M. Eugene Durfee (1885-1941) was an American architect prominent in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

Life and career

Morien Eugene Durfee was born in

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Chippewa Falls () is a city located on the Chippewa River (Wisconsin), Chippewa River in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,731 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the ...

in 1885. In 1897 his family moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, where Durfee was educated. Around 1903, at the age of 18, Durfee went to

San Francisco 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 ...

to work for architects Shea & Shea, who were known for their commercial buildings. Three years later he returned to Seattle. In 1909 he formed a partnership in Seattle with Emmanuel J. Bresemann, whom he had known in San Francisco."Bresemann, Emmanuel J"
''http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/''. n.d. In late 1913, Durfee took an extended trip to Southern California to visit his wife's family. Interested in the opportunities that it offered, Bresemann & Durfee was dissolved and Durfee moved south to

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, ...

. By early 1914 he was living and practicing in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

. As an architect, Durfee had a major impact on the physical character of Anaheim, plus the nearby cities of Fullerton and Santa Ana. However, most of downtown Anaheim (and thus Durfee's buildings) was destroyed by urban renewal in the 1980s. Durfee relocated to

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

in 1921, but returned only a few months later. Other than that, he remained in Anaheim until 1927, when he moved to Los Angeles, with offices in the

Commercial Exchange Building The Freehand Los Angeles Hotel, formerly the Commercial Exchange Building, is a historic structure in Los Angeles, California, United States. Location The building is located on the corner of Olive Street and 8th Street (Los Angeles, Californ ...

. By the time of his death on December 26, 1941, he was working in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

Selected works

Bresemann & Durfee, 1909-1913

* 1909 - Pemberton Bros. Houses, 4711-4715-4719 Whitman Ave N and 917 N 48th St, Seattle, Washington"Summary for 4711 WHITMAN AVE / Parcel ID 9521101280 / Inv # 0"
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: ''http://web6.seattle.gov/'', 2009. * 1910 - Nemias B. Beck Houses, 5800-5804 15th Ave, Seattle, Washington * 1910 - Westlake Hotel, 2008 Westlake Ave, Seattle, Washington * 1911 - St. James Hotel, 640 Johnson St,

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

* 1912 - First Congregational (Central Presbyterian) Church, 1170 Thurlow St,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

* 1913 - Commercial Hotel, 121 Bastion St,

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

* 1913 - First Congregational Church, 1600 Quadra St, Victoria, British Columbia

M. Eugene Durfee, 1914-1941

* 1914 - Yungbluth Building, 145 W Center St, Anaheim, California ** Demolished. * 1915 - Hotel Valencia, 182 W Center St, Anaheim, California ** Burned in 1977. * 1916 - First National Bank Building, Center St, Anaheim, California ** Demolished. * 1918 - Grand Theatre, 1139 N G Ave,

Douglas, Arizona Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, that lies in the north-west to south-east running Sulphur Springs Valley. Douglas has a Douglas, Arizona Port of Entry, border crossing with Mexico at Agua Prieta and a history of min ...

* 1918 - Liberty Theatre, 110 Jerome Ave,

Jerome, Arizona Jerome is a town in the Black Hills (Yavapai County), Black Hills of Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, Jerome is approximately ...

** Facade altered beyond recognition. * 1922 - Anaheim City Hall, 204 E Center St, Anaheim, California ** With Theodore C. Kistner of

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 ...

. Demolished. * 1922 - California Hotel (Villa del Sol), 305 N Harbor Blvd,

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

** With Frank K. Benchley of Fullerton. * 1923 -

Chapman Building Chapman Building, also known as Los Angeles Investment Company Building, Charles C. Chapman Building, The Chapman, and Chapman Flats, is a historic thirteen-story highrise located at 756 S. Broadway (Los Angeles), Broadway and 227 W. 8th Street ( ...

, 110 E Wilshire Blvd, Fullerton, California * 1923 - Kraemer Building, 76 S Claudina St, Anaheim, California * 1926 - Pickwick Hotel (orig. El Torre Hotel), 225 S Los Angeles St (now Anaheim Blvd), Anaheim, California ** Demolished in 1988. * 1927 - Amphitheatre, Pearson Park, Anaheim, California * 1927 - Builder's Exchange Building, 1505 4th St,

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 ...

* 1928 - El Cortez Apartments, 475 S New Hampshire Ave, Los Angeles, California * 1929 - Central Tower Building, 1424 4th St, Santa Monica, CaliforniaCooper, Suzanne Tarbell, Amy Ronnebeck Hall, and Frank E. Cooper, Jr. ''Images of America: Los Angeles Art Deco''. 2005. * 1929 -

Fox Tucson Theatre The Fox Tucson Theatre is located in downtown Tucson, Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States. The theater opened on April 11, 1930 as a performance space in downtown Tucson. It hosts a wide spectrum of events and concerts featuring a variety of ...

, 17 W Congress St,

Nequette, Anne M. and R. Brooks Jeffrey. ''A Guide to Tucson Architecture''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2002. * 1930 - Georgian Hotel, 1415 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, California

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durfee, Morien Eugene 1885 births 1941 deaths Architects from California Architects from Seattle 20th-century American architects