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Male, born 1874-05-21, died 1957-07-07
Associated with the firms network
Bakewell and Brown, Architects; Brown and Lansburgh, Associated Architects; Brown, Arthur, Jr., and Associates, Architect
Résumé
Draftsman, Hornblower and Marshall, Architects, Washington, DC, 1904.
Designer, Henry Schulze, Architect, San Francisco, CA, 1904-1905. Brown assisted on the design of the Folger Coffee Factory in San Francisco, while working for Schulze.
Partner, Bakewell and Brown, Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1905-1927. Within the Bakewell and Brown firm, Brown served as the primary designer. The firm originated at a fortunate moment for architects, a year before a great Earthquake leveled San Francisco on 04/18/1906. Work rebuilding the Bay Area after this event kept the firm busy for a decade.
Brown and Bakewell ended their partnership in 1927, but they continued to collaborate on some projects. As the Bancroft Library stated in its finding aid on Brown's papers, "The firm of Bakewell & Brown dissolved in 1927, although the two former partners continued to collaborate on many later projects, most notably several buildings on the Stanford University campus." (See Online Archive of California. Org, “Collection Guide: Finding Aid to the Arthur Brown, Jr. Papers, 1859-1990, (bulk 1910-1950),” Bancroft Library, Banc MSS 81/142c, accessed 05/04/2020.)
Associate, Bakewell and Brown, Associated Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1928. They severed their partnership completely by 1929, except for Stanford projects.
Principal, Arthur Brown, Jr., and Associates, Architects, 1928-1950. In 1929, after his separation from Bakewell, Brown continued to operate an office in the Charleston Building at 251 Kearny Street. (See San Francisco City Directory, 1929, p. 363.) This suggests that the break with Bakewell was not so heated that he did not want to see or bump into him. They continued to work in close quarters at 251 Kearny.
Teaching
Massier, Atelier Brown and Bourgeois, Snn Francisco, CA, 1911-1913. He operated this teaching studio within the San Francisco Architectural Club (SFAC) with the architect, Jean-Louis Bourgeois, (1876-1915), for two years. Bourgeois had worked for D.H. Burnham and Company in Chicago, IL, c. 1908, and for Bakewell and Brown, c. 1911 until 1915.
According to the Filoli.org web site: "Brown lectured at Harvard University and was acting professor of architecture at the University of California. His achievements as an architect won him worldwide recognition." (See "Architects and Designers,"
Professional Activities
Member, American Institute of Architects, Northern California Chapter. G. Frederic Ashley, Arthur Brown, Jr., Frederick H. Meyer and W.R. Yelland were nominated as delegates from the Northern California Chapter to attend the American Institute of Architects national convention in 1939. (See "Northern California Chapter," Architect and Engineer, vol. 138, no. 3, p. 69.)
The Architect and Engineer of California of 03/1908 reported that Arthur Brown, Jr.,staged an exhibition of his drawings earlier in the year. (See Architect and Engineer of California, 03/1908, p. 62.) In 1927, Brown was a committee member planning the Artists Ball, 04/02/1927, staged at the San Francisco Art Institute. (See Architect and Engineer, 05/1927, p. 111.)
Member, US Department of the Treasury, Board of Architectural Consultants, Washington, DC, 1927-1933.
President, Art Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, c. 1928. (See San Francisco City Directory, 1928, p. 365.)
Member, Architectural Commission for the World's Fair of 1933. (Century of Progress), Chicago, IL, 1930s.
Member, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Board of Consulting Architects, 1930s.
He was on the Consulting Board of Editors for Architect and Engineer magazine in 1937.
Chair, Golden Gate International Exposition, Architectural Commission, San Francisco, CA, 1937-1940.
Member, Architect of the US Capitol, Board of Consulting Architects, Washington, DC, 1956-1957.
Professional Awards
Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1930.
Recipient, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Berkeley, CA, 1931.
Academiician, National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY, 1940.
Associate, National Academy of Design, Architecture Class, New York, NY, 1951.
Member, National Academy of Design, Architecture Class, New York, NY, 1953.
Member, Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY, 1954.
Archives
The Bakewell and Brown Collection, 1910-1931 is held at the University of California, College of Environmental Design Archives, (See "Collection Guide,"
High School/College
Graduate, Oakland High School, Oakland, CA, 1892.
B.A., University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Berkeley, CA, 1896; Brown was a top-tier student of Bernard R. Maybeck (1862-1957) at UCB. The Bancroft Library said of his undergraduate training: "During his time at UC, Brown met local architect Bernard Maybeck, who was at that time teaching drawing courses in the engineering department. Because there was no formal architectural training at Berkeley, Maybeck, who had been trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, took it upon himself to offer architectural training in the evenings at his home. Other participants in the Maybeck studio were, among others, Julia Morgan and Brown's future business partner, John Bakewell, Jr. Presenting design exercises similar to those at the École des Beaux-Arts (the École), Maybeck was preparing his students to eventually go on to study at the French institution." (See Online Archive of California.org, "Finding Aid to the Arthur Brown, Jr. Papers, 1859-1990, (bulk 1910-1950)," accessed 06/18/2019.)
Dipl., École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris, France, 1901. Brown studied in the Atelier of Victor-Alexandre-Frederic Laloux, (1850-1937), who was a favorite massier of American students at the École.
Relocation
Born in Oakland, CA, Brown had a comfortable upbringing as the only child of an upper-middle class couple. Brown attended the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), graduating in 1896, and then spent seven years in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts.Upon returning to the US from France, Brown worked for short period with the architectural firm of Hornblower and Marshall in Washington, DC, before returning to San Francisco.
In 1925, Brown and his wife moved into a new residence that he designed in the posh suburb of Hillsborough, CA, in San Mateo County, They called this residence "Le Verger," the orchard or grove.
The San Francisco City Directory, 1928, (p. 365), indicated that Brown lived in Burlingame, CA, although inhabitants of Burlingame often actually lived within the confines of Hillsborough.
Brown died in San Mateo County, CA, at the age of 83. He was buried in the family plot at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, CA.
Parents
His father was Arthur Brown, Sr., (1830-1917), his mother, Victoria Runyon Brown (1840-1917). According to the University of California, Bancroft Library, his father's work as an engineer for the Central Pacific Railroad would later open many doors for Arthur, Jr., as an architect: "Arthur Brown, Sr., was an engineer for Central Pacific Railroad during the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. His position as the Superintendent of the Bridges and Buildings Dept put him in close contact with the powerful leaders of the Central Pacific. Along with his regular work for the railroad, including design of the Oakland Mole and the train car ferry Solano, Brown, Sr. was also the chosen construction manager for the Crocker, Hopkins and Stanford mansions in San Francisco. Brown, Jr. later benefited tremendously from these connections: the Big Four and their families provided him with many commissions throughout his career. Mark Hopkins' son, Timothy Hopkins, was in large part responsible for giving many Stanford University commissions to Brown." (See Online Archive of California. Org, “Collection Guide: Finding Aid to the Arthur Brown, Jr. Papers, 1859-1990, (bulk 1910-1950),” Bancroft Library, Banc MSS 81/142c, accessed 05/04/2020.)
Spouse
He wed Jessamine Garrett, (1884-1970). Garrett had been introduced to Brown by his friend from the École, Édouard Frère Champney, (1874-1929). Champney worked as an architect in Seattle, WA, between c. 1910 and 1926, and had met Jessamine here. Brown had also worked at the Washington, DC, architectural firm of Hornblower and Marshall.
Children
He and Jessamine had two daughters, Victoria Brown, (1921-2005), and Sylvia Brown Jensen, (1923-1991).
Biographical Notes
Both Bakewell and Brown were proteges of Bernard Maybeck (1862-1957), an early instructor in architecture at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), who convinced these two top students to attend his alma mater, the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, for a graduate education.
During slow years of the Depression, 1934-1935, Brown traveled in Europe with his family.
PCAD id: 468
