Edward Paul Giddings (1929–1993) was an American architect and painter based in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Biography

Early life

Edward Giddings was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in 1929. He graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. He also studied painting at the

California School of Fine Arts San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Career

He started his career as a draftsman for architectural firms. In 1960, he met a real estate developer while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta and started designing homes there. By 1965, he established his own architectural firm in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

and designed mansions for the affluent. He also designed the private residence of actor

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer; March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen a ...

(1931–1980). Moreover, he designed and developed a gorgeous resort called Club Cascadas de Baja, which is located in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He also developed a resort called Ocho Cascadas in

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...

. As a painter, he exhibited his work in museums and art galleries in

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Located in Southern California along the Pacific Ocean, this seaside resort city has a mild year-round climate, scenic coves, and environ ...

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

and Santa Barbara.

Personal life

In 1952 he married Caroline Mather Helgesen, a fellow art student at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. They had three children, Jolene, Ana, and John. He later was married to Patricia Cropsey, an interior designer from New York. They had three sons, Mark, Greg, and David. He died at his vacation home in Cabo San Lucas on August 5, 1994, of a heart attack. He was 64.

Bibliography

Secondary sources

*Michael McFadden, Julius Shulman, James Toland, ''Edward Paul Giddings Art and Architecture of Passion'', Giddings Publishing, 1999.Google Books
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References

1929 births 1993 deaths Architects from Seattle People from Newport Beach, California University of Washington alumni 20th-century American architects San Francisco Art Institute alumni {{US-architect-20C-stub