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Male, US, born 1895-01-28, died 1982-06-08
Associated with the firms network
Edwards and Neff, Architects; Neff, Wallace, Architect
Résumé
Loft Molder, during WW I at the American Shipbuilding Company, San Pedro, CA, 1917-1918.
Draftsman, George Washington Smith, Architect, Santa Barbara, CA, 1919.
Principal, Wallace Neff, Architect, Pasadena, CA. In 1925, Neff leased an office at at 14 North Fair Oaks Avenue, Room #401. (See Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1925, p. 474.) He had an office at 30 North Raymond Avenue, Room #801, in 1928. (See Los Angeles Directory Company's Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1928, p. 534.)
Professional Activities
Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Southern California Chapter, 1924-1982.
Professional Awards
Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1956;
College
Coursework, Munich, Germany, 1911-1913.
Coursework in art, Geneva, Switzerland, 1913-1914.
Coursework, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture, Cambridge, MA, 1915-1917. At MIT, Neff studied with the distinguished church architect, Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942), among others.
Relocation
Edwin Wallace Neff was born in La Mirada, CA, on 01/28/1895, to Edwin Dorland Neff and Nancy McNally. Likely to differentiate himself from his grandfather and father, the architect went by his middle name for most of his life. When he married in 1923, he listed his name as "Edwin W. Neff." Two years later, he had dropped using his first name, calling himself "E. Wallace Neff." (The Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1925, p. 474, listed his name as "E. Wallace Neff.") Thereafter he used "Wallace."
The Neffs lived in Pasadena by at least 1900, where Edwin Dorland Neff manufactured patent medicines. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 91; Page: 19; Enumeration District: 0111, accessed 08/01/2024.)
Either the patent medicines proved profitable or E.D. Neff inherited money, but by 1910, he did not work, but lived on his "own income," according to that year's US Census. Between at least 1910 and 1921, the Neff family lived on the west side of Santa Clara Avenue one house south of Mariposa Street, as per the city directory of 1921. (See Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1921, p. 521.) This area is part of an unincorporated area now known as Altadena, CA. The household in 1910 included Wallace's parents, and siblings Andrew, Della, Marie, William and John, as well as a gardener, Prosper Lataillade (born c. 1885 in France). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_86; Page: 12b; Enumeration District: 0319; FHL microfilm: 1374099, accessed 08/01/2024.) This neighborhood may have been platted on land belonging to his mother's family. A street intersecting East Mariposa Street was named "McNally Avenue." Wallace lived at this house on Santa Clara Avenue until at least 1921 and likely 1922. (See Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1921, p. 521.)
Just after his marriage in mid-1923, Neff moved out of his parents house and, with his wife Louise, moved into a residence at 1485 Mendocino Street in what is now Altadena. (See Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1925, p. 474.)
Neff resided at 979 North Lake Avenue in Pasadena, CA, in 1928. (See Los Angeles Directory Company's Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1928, p. 534.)
He lived at 1883 Orlando Street in San Marino, CA, in 1930, in a residence that had an approximate value of $100,000, a very large sum for the period. Designing houses for Hollywood stars and moguls made Neff quite well-to-do by this time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: San Marino, Los Angeles, California; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 1434; FHL microfilm: 2339908, accessed 08/01/2024.)
In 1947, Neff and his family resided at 700 South Orange Grove Avenue in Pasadena.
In 1950, Neff resided with his wife Louise and their three children at 360 Alta Vista Avenue in South Pasadena, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 2631; Page: 2; Enumeration District: 19-1675, accessed 08/01/2024.)
He died in Laguna Beach, CA, at the age of 87 and was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, CA.
Parents
His mother was Nancy "Nannie" McNally , his father Edwin Dorland Neff (born 06/20/1860 in OH-d. 11/22/1943 in Los Angeles County, CA). In 1900, Edwin manufactured patent medicines in Pasadena.
Edwin's father was also Edwin Wallace Neff (born 08/07/1826 in Petersburg, PA-d. 12/27/1891 in Chicago, IL), who did multiple jobs during his life, including working as a clerk (1860 in Cincinnati, OH), safe agent (1870 in Detroit, MI) and dealer in mineral water (1880 in Chicago). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Cincinnati Ward 4, Hamilton, Ohio; Roll: M653_971; Page: 315; Family History Library Film: 803971, accessed 08/01/2024; Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Detroit Ward 1, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: M593_712; Page: 43A, accessed 08/01/2024; Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1880; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 185; Page: 519a; Enumeration District: 019, accessed 08/01/2024.) Edwin Dorland Neff's mother was Lavinia Dorland (born 03/25/1825 in Huntingdon County, PA-d. 09/11/1894 in Detroit, MI).
The second oldest of six children, Wallace Neff had the following siblings: Andrew McNally Neff (born 11/09/1893 in Altadena, CA-d. 09/03/1975 in Pasadena, CA), Della May Neff (born c. 1898 in CA-d. 01/23/1969 in CA), Marie L. Neff (born 1899 in CA-d. 1912 in Germany), William Norbert Neff (born 06/01/1903 in CA-d. 04/24/1962 in Los Angeles County, CA) and John Lewis Neff (born c. 1905 in CA).
Marie died at about age 13 in Germany, just before the outbreak of World War I. Andrew Neff worked as both a scientist and a broker during his lifetime. In 1940, William served as the ranch manager for the McNally Ranch Company, a family agricultural property, in La Mirada, CA. He maintained his residence in Pasadena. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00242; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 19-501, accessed 08/01/2024.)
Spouse
Neff married Louise Up de Graaf (born 07/08/1893 in CA-d. 10/26/1979 in CA) on on 06/27/1923 in Los Angeles County, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images, accessed 08/01/2024.)
Children
With Louise Up de Graaf, he had three children: Phyllis Louise Neff (born 12/25/1925 in Los Angeles County, CA-d. 1962), Wallace Libby "Wally" Neff (born 01/12/1930 in Pasadena, CA-d. 09/15/2013 in Laguna Niguel, CA) and Arthur Libby Neff (born 08/21/1932 in Pasadena, CA-d. 06/28/1994).
In 1950, Phyllis worked as a stenographer, according to the US Census. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 2631; Page: 2; Enumeration District: 19-1675, accessed 08/01/2024.)
Biographical Notes
Neff traveled in Brazil in 1947, landing in that country on 06/14/1947.
SSN: 555-54-9489.
PCAD id: 307
