Robert Earl Langdon Jr. (May 31, 1918 – August 13, 2004) was an American architect based 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, ...

. With Ernest C. Wilson Jr., he designed 27 office buildings along

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 ...

as well as the

Getty Villa The Getty Villa is an educational center and an art museum located at the easterly end of the Malibu coast in the Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. One of two campuses of th ...

in the Pacific Palisades and the Bank of America Building 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 ...

. He was the President of the

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

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 ...

Early life

Robert E. Langdon Jr. was born in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

.Myrna Oliver
Robert Langdon Jr., 86; Designed 1st Getty Museum
''

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'', August 25, 2004 He attended

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 ...

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. He went on to graduate from the School of Architecture at 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 ...

in 1944.Grad student unearths architect’s drawings for Getty exhibition
USC School of Architecture: School News, July 05, 2013Pauline O'Connor
House Getty Villa Architect Built For Himself in Pasadena
''LA Curbed'', March 19, 2013

Career

He started his career by designing buildings for his alma mater, the University of Southern California, whose campus grew shortly after

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 ...

. In 1949, he partnered with Ernest C. Wilson Jr., a fellow USC graduate in Architecture, to start an architectural firm. Two years later, in 1951, they officially named it Langdon & Wilson. Shortly after, they opened offices in Los Angeles and

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 ...

. Later, they partnered with fellow architect Hans Mumper, renaming the firm Langdon, Wilson & Mumper. Eventually, they changed the name again to Langdon Wilson Architects. They had 125 employees. Langdon served as the chairman of the Los Angeles office, overseeing design projects in the LA area. 060807-002-GettyVilla001

The firm designed the

in the Pacific Palisades, which makes up the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...

with the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, United States, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997, and is well known for its architecture, garde ...

in nearby Brentwood. They also designed the Glendale Federal Savings Building, also known as the Bank of America Building, or

9454 Wilshire Boulevard 9454 Wilshire Boulevard, also known as The Bank of America Tower, is a 174,490 RSF (rentable square feet), 12-story landmark office building with a three-level underground parking lot located in Beverly Hills, California at the corner of Beverly D ...

. Another notable building they designed was the

CNA Tower CNA may refer to: Certifications * Certification and accreditation, various countries * Certified National Accountant, in Nigeria * Certified Novell Administrator, in computing * Certified Nursing Assistant, in various countries Educati ...

, located at 6th Street and Commonwealth Avenue, and completed in 1972. Overall, they designed twenty-seven buildings along

. They also designed the factory of the Hughes Aircraft-Electro Optical Systems in El Segundo. Langdon served as the President of the Pasadena Chapter as well as the Director of the California Council of the

. Additionally, he was the national President of Scarab fraternity, an architectural organization.

Personal life

He was married to Jacqueline (Hughes) Langdon. They had a son, Robert Langdon, III, and a daughter, Jan (Langdon) Handtmann. They resided in Pasadena, California.

Death

He died on August 13, 2004, in Pasadena, California. He was 86 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langdon, Robert E. Jr. 1918 births 2004 deaths Architects from Los Angeles Historicist architects People associated with the J. Paul Getty Museum USC School of Architecture alumni Yale University alumni People from Council Bluffs, Iowa Architects from Pasadena, California 20th-century American architects