George Edwin Bergstrom (March 12, 1876 – June 17, 1955) was an American architect who designed many buildings in

Los Angeles, California 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 also designed

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

Biography

George Edwin Bergstrom was born in

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, O ...

, of Norwegian immigrant ancestry. His father, George O. Bergstrom, was a prominent businessman and local politician. The Bergstroms' home, now known as the George O. Bergstrom House, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. George Edwin Bergstrom attended Phillips-Andover Academy, and was in the

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

class of 1896. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1899. Bergstrom settled in Los Angeles, California, in 1901. In 1903, he married the former Nancy Kimberly, daughter of John A. Kimberly, a co-founder of

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational consumer goods and personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimb ...

. They had two children; Alice Cheney Bergstrom and George Edwin Bergstrom, Jr.

Career

From 1905 to 1915, Bergstrom was in partnership with architect John Parkinson. The firm of Parkinson & Bergstrom designed numerous public and private buildings throughout Southern California, and designed many of the major office and commercial buildings erected in downtown Los Angeles during this period. Among these were the

Los Angeles Athletic Club Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) is a privately owned Sports club, athletic club and social club in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1880, the club is today best known for its John R. Wooden Award pr ...

, the

Alexandria Hotel The Hotel Alexandria is a historic building constructed as a luxury hotel at the beginning of the 20th century in what was then the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its elegant design and the fact that its public rooms sat disused for dec ...

, and the original building of

Bullock's Bullock's was a chain of full-line department stores from 1907 through 1995, headquartered in Los Angeles, growing to operate across California, Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated as many as seven more upscale Bullocks Wilshire specialt ...

Department Store. The firm also received commissions for major projects as distant as

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, first for the

Kearns Building The Kearns Building is a historic office building in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Description The 10-story building was designed by Los Angeles architects John Parkin ...

, erected in 1911 for U.S. Senator

Thomas Kearns Thomas Kearns (April 11, 1862 – October 18, 1918) was an American mining, banking, railroad, and newspaper magnate. He was a US Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905. Unlike the predominantly Mormon constituents of his state, Senator Kearns was ...

, a mining, newspaper, railroad and banking magnate and later, the Hotel Utah, now the

Joseph Smith Memorial Building The Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB), originally called the Hotel Utah, is a social center located on the corner of Main Street and South Temple in Salt Lake City. It is named in honor of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint moveme ...

, was erected in 1909–1911. After establishing his own practice in 1915, Bergstrom continued to design buildings throughout the region, including buildings for

John C. Fremont High School John C. Fremont High School is a Title 1 co-educational public high school located in South Los Angeles, California, United States. Fremont serves several Los Angeles neighborhoods and the unincorporated community of Florence-Graham; some sec ...

, and

Redlands High School Redlands High School (RHS) is a high school located in Redlands, California. It is the oldest Californian public high school still functioning on its original site. History Also known as Redlands Union High School or Redlands Senior High School ...

, at

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is located a ...

. He designed buildings for the Elks Club and the Commercial Club in downtown Los Angeles, and collaborated with architect William Lee Woollett (1874–1955) on Grauman's Metropolitan Theatre (later called the Paramount Theatre) for impresario

Sid Grauman Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 – March 5, 1950) was an American entrepreneur and showman who established two of Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood's most recognizable and visited landmarks, the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Chinese The ...

. One of his most notable buildings of the period was the

Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California, United States. It consists of three buildings. Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was ...

in Pasadena, California, which he designed in association with architects Cyril Bennett and Fitch Haskell. Between 1925 and 1931, Bergstrom associated on the

, with the Pasadena architectural firm of Haskell and Bennett, which was composed of John Cyril Bennett (1891–1957) and Fitch Harrison Haskell (1883–1962). The firm of Bergstrom and Witmer, Architects was in operation from 1941 to 1943. Bergstrom and David J. Witmer (1888–1973) acted as the Chief Architects for the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

Building. Bergstrom and Witmer did the basic design work in a remarkably short time during 1941, between July 17 and 22. Bergstrom was replaced as chief architect by Witmer in April 1942 following Bergstorm's resignation due to unrelated charges of improper conduct while he was president of the American Institute of Architects. Active in civic affairs, Bergstrom served as president of the Municipal Housing Commission for seven years and was a member of the Municipal Art Commission. He also served as chairman of the advisory board of 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 ...

's School of Architecture. He was president of the Southern California chapter of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

for two years, and served three years as director of the institute. Active in numerous clubs and civic organizations, he served as a director of the

, and was president of the Allied Architect's Association of Los Angeles. He died in 1955 and was buried at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to: Cemeteries California * Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California * Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California * Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California * Fore ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Architectural firms

*Parkinson and Bergstrom, Architects (1905–1915) *Bergstrom, Haskell and Bennett, Associated Architects (1925–1932) *Bergstrom and Witmer, Architects (1941–1943)

Selected works

Downtown Los Angeles

Broadway Theatre District

Norton Building The Norton Building is a post-World War II office building in the International Style, located in Seattle, Washington, United States. Built on a sloping lot with the foundation of a large granite base, the building rises 17 stories above the ci ...

(1906) *

Trustee Building Trustee Building is a historic four story building located at 340 S. Broadway in the Broadway Theater District in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles. History Trustee Building was designed by Parkinson and Bergstrom, the duo responsib ...

(1906) *

Bullock's Building Bullock's was a chain of full-line department stores from 1907 through 1995, headquartered in Los Angeles, growing to operate across California, Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated as many as seven more upscale Bullocks Wilshire specialt ...

(1906–7) *

Yorkshire Hotel Yorkshire Hotel, also known as Yorkshire Apartments and J. D. Hooker Building, is a historic six-story building located at 710-714 S. Broadway in the Broadway Theater District in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles. History Yorkshire Ho ...

(1909) *

Broadway Mart Center Broadway Mart Center, also known as Broadway Department Store, Junipero Serra Building, and Junipero Serra State Office Building, is a historic ten-story highrise located at 401-423 S. Broadway and 501 W. 4th Street in the Broadway Theater Dist ...

(1913) * Metropolitan Building (1913)

Elsewhere in downtown

* Brownstone Hotel (1905) * O.T. Johnson Commercial Building #3 (1906) * Spreckels Brothers Warehouse (1909) * Anthony, Earle C. Incorporated Building #1 (1911) * Union Oil Company Office Building (1911) * Rowan Building (1911–1912) * Ford Motor Company Factory (1912) * Washington Building (1912) * Security First National Bank (1915–1916) * Ansonia Apartments (1916) *

Grauman's Metropolitan Theatre Paramount Theatre, formerly Metropolitan Theater or Grauman's Metropolitan Theater, also known as Paramount Downtown, was a movie palace and office building located at 323 W. 6th Street (Los Angeles), 6th Street and 536 S. Hill Street (Los Ange ...

(1921–1923)

Elsewhere

* Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, Boyle Heights, California (1906) * Citizens Bank Building, Pasadena, California (1914) * Pasadena Municipal Auditorium, Pasadena, California (1925–1932) *

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

headquarters (1941–1943), Washington DC

References

External links

Los Angeles Historical Society document on Bergstrom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergstrom, George 1876 births 1955 deaths American neoclassical architects Beaux Arts architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Presidents of the American Institute of Architects The Pentagon Architects from Los Angeles Architects from Wisconsin People from Neenah, Wisconsin American people of Norwegian descent 20th-century American architects Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Yale University alumni