Theodore Eisen (July 10, 1852 – March 14, 1924) was an American architect. He designed many houses 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, ...

Early life

Theodore Augustus Eisen was born on July 10, 1852, in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

.Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Theodore Eisen
/ref> His father, Augustus Ferdinand Eisen (1824-1870), was a Swedish-born immigrant to the United States. His mother, Babette Eisen, was a Prussian-born immigrant. After living in Ohio, they settled in

San Francisco, California 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 ...

, where Theodore grew up.

Career

Eisen became an architect in

, in 1887. He opened a practice with

Sumner Hunt Sumner P. Hunt (Brooklyn, New York state, May 8, 1865 – Los Angeles, California, November 19, 1938) was an architect in Los Angeles from 1888 to the 1930s. On January 21, 1892, he married Mary Hancock Chapman. They had a daughter Louise Hunt. ...

in 1895.Mary Ann Bonino, ''The Doheny Mansion: A Biography of a Home'', 2008, pp. 103-10

/ref> They designed mansions near Chester Place. In 1892, they designed the Froebel Institute, later known as Casa de Rosas. They also designed several mansions on West Adams Boulevard in the Craftsman and Tudor Revival architectural styles. They planned design the Posey House for Sara Posey and her husband, Oliver Posey, a mining businessman, with touches of Gothic Revival, Moorish Revival and Spanish Revival styles. However, as the Poseys's wealth declined, the project was shelved. Instead, St Vincent's Church was built two decades later, thanks to a gift from the Doheny family.

Works

*1895, J. W. Robinson's Boston Dry Goods Store (forerunner of a large regional department store chain), 239 S.

Broadway (Los Angeles) Broadway, until 1890 Fort Street, is a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The portion of Broadway from 3rd to 9th streets, in the Historic Core, Los Angeles, Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles, was the city' ...

, and its annex at its back facing Hill Street, opened in 1908. *From 1895 to 1910, Eisen designed the "El Alisal", also known as the Lummis House, for Charles F. Lummis.Robert Winter, ''An Architectural Guide to Los Angeles'', Gibbs Smith, 2009, p. 30

/ref> It is located at 200 East Avenue 43. *In 1917, he designed the Casa de Adobe located at 4603 North Figueroa Street, an

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

. Eisen was a member 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 ...

and the Sunset Club in Los Angeles.

Personal life and death

Eisen married Annie Bennett (1858-1932), an Australian-born immigrant to the United States. They married in

. They were Episcopalians. They had two son: Percy A. Eisen, who became a renowned architect in Los Angeles; and Dr. Edward George Eisen. Eisen died on March 14, 1924, in Los Angeles, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisen, Theodore 1852 births 1924 deaths Architects from Cincinnati People from San Francisco Architects from Los Angeles