James Pulliam (1925−2005) was a noted

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

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 ...

in the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

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 ...

Works

Pulliam was known for a "cut into box" style exhibited by the All-State Savings and Loan building in

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 ...

, and original Bronco Student Union Building at

Cal Poly Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a public polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the largest of the three polytechnic universities in the California State University syst ...

in 1976, and the interior remodeling of the San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building to house the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. Noted architectural historian

David Gebhard David Stanley Gebhard (21 July 1927 – 3 March 1996) was a leading architectural historian, particularly known for his books on the architecture and architects of California. He was a long-time faculty member at the University of California, ...

cited a house he designed in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

as "monumental," and the Bronco Student Center at Cal Poly Pomona as the best building on campus. He worked in the offices of

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 Welton Beckett. He was later a partner in the architectural firm Pulliam Zimmerman Matthews. As president of the Los Angeles chapter of the

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Peñas de Aya, small mountain range in Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ...

, he advocated for preserving the integrity of the

Los Angeles Central Library Richard J. Riordan Central Library, primarily known as the Los Angeles Central Library, is the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), in Downtown Los Angeles. It is named after Mayor of Los Angeles Richard Riordan. It consists o ...

. He served as the campus architect at

where he also served as an instructor at the College of Environmental Design.

Death

James Pulliam died in 2005, at his home in

La Cañada Flintridge, California La Cañada Flintridge, commonly known as just , is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of the San Gabriel Valley, it is the l ...

. In his obituary, the Los Angeles Times said: ::"''Jim Pulliam, FAIA was a gentleman Los Angeles modernist architect, known for his highly detailed custom modernist residential and commercial commissions. Jim's mid career works were celebrated in a major Los Angeles area architectural exhibit identified as The Los Angeles 12 Architects, of which Jim Pulliam was one of the distinguished twelve architects. Pulliam's works were included in the Los Angeles Twelve Architects exhibit and conferences at the Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles; Cal Poly Pomona Bookstore and Student Center Building (which he designed) and the Aspen Design Conference, Aspen Co.''."

References

Modernist architects from the United States 1925 births 2005 deaths Architects from Los Angeles California State Polytechnic University, Pomona faculty Dartmouth College alumni People from Lyons, Kansas 20th-century American architects People from La Cañada Flintridge, California {{US-architect-20C-stub