Résumé

Principal, Alexander Ban, Architect, Los Angeles, CA. In 1948, Ban had an office at 624 South La Brea Boulevard. (See Los Angeles, California, Telephone Book, 1948, p. 69.)

Relocation

Ban was one of a number of foreign-born architects working in the Los Angeles area during the 1940s. He was born in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, in 1909. Ban, who was Jewish, fled Hungary in 1941, landing in Montreal, QC, in 04/1941, a very late and fortuitous exit from Europe. From Montreal, he and his wife entered the US at Rouses Point, NY, on a Canadian Pacific Railway train on 05/01/1941.

Ban arrived in Los Angeles, CA, by late 1941, where he applied for naturalization in the US District Court, Southern District of CA, on 12/08/1941. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Riverside; Riverside, California; NAI Number: 618171; Record Group Title: 21; Record Group Number: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009, accessed 09/05/2019.)

Ban resided at 116 South Berendo Street in Los Angeles in 1948. (See Los Angeles, California, Telephone Book, 1948, p. 69.)

The architect resided in Three Rivers, Tulare County, CA, at 43720 North Kaweah River Drive between 1984, at least, and his death.

Spouse

He married Agnes Edith Juhász (born 11/18/1909 in Budapest, Hungary) on 02/12/1935 in Budapest, Hungary. She and Alexander divorced before 1947, when she applied for US citizenship. At that time, she resided at 3736 West 1st Street in Los Angeles. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Riverside; Riverside, California; NAI Number: 594890; Record Group Title: 21; Record Group Number: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009, accessed 09/09/2019.)

He wed Eva Charlotte Boross (born 11/18/1919 in Long Branch, NJ) on 09/07/1948 in CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017, accessed 09/09/2019.) Eva traveled from Genoa, Italy, to New York, NY, arriving in the latter city on 11/16/1939. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1939; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 6419; Line: 7; Page Number: 7, accessed 09/09/2019.) The 1940 US Census indicated that she lived with her mother, Letitia Boross Lenggel (born c. 1891 in Hungary) in rented accommodations at 1648 1/2 Lucile Avenue in Los Angeles. She worked as a dance teacher at the time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00396; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 60-1057, accessed 09/09/2019.)

Eva had been married twice before Alexander Ban. She wed John S. Parker in 1941 in CA and John Francis Ditton 07/20/1944 in CA.

Children

Alexander and Eva Ban had two children: Peter Alexander Ban and Agnes Eva Ban (born 07/05/1952 in Los Angeles, CA).

Biographical Notes

His name in Hungarian may have been "Sandor Ban."

An "Alexander Ban," a 30-year-old, Hungarian merchant, was listed aboard a Canadian ship's passenger manifest in 1939. Ban sailed aboard the Canadian Pacific Steamship Lines' S.S. Duchess of Bedford, leaving Liverpool on 03/31/1939 bound for Halidax, NS and Saint John, NB. It is not clear if this was the same Alexander Ban as the architect. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012, accessed 09/09/2019.)

As noted on his World War II draft registration card, Ban stood 5-feet, 8-inches tall, and weighed 150 pounds. He had brown hair and brown eyes. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; 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: 91, accessed 09/09/2019.)

SSN: 053184382.