ...

style . They restored historic buildings in Los Angeles including Holmby Hall near

University of California Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Cal ...

Westwood Village Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on th ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. and also advised mayors Tom Bradley and

Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (May 1, 1930 – April 19, 2023) was an American businessman, investor, military commander, philanthropist, and politician. A decorated Korean War veteran and a member of the Republican Party, Riordan served as the 39th ...

on redevelopment projects. Kanner served as president of the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Los Angeles Times architecture critic described Kanner's firm as a “highly personal practice” creating scrupulously crafted projects.” Comparing the firm to more famous “starchitects,” Whiteson described them as part of a “ ” creating everyday buildings that “set the style for much of what is being built around us” Kanner also advised Los Angeles mayors Tom Bradley and

on redevelopment projects. Kanner served as president of the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He was elected a fellow of the AIA in 1979. Kanner was inspired by architects of the Bauhaus school and Los Angeles modernists

Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...

and Rudolph Schindler. His work is included in the book Pop Architecture edited by Frances Anderton. Kanner died of pancreatic cancer in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

in 1998 at the age of 67

References

Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California American architects 1920s births 1988 deaths Year of birth uncertain Modernist architects from the United States Architects from Los Angeles {{US-architect-20C-stub