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

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

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

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the prin ...

as well as the

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

in the Pacific Palisades and the Bank of America Building in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

. He was the President of the

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, 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 district. Its ...

chapter of the

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

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, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...

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

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', August 25, 2004 He attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

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

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...

. 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 housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

with the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, 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, gardens, and views overl ...

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 ...

.Emporis: Bank of America Building
/ref> Another notable building they designed was the CNA Tower, 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