John F. Outcault architectural drawings, 1957-1998 0000355
Finding aid prepared by ADC staff
Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
01/04/2017
Arts Building Room 1434
University of California
Santa Barbara, California, 93106-7130
805-893-2724
adc@museum.ucsb.edu
Title: John Outcault architectural drawings
Identifier/Call Number: 0000355
Contributing Institution:
Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
38.0 Linear feet
(24 record storage boxes, loose rolls)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1960-1995
Date (inclusive): 1957-1998
Location note: ADC regular: boxes 10-24 ADC oversize shelves: loose rolls (unprocessed) Mosher: boxes 1-9
creator:
Outcault, John F., 1927-1998
Collection is arranged chronologically by client or project name.
John Outcault was born in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. His parents moved to Palm Springs in 1936. They owned and operated the
Townhouse Hotel (now the Avalon). Outcault graduated from Palm Springs High School in 1945 and served in the U.S. Navy in
1946.
Outcault attended the University of Southern California School of Architecture in 1946-1952, graduating with a B. of Architecture.
While he was a student he apprenticed in the offices of Clark and Frey, in Palm Springs. Outcault worked in several different
offices before opening his own practice. He worked for the State of California Division of Architecture, 1952-1953; for Alfred
Easton Poor, Architect in New York City, 1953-1956; for Clark, Frey & Chambers in 1956. In that same year he opened his architecture
office in Palm Desert. Outcault received his New York Architecture license in 1954, and his California license in 1957.
Outcault had two children with his first wife, Betty, whom he married in 1957. He married Francis Outcault in 1974. In the
early days of Palm Desert, he served on the Board of Trustees of the College of the Desert, was active in the development
of the Living Desert Reserve, and involved in the growth and incorporation of the city of Palm Desert.
Between 1957 and 1998 Outcault designed many commercial, public, and residential buildings, most of them located in the Coachella
Valley. He died in 1998.
Conditions Governing Access note
Open for use by qualified researchers.
The Palm Desert Historical Society received the papers from Outcault's family. Through the efforts of Palm Desert residents
Jim West and Karen Prinzmetal, the Historical Society donated the papers to the UC Regents, UCSB in January 2017.
Title is transferred to the UC Regents.
John F. Outcault architectural drawings. Art Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara
The papers document John Outcault's architectural designs in the Coachella Valley in California through technical drawings,
renderings and sketches. Some files also contain related papers and a few photographs, but original and reproduction drawings
form the bulk of the collection. The papers appear to offer a complete view of Outcault's career, date from 1957 to 1998 and
span circa 38 linear feet.