Résumé

Managing Partner, Rochlin and Baran, A.I.A. and Associates, Los Angeles, CA, 1951-c. 1992. Rochlin and Baran attended the University of California, Berkeley together. In 1962, Rochlin and Baran and Associates had an office at 8816 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. (See "Baran Ephraim," American Architects Directory, Second Edition, [New York, NY: R.R. Bowker and Company,1962], p. 32.) The RBB Architects, Incorporated, website profiled Baran's contribution to the firm: "During his tenure, Mr. Baran established this firm's standards of excellence in facility planning, document production, construction management, and quality control for large-scale healthcare projects. This included directing the practical application of new building techniques and directing the early involvement of engineering disciplines in the programming of new facilities. Among the many enduring buildings he designed is the distinctive Directors Guild of America Corporate Headquarters in Hollywood, CA, which was recently honored by the AIA with a 20-Year Design Award. However, Mr. Baran identifies his most unique work was serving as the architect of a series of five astronomical observatories throughout the U.S. He was also principal designer for a range of medical office buildings, outpatient clinics, sports medicine clinics, medical centers, specialty hospitals, nursing schools, research laboratories and more. Mr. Baran is currently retired, living in Santa Monica with his wife." (See "Principals," accessed 10/29/2010.)

Professional Activities

Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Southern Califorina Chapter, 1955- .

Registered Architect in the State of California, c. 1956- .

High School / College

Graduate, George Washington High School, Los Angeles, CA, 1940.

B.Arch., University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Berkeley, CA, 1951.

Relocation

Born in Sacramento, CA, on 12/09/1921, Ephraim Isaac Baran was the son of Mayer Baran, a cabinetmaker, and Dora Bunin, who managed the household. His parents were Ukrainian Jews, both from Chernihiv Oblast, who came to the US just after 1910, a time when many were fleeing Czarist persecution.

Once in the US, the family moved frequently. The Barans likely first lived in Fort Worth, TX, c. 1915, where Ephraim's brother Morris Baran was born. Meyer (and presumably his family) relocated from TX to CA by 10/06/1920. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (Nara); Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records of the U.s. District Court For the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1887-1940; Microfilm Roll: 137; Microfilm Serial: M1524, accessed 02/17/2026.) Dora and Meyer were apparently married in San Francisco, CA, in 1921, and he was naturalized in Los Angeles in 1929, but seems to have lived in Sacramento, CA, beginning by at least 1921. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Petitions For Naturalization, U.s. District Court For the Central District of California (Los Angeles), 1940-1991; NAI Number: 594890; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009, accessed 02/17/2026.)

The US Census located the Barans living at 2934 West Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1930. The family paid $55 per month, a bit more than average for the immediate vicinity. The neighborhood was mixed, with many Russian Jewish families living nearby, as were Armenians, Finns, and natiive-born Americans. The household also included Samuel Bunin (born c. 1890 in Ukraine), Dora's brother. They had moved by 1938, making their residence at 2027 West 75th Street in Los Angeles and continued to live here in 1940. The 1940 US Census indicated that they owned their house, worth about $5,000, average for the neighborhood at the time. They rapidly moved from being renters to home ownership in about 15 years. (See Los Angeles A-L, California, City Directory, 1938, p. 188 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00425; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 60-458, accessed 02/17/2026.)

Baran made his home at 14411 Hamlin Street in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA, in 1956. (See "Baran Ephraim," American Architects Directory, First Edition, [New York, NY: R.R. Bowker and Company,1955], p. 25.)

Ephraim Baran lived in Santa Monica since at least 1995. He passed away there on 06/07/2017 (about seven years after his wife Annette) at the age of 95.

Parents

His mother Dora Bunin Baran (née Shana Doba Bunin on 03/24/1888 in Mena, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine-d. 11/29/1949 in Los Angeles County, CA) traveled to the US from Bremen, Germany, and landed at the Port of Galveston, TX, on 12/08/1912 aboard the Norddeutscher Lloyd liner, SS Rhein. Dora last resided in Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro) in Ukraine before emigrating. She was naturalized on 08/14/1942 in US District Court, Los Angeles, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Petitions For Naturalization, U.s. District Court For the Central District of California (Los Angeles), 1940-1991; NAI Number: 594890; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009, accessed 02/17/2026.)

According to her 1942 naturalization paperwork, Dora wed Meyer Mordko (also spelled "Mordux") Baran (born 02/15/1887 in Sosnytsia,Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine- d. ) on 10/04/1921 in San Francisco, CA. Meyer sailed aboard the Norddeutscher Lloyd's SS Brandenburg , arriving in Galveston, TX, on 02/07/1913. His final destination was Fort Worth, TX. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving At Galveston, Texas, 1896-1951; ARC Number: M1359; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85, accessed 02/17/2026.)

Meyer was naturalized 13 years before Dora on 05/24/1929 in US District Court, Los Angeles, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Petitions For Naturalization, U.s. District Court For the Central District of California (Los Angeles), 1940-1991; NAI Number: 594890; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009, accessed 02/17/2026.) For most of his life, Meyer worked as a carpenter in a cabinet-making shop. By 1940, he had become a manufacturer of cabinetry.

His elder brother Morris David Baran (born 03/25/1915-d. ) was six years older than Ephraim, but may have died early in life.

Spouse

He married Annette Dolinsky (born 01/07/1927 in Cook County, IL -d. 07/11/2010 in Santa Monica, CA) on 06/02/1948 in CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images, accessed 02/17/2026.) Annette attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1944-1945 and was an active member of its Forensics Team. (See the University of California, Los Angeles, Southern Campus, Yearbook, 1945, p. 150.)

Children

Ephraim and Annette had two children: David Joseph Baran (born 07/05/1952 in CA) and Naomi Devera Baran (born 03/06/1955 in Los Angeles County, CA) .