Résumé

Draftsman, Trowbridge and Livingston, Architects, New York, NY, c. 1915-1917.

Coate spent 17 months as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in WW I; Coate, Sr. came to California in 1919 just after his time in the military;

Partner, Johnson, Kaufmann and Coate, Architects, Los Angeles, CA, 1921-1924. Johnson, Kaufman and Coate was a highly regarded architectural firm, led by three significant designers, who each went on to successful solo practices. Already established as a an architect in Pasadena since 1911, Reginald D. Johnson (1882-1952) sponsored Coate, Sr., for his certificate to practice architecture in California. News of the dissolution of the firm of Johnson, Kaufman and Coate appeared in the Southwest Builder and Contractor on 12/12/1924, p. 47.

Principal, Roland E. Coate, Sr., Architect, Pasadena, CA, 1925-1942. In 1937, Coate maintained his office at 816 West 5th Street in Downtown Los Angeles.

Coate, Sr., worked with the engineering firm of Bechtel, McCone and Parson in Alabama from 1942-1944. Coate resumed his practice in Los Angeles after World War II, working until about 1956.

Professional Activites

Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Southern CA Chapter.

Professional Awards

Coate was very successful competing for residential design awards sponsored by the architectural press in the early 1930s.

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1937.

Archives

Archival documents by Roland Coate, Sr., are housed at the Architecture and Design Collection of the University Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

College

Coursework, Earlham College, Richmond, IN, c. 1910-1912.

A.B., Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1912-1914.

College Honors

Received a Tau Beta Phi (an engineering honors society) scholarship from Cornell University to study in Europe.

Relocation

Roland Coate, Sr., was born in Richmond, IN on 12/05/1890. He resided in a dwelling at 36 South 12th Street in that city in 1900 with his parents--John and Emma Coate--his four siblings, and a household servant, Sarah Swaine (born c. 11/1869 in IN). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Richmond, Wayne, Indiana; Roll: 412; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0166, accessed 05/28/2025.)

Roland's family continued to inhabit 36 South 12th Street in Richmond in 1910. Roland lived here with his parents, sister Esther, brother Robert and a cousin, Sarah Swain (born c. 1869 in IN). By this time, Emma Coate had had five children, according to the 1910 US Census, meaning two children were not listed. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Richmond Ward 4, Wayne, Indiana; Roll: T624_388; Page: 1a; Enumeration District: 0193; FHL microfilm: 1374401, accessed 05/28/2025.)

In 1930, he and his family resided at 389 California Terrace in Pasadena, CA, a residence that had an estimated value of $21,000. Coate lived here with his wife Gladys, and their children Susanne and William. The architect, Robert D. Farquhar (1872-1967) lived next door at 381 California Terrace. The US Census recorded that Coate maintained one servant in 1930, Willma L. Miller (born c. 1900 in KS). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 1245; FHL microfilm: 2339904, accessed 05/28/2025.)

The Coate Family lived in Pasadena through 1937, at least. (The Los Angeles City Directory, 1937, p. 436, indicated that Coate continued to live in Pasadena.)

The Coates moved to 1255 Oak Grove Avenue in San Marino, CA. This house had an estimated value of $30,000, much higher than the national average, but consistent with others nearby in the San Marino neighborhood. They maintained a housekeeper, Emma Cherry (born c. 1889 in NB), in 1940. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: San Gabriel, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00254; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 19-702 Source Information, accessed 05/29/2025.) In 1943, the Pasadena City Directory (p. 137) listed Roland Coate as a "Draftsman," living at 1255 Shenandoah Road in San Marino. (The 1947 City Directory stated that his residence was at 1258 Shenandoah. [p. 169].)

The 1950 US Census indicated that the Coates continued to live at 1255 Oak Grove Avenue. At this time, the household consisted of Roland, Sr., his wife Gladys, their two children and a Japanese-American cook, Tom Tsukamoto (born c. 1884 in Japan). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: San Marino, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 2631; Page: 74; Enumeration District: 19-1659, accessed 05/29/2025.

Coate, Sr., died in Oceanside, San Diego County, CA, at the age of 67 and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA.

Parents

His father was John Marmaduke Coate (born 08/06/1858 in West Milton, OH-d. 12/25/1940 in Wayne County, IN), who worked for a wholesale dry goods merchant, Adam H. Bartel and Company, between at least 1893 and 1910, and probably longer. (See Richmond, Indiana, City Directory, 1893, p. 64.) (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Richmond Ward 4, Wayne, Indiana; Roll: T624_388; Page: 1a; Enumeration District: 0193; FHL microfilm: 1374401, accessed 05/28/2025.)

The architect's mother was Emma Williams (born 10/15/1859 in IN-d. 12/29/1932 in Richmond, IN), who wed John on 06/01/1882 in Richmond, IN. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Works Progress Administration; Index to Marriage Records: Indiana Works Progress Administration, 1938-1940; Series Title: Wayne County, Indiana;index to Marriage Records 1860* - 1920 Inclusive V W. P. A. Original Record Located: County Clerk's O; Book: C- N; Page: 351, accessed 05/28/2025.) Emma belonged to the Quaker church, which had a large number of members settling in Richmond. Quaker meetings in the city served as the foundation for Earlham College, established in 1859.

Siblings included Earl William Cote (born 04/15/1883 in Richmond, IN-d. 02/26/1966 in Richmond, IN); Myra Jane Cote Silberberg (born 04/30/1885 in Richmond, IN-d. 07/17/1962 in Los Angeles County, CA); Esther Rebecca Coate Carvey (born 12/17/1895 in Richmond, IN-d. 05/02/1993 in Los Angeles, CA); and Robert Lindley Coate (born 11/18/1898 in Richmond, IN-d. 03/28/1987 in Alameda County, CA). By 1951, Myra had became an Assistant Dean at Earlham College, Robert was a musician, and Earl and Richard both worked for their father's wholesale merchandise firm, Adam H. Bartel Company. (See Richmond, Indiana, City Directory, 1951, p. 72.)

Spouse

He married Gladys Frances Robinson (born 07/28/1898 in Galveston, TX-died 01/25/1992 in Los Angeles, CA). The 1940 US Census indicated that Gladys Coate had completed three years of college.

Children

He and Gladys had three children in total. In 1930, two children lived at home: daughter Susanne Mountgarret Coate Alden (born 04/25/1928 in CA) and son William Bleecker Coate (born c. 1921 in CA). In 1940, Susanne and Roland E. Coate, Jr., (born c. 1931 in CA), resided with their parents.

Roland E. Coate, Jr., also became an architect.

• Richmond, IN (Architect's Birth)
  Richmond, IN

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