Roger S. Hong Collection

Finding aid prepared by Suzanne Oatey.

Rare Books Department, Architectural Collections

The Huntington Library

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2129

Fax: (626) 449-5720

Email: echase@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org

Descriptive Summary

Title: Roger S. Hong Collection

Dates: 1936-2001

Bulk dates: 1960-1995

Collection Number: Consult repository.

Creator: Hong, Roger S., 1941-2006.

Extent: 8 flat boxes, 7 tube boxes, 15 oversize folders

Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, Rare Books Department

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2129

Fax: (626) 449-5720

Email: echase@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org

Abstract: Roger S. Hong was an architect who worked primarily on commercial projects in California from the 1960s-2001. Hong was actively involved in efforts to revitalize Chinatown in Los Angeles, and the collection includes early drawings of the building of “New Chinatown” in the late 1930s, and proposals by Hong for renovations and improvements in the 1980s-2000s.

Language of Material: The records are in English.

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open to qualified researchers. For more information, please contact echase@huntington.org.

Publication Rights

All requests for permission to publish or reproduce in any format must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Rare Books.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Roger S. Hong Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Roger S. Hong, June 2006.

Biography

Roger S. Hong (September 23, 1941 - October 27, 2006) was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of You Chung Hong and Mabel Hong. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California in 1965, followed by a Master of Science degree in City and Regional Planning in 1968. He was certified in many states, including California, to practice as a licensed architect. Some of his notable architectural projects include: UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center arena (Las Vegas, NV); the United Bank headquarters (Los Angeles, CA); Kun Lun Hotel (Beijing, China); Hotel Nikko (Beverly Hills, CA); the Y. C. Hong residence (Los Angeles, CA); Chieh Shou Sports Park (Taipei, Taiwan); Kaiser Richmond Medical Center (Richmond, CA); Froedtert Memorial Hospital (University of Milwaukee, WI); KCET Public Television headquarters (Los Angeles, CA); and various buildings and facilities in and around the Los Angeles Chinatown area. After working at several firms, he co-founded the architectural firm Arechaederra/Hong/Treiman Architects in 1981. Hong retired from his firm in 1993 and devoted himself to preserving the Hong family history, the restoration and preservation of Los Angeles’ Chinatown, and various charitable and community causes.

Hong’s father, You Chung Hong (May 4, 1898 - November 8, 1977) was a prominent Chinese American immigration lawyer based in Los Angeles, California. He is reputed to be the first Chinese American person to pass, in 1923, the California State Bar exam. Y. C. Hong was also one of the founders of Los Angeles’ New Chinatown (1938).

Scope and Content

The Roger S. Hong Collection spans the years 1936-2001, and consists primarily of drawings by Roger Hong, 1960s-2001, but also includes earlier drawings of Los Angeles’ New Chinatown (1936-40s) by architects Erle Webster & Adrian Wilson. In the mid-1930s, all of Old Chinatown was torn down to make way for Union Station. Many of the displaced families and businesses went to the nearby 900 block of North Broadway and developed New Chinatown. The drawings by Webster & Wilson show the development of this historic area of Los Angeles through survey records, street plans and drawings for buildings for Y. C. Hong.

The collection also includes Roger Hong’s proposed revitalization plans for Chinatown, 1979-2001. These drawings and Hong’s other professional work in this collection are primarily for commercial projects. One exception is the Y. C. Hong residence, a modern home designed while Hong was starting his professional career at Buff & Hensman and Associates, and constructed in 1969. The collection also includes samplings of Hong’s professional work done while at various firms and in his capacity as private architectural consultant in the 1990s.

Hong’s childhood artwork and work done while he was a student at the University of Southern California are also part of the collection, including his Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity scrapbooks, 1960-62.

Indexing Terms

Personal Names

Hong, Roger S., 1941-2006.

Hong, You Chung, 1898-1977.

Subjects

Architects – California.

Architecture -- California -- Los Angeles.

Architecture -- Designs and plans.

Chinese Americans -- California -- Los Angeles -- History.

Chinese Americans -- Societies, etc.

Geographic Areas

Chinatown (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Genre

Architectural drawings.

Related collection:

The Hong family papers, 1764-2006 (bulk 1906-2006), The Huntington Library, Manuscripts Dept. This collection includes material on Roger Hong’s business and community activities, along with many architectural project files. Please contact the Manuscripts Dept. (e-mail: lgarcia@huntington.org) for further information and access.

Project Index

The following is a list of architectural plans and drawings in the collection. This Project Index is also available as an Excel spreadsheet; please contact the Curator for further information. All projects include drawings; a few also have photographs, noted by [Ph] in the listing.

A. Los Angeles (Chinatown), 1930s-1940s:

Boy Scouts of America, scout cabin (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; c. 1940); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Buildings for Y. C. Hong: 405, 407, 409 Ginling Way and 951-955 N. Broadway (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1939-41); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Buildings for Y. C. Hong: Early color renderings (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; c. 1936-37); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Buildings for Y. C. Hong: Neon lighting studies (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; c. 1937); Electrical Products Corp.; Zeon Electrical Products; 20th Century Lites, Inc. (lighting)
Buildings for Y. C. Hong: Peter Soo Hoo store #3, 421 Ginling Way (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; c. 1930s); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Buildings for Y. C. Hong: Restaurant stores 1 and 2 (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1938); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Buildings for Y. C. Hong: Store and office building, Ginling Way (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1938-40); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Daniel Hall Building (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1939); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Gate (Pailou), North Broadway (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; c. 1930s); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Lung-Kong Tin Yee, Club entrance design (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; c. 1930s); Bailey, A. Godfrey (architect)
Proposed additions to Chinatown (property map); House numbers for New Chinatown, 900 block N. Broadway (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1939); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Restaurant and cocktail room for Howard Tom and Jew Loy-Shue, 425-427 Ginling Way (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1938); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Restaurant and store building for Au Chun Hall (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1939); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Restaurant for Y. C. Hong, 415 and 425 Ginling Way (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1939-40, 1945); Webster, E. & Wilson, A., (architects)
Survey maps (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1938-39, 1941)
Utility, grading and plot plans; street layout (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1938, 1940)

B. Los Angeles (Chinatown), renovations, 1979-2001:

Blossom Garden Hotel and mixed-use project, 900 N. Broadway (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 2000); Laeroc Partners, Inc. (architects), Hong, Roger (architect), Urban Concepts (architects) (Includes rough concept sketches.)
Cathay Bank (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; undated); Choy, E. & Choy, B., (architects), Shulman, Julius (photographer) [Ph]
Chinatown Art Festival celebration: Los Angeles Times article and photographs (mounted on OV board) (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 2001) [Ph]
Chinatown Historic Core Vision Plan, L.A. Chinatown Business Council: Master program for revitalization and development (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 2001); Hong, Roger (architect)
Chinatown Passage (shops, restaurants, terraces, parking, connections to Blue Line, Metrobus, DASH, bikeway), proposal plan (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 2001); Hong, Roger (architect), Suisman Urban Design (architects), Laeroc Partners Inc. (architects)
Chinese Cultural and Community Center of Greater Los Angeles, proposal plan (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; undated); Hong, Roger (architect)
City North Destination Entertainment Complex and MTA Station, project proposal (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1998-2001); Hong, Roger (architect), Urban Concepts (architect)
Gateway Tower, sponsored by the Chinese Committee on Aging (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; undated); Hong, Roger (architect)
Hong Building, 425 Ginling Way, 1997 renovation plans (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1997); Hong, Roger (architect)
Hong Building, 425 Ginling Way, 1999 renovation, demolition and construction plans (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1999); McDonough & Associates (architects), Perlof, S. (engineer)
Hong Building, 451A and 451B Ginling Way, alterations (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 2002); Hong, Roger (architect)
Hong Building: Bar and Bistro at Central Plaza, 951 N. Broadway, 425 Ginling Way, proposal plan (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 2000); Hong, Roger (architect)
Imperial Dragon Gift Shop, 451 Ginling Way, remodel (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1979-80); Hong, Roger (architect), S. Perlof (engineer)
Ling Tower: Senior Citizen Residence and Community Commercial Plaza (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1978); Hong, Roger (architect)
Mandarin Palace: Garden, hotel and public parking structure (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; undated); Hong, Roger (architect)
Pergola and stage, design plans (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; undated)
Residential renovation of 445 Ginling Way for Roger S. Hong (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; undated); Hong, Roger (architect)
Survey maps (Los Angeles (Chinatown), (Elysian Park), CA; 1990); City of Los Angeles
United Bank building, 951 N. Broadway (formerly 405, 407, 409 Ginling Way), renovation plans (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1984); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architects), Hong, Roger (architect)
United Bank building, 951 N. Broadway, fence design and landscape plan (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 1996); Hong, Roger (architect, landscape architect)

C. Other work

Blossom Garden Hotel and mixed-use project, 900 N. Broadway (Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA; 2000); Laeroc Partners, Inc. (architects), Hong, Roger (architect), Urban Concepts (architects) (Includes rough concept sketches.)
Chinese Times, The: 686 Sacramento St., remodel. (Includes many rough sketches.) (San Francisco, CA; 1976-77); Hong, Roger (architect)
Encinitas Hotel (Encinitas, CA; 1989); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architects)
Fitzgerald, Dan and June, residence, 10118 Empyrean Way #102, interior design (Los Angeles, CA; 1991); Hong, Roger (interior design)
Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital (Wauwatosa, WI; 1977); Stone, Marracini & Patterson (architects), Brust-Zimmerman (architects)
Hong, Mr. and Mrs. Y. C., residence, 5146 Los Franciscos Way, proposed recreation unit (Los Angeles, CA; c. 1970s); Hong, Roger (architect)
Hong, Mr. and Mrs. Y. C., residence, 5146 Los Franciscos Way. (Includes many rough sketches.) (Los Angeles, CA; 1967-69); Buff & Hensman (architect), Hong, Roger (architect), Shulman, Julius (photographer) [Ph]
Hong, Roger S., residence, 10551 Wilshire Blvd. #1703, interior design. (Includes many rough sketches.) (Los Angeles, CA; 1986-87); Hong, Roger (interior design)
Hotel at the L.A. Zoo (Los Angeles, CA; 1981); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architects), Stolte, Inc. (developers)
Hotel Nikko, 477 S. La Cienega Blvd. (Beverly Hills, CA; 1989-91); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architects), Fong & Associates (landscape architects), Mingis Design (interior design) [Ph]
KCET building (Los Angeles, CA; c. 1980); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architects)
Kun Lun Hotel, early concepts (Beijing, China; 1980); John Carl Warnecke and Associates (architects)
Neiman-Marcus (Honolulu, HI; 1988); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architect), The Darrall Partnership (interior design)
Neiman-Marcus (1979)
Office building, Ohio Ave. and Sepulveda Blvd. (Los Angeles (Westwood), CA; 1983); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architects)
Pan Pacific Center (Los Angeles, CA; 1981-82); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architect), CCM Financial (developers)
Park Place (Fluor Properties conversion) (Irvine, CA; 1985-88); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architects), Trammell Crow Co. (developers)
Paseo de los Rosas complex (Pasadena, CA; ca. 1980s); Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman (architects), Trammell Crow Co. (developers), Ahmanson Commercial Development Co. (developers)
Quong, Chin H. and Mabel C. Hong, Four-unit apartment building (Alhambra, CA; 1948-49); Joseph, B. G. (contractor)
Ralph's grocery stores (Fullerton (and unknown), CA; c. 1973); Maxwell Starkman & Associates (architects)
Rossmoor Towers and Life Care Center, Rossmoor Leisure World (Laguna Hills, CA; 1969-70); Bodrell Joer'dan Smith and Associates, Inc. (architects), Lent-Forsum Associates (landscape architects)
Unidentified campus site plan (c. 1970s); Hong, Roger (architect)
Unidentified residences and commercial buildings (1970-72); Hong, Roger (architect)
UNLV Sports Arena (Thomas & Mack Center), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV; c. 1984); John Carl Warnecke and Associates (architects), W2C (architects)

I. PERSONAL PAPERS, 1950-2001

Physical Description: 8 boxes, 2 broadside folders

A. Biographical information

Scope and Content Note

Resumes and portfolios: 1969, 2001.

B. Childhood artwork

Scope and Content Note

Paintings and drawings; includes birds-eye-view painting of Disneyland, signed “Roger Hong, Summer ‘55.”

C. Student work, c. 1960-68

Scope and Content Note

* Drawings, artwork and class assignments.

* Scrapbooks, 1960-62, of University of Southern California's Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity (Tau Gamma chapter), featuring photos, clippings and portrait drawings by R. Hong.

* Hong's drawings of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity house.

* Student election posters.

D. Family papers

Scope and Content Note

* Floor plans and elevations for “On Gold Mountain” exhibit at Autry Museum, 2000, featuring Hong Family archives.

* Headstone design by R. Hong for his father, Y. C. Hong, 1977.

II. PROJECT PLANS AND DRAWINGS, 1936-2001

Physical Description: 8 boxes, 13 broadside folders

Scope and Content Note

This series contains architectural drawings by Roger S. Hong, from the start of his professional career in 1968, through his consulting years in the late 1990s-2001. Hong worked at several firms: Buff & Hensman; Bodrell Joer'dan Smith; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Stone, Marracini & Patterson; John Carl Warnecke & Associates; and was a co-founder of the firm Arechaederra, Hong, Treiman in 1981. Hong also did work under his own name, and as a consultant to other firms.

In addition to Hong's work, there are drawings by architects Erle Webster & Adrian Wilson from the 1930s and 1940s.

Projects are arranged alphabetically within three series: Chinatown (Los Angeles), 1930s-1940s; Chinatown (Los Angeles) renovations, 1979-2001; and Other work (sampling of R. Hong’s professional work).

See the Project Index for a complete list of projects.

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