Résumé

Apprentice, architectural office, Los Angeles, CA, 1930.

Draftsman, Los Angeles, CA, 1939.

Partner, Austin, Field and Fry, Architects, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1953. Charles Fry married Marjorie Austin, a daughter of the firm's founder John C.W. Austin (1870-1963).

Fry joined the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Southern California Chapter, in 1946; President, AIA, California Council of Architects, 1953. (See "California Council of Architects," Architect and Engineer, 08/1953.)

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1966, for Service to the Profession.

High School / College

Graduate, Manual Arts High School, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1924.

B.A., Architecture, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, CA, c. 1924-1929. At USC, Fry was a member of the Advertising Club.

College Awards

Fry was elected to Alpha Rho Chi, the architecture honor society, at USC.

Relocation

Charles Eugene Fry was born on 03/07/1906 in CA, the son of two transplanted North Carolinians.

In 1920, the Frys lived at 1139 Mariposa Avenue in the Harvard Heights neighborhood (within the West Adams District) of Los Angeles, CA. Developers began building in this neighborhood during the 1900s, producing a sizeable concentration of Craftsman bungalows here by 1920. (See Ancestry.com Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 63, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_107; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 186, accessed 04/02/2026.)

By 1930, he lived with his mother, now a widow, and his brother Horace at 1021 West 49th Street in Los Angeles, now considered part of the Vermont Harbor neighborhood The Frys owned this residence worth about $7,000 at the time, on par with surrounding dwellings. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0461; FHL microfilm: 2339884, accessed 04/02/2026.)

By 1939-1940, Charles lived with his wife Marjorie and their two children at 241 Cresta Avenue in San Gabriel, CA. (See Los Angeles Directory Company's San Gabriel City Directory, 1939, p. 662 and

Later in life, the architect resided in Laguna Hills, CA, where he passed away at age 90. He was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA.

Parents

His mother was Flora Elfreda Aderholdt (born 08/1876 in Catawba County, NC-d. 07/26/1933 in Los Angeles, CA). She wed his father James Madison Fry (born 1862 in NC-d. 04/15/1929 in Los Angeles County, CA), about 14 years her senior, in 1901. James worked as a house carpenter in 1920. (See Ancestry.com Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 63, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_107; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 186, accessed 04/02/2026.)

Eugene had a younger brother Horace Merle Fry (born 02/01/1910 in CA-d. 02/04/1991 in Riverside County, CA), who worked for Western Velo and Cement Specialties, a paving company, in Los Angeles on 10/16/1940. (See Ancestry.com. Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 613, accessed 04/02/2026.)

Spouse

Charles Fry wed Marjorie Isobel Austin (born 02/25/1905 in Pasadena, CA-d. 07/21/1999 in Seal Beach, CA) on 12/13/1932 in Los Angeles, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images. Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017, accessed 04/02/2026.)

Children

He and Marjorie had three children: Charles M. Fry (born c. 1936 in Los Angeles, CA); James A. Fry (born c. 1937 in Los Angeles, CA) and F. Kathleen Fry (born c. 1940 in Pasadena, CA)

Biographical Notes

In 1950, the Frys took a family vacation aboard the S.S. Lurline that sailed from Honolulu, HI, to San Francisco, CA, arriving at the latter port on 09/02/1950. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving At San Francisco, California; NAI Number: 4498993; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85, accessed 04/02/2026.)

SSN: 563-12-5764.