Résumé

Engineer, Los Angeles, CA, 1911. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1911, p. 1199.)

Architect, Frederick B. Noonan, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1913- (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1913, p. 1587.)

Partner, Noonan and Richards, Architects, Los Angeles, CA, 1914-1915. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1914, p. 1891.) In 1914-1915, Noonan and Richards operated in an office at 520 West 7th Street, Room #609.. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1914, p. 2509 and Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1915, p. 2290.)

Partner, Dodd and Richards, Architects, Los Angeles, CA, late 1915 or early 1916-1930. Dodd and Richards operated in the old Noonan and Richards office at 520 West 7th Street, Room #609, between 1916 and (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1916, p. 2145 and

Principal, William Richards, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1931-1945.

College

Graduate, Queens College, Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, c. 1891. The 1940 US Census indicated that he had had five years of college training. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00242; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 19-478, accessed 01/13/2026.)

Relocation

Richards was born in Darlington, County Durham, England, and immigrated to the US possibly before 1910. He married Mary Belle Elliott in Los Angeles in 1910, and had his daugher in the same city by 1911.

The 1920 US Census listed his immigration date as having been in 1902, the 1930 Census, recorded it as 1908.

A William Richards, engineer, resided at 914 West 28th Street in Los Angeles, CA in 1911. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1911, p. 1199.) He moved to a new house at 953 West 30th Street by 1912 and remained here in 1913 and 1914. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1912, p. 1289, Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1913, p. 1587 and Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1914, p. 1891.)

In 1920, Richards lived with his wife, daughter and a household worker, Alice Golding (born c. 1880 in England), at 1730 North La Brea Avenue in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. The 1920 US Census indicated that Richards remained an alien at this time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 63, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_106; Page: 21A; Enumeration District: 164, accessed 01/13/2026.)

His wife Mary Belle passed away in 1929. A year later, in 1930, Richards and his daughter lived with his brother-in-law Robert P. Elliott, the secretary of a hardware company, at 914 West 28th Street in Los Angeles's affluent University Park neighborhood. At this time, many neighboring houses had values over $10,000, with one at 814 West 28th worth$100,000. Robert Elliott's dwelling was valued at $20,000, a significant sum for the time. The architect had filed naturalization paperwork by 1930, according to census records. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0382; FHL microfilm: 2339882, accessed 01/13/2026.)

By 1940, he resided with his second wife Katherine and her two sons, William A. Douglas and Peter L. Douglas, at 741 Burleigh Drive in Pasadena, CA. This house had a value of $16,000, in line with some houses valued at less than $10,000, but far less than others estimated to be worth between $40,000 and $80,000. The neighborhood was economically mixed at the time with many renters--paying between $25 and $62--living nearby. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00242; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 19-478, accessed 01/13/2026.)

The architect died in Los Angeles County, CA, at the age of 74. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Place: Los Angeles; Date: 10 Nov 1945; Social Security: 550095597 Source Information: California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000, accessed 01/13/2026.) He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA.

Spouse

William Richards married twice.

He wed Mary Belle Elliott (born 01/23/1876-d. 03/28/1929 in Los Angeles, CA) on 06/03/1910 in Los Angeles. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images, accessed 01/13/2026.)

He then wed a wealthy Pasadena woman Katherine Avery Leeming Douglas (born 01/20/1894 in Brooklyn, NY-d. 01/03/1973 in Los Angeles County, CA). She had previously married Eric Alexander Douglas (1895-1954), owner of a Los Angeles brick company, on 12/01/1916 in Buffalo, NY. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index, accessed 01/13/2026.)

Children

Mary Belle and he had a daughter Margaret Mackay Richards (born 09/13/1911 in CA-d. 01/19/2000 in Santa Barbara County, CA). Margaret married James Slauson Linley (b. 01/13/1909 in Azusa, CA), a Shell oil employee, on 01/13/1951 in South Laguna, Orange County, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The Linley Genealogy: John Linley, 1796-1882, Iowa County, Wisconsin, His Descendants in the United States, accessed 01/13/2026.)

Richards also was the stepfather of Katherine Douglas's two sons, William Alexander Douglas (born 11/20/1917 in Pasadena, CA-d. 09/26/1984 in San Diego County, CA) and Peter Leeming Douglas (born 12/20/1918 in Pasadena, CA-d. 12/20/1980 in Alameda County, CA) .

Biographical Notes

An earlier version of PCAD indicated that Richards immigrated to the US in 1912. This was incorrect. The 1920 US Census listed his date of immigration as 1902. This incorrect fact came from Withey and Withey, Biographical Dictionary of Architects (Deceased), p.508: "Architect and Engineer, former member of the firm of Dodd &Richards, in practice in Los Angeles over a period of more than three decades. Born in Darlington, England, the young man received a technical education at Queens College, Cambridge, and in his native country began work as a structural engineer. In 1912 he migrated to the US shortly after established [sic] a residence in Los Angeles, and in 1915 began practice with Architect William I. Dodd (see) in a parternship that was continued until the latter’s death in 1930.” (See Henry F. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased), [Los Angeles: New Age Publishing Company, 1956], p. 508.)

SSN: 550-09-5597.

• Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (Architect's Office)
  West 5th Street
  Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

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  Dodd and Richards operated a practice in the Architects' Building in the 1920s and 1930s.

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• Darlington, Darlington UK (Architect's Birth)
  Darlington, Darlington UK

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  Traditionally was located in County Durham, but became a unitary authority, 04/01/1997.

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• Los Angeles, CA (Architect's Death)
  Los Angeles, CA

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