Maxwell Starkman (November 17, 1921 – December 29, 2003) was a Canadian architect based in Los Angeles, California.

Biography

Early life

Maxwell Starkman was born in 1921 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. He served in England, France, Belgium and Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He graduated from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

Career

He moved to

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, ...

in 1950. Shortly after, he started working for

Richard J. 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 n ...

. In 1953, he started Reichl and Starkman Architects with fellow architect Fritz Reichl. After Reichl died in 1954, he established Maxwell Starkman Associates, an architectural firm. He mostly built tract homes for returning G.I.s.

Later, he built commercial buildings such as shopping malls and drugstores. For example, he designed the Park Place Shopping Center and the Sunrise City Shopping Center along the Maryland Parkway in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. He also designed the

Fallbrook Center Fallbrook Center, originally Fallbrook Square, is a shopping center located on Fallbrook Avenue between Victory Boulevard and Vanowen Street in West Hills, Los Angeles, California. Fallbrook Center is a , , open-air shopping center with retailer ...

in West Hills and some student housing at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

. Later in the 1960s, he designed the

Melodyland Theater Melodyland Christian Center was a church in Anaheim, California, that was located a short distance east of the Disneyland Resort. The Melodyland Theater and surrounding campus started as a theater in the round and later became an evangelical Chris ...

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 ...

. Additionally, Starkman designed the

Dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

hotel and casino, which was later demolished and replaced with the Bellagio. MeridianCondosRearSanDiegoApr09

In 1972, he designed the Zenith Tower located at 6300 on

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard ( wɪɫ.ʃɚ is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica), Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue (Lo ...

, near Carthay Circle. It was built for the Zenith National Insurance as a sixteen-story skyscraper. Later, he designed the Sony Pictures Plaza. He also designed the Meridian Condominiums, a skyscraper in

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 ...

. His last design was the Museum of Tolerance. He retired in 1987.

Personal life

He was married to Gloria Starkman. They had three sons and one daughter: sons David, Laurence, Robert, and Nancy. He became a widower when his wife died in 1992.

Death

He died on December 29, 2003.

Legacy

The Maxwell Starkman Scholarship in Architecture at the University of Manitoba is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starkman, Maxwell 1921 births 2003 deaths Architects from Toronto Architects from Los Angeles Canadian military personnel of World War II University of Manitoba alumni Canadian expatriates in the United States