Elliot Mittler collection of Welton Becket and Associates photograph archives, 1940-1979

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Summary

Creators:
Mittler, Elliot
Abstract:
Welton Davis Becket (1902- ) was a Los Angeles based architect with Becket, Wurdeman, and Plummer (later renamed Welton Becket and Associates) - one of the largest firms in Los Angeles with building credits throughout the world. He also served as the Master Planner and Supervising Architect for UCLA from 1949 to 1969. After Becket's death, the firm continued under the same name, directed by his nephew, MacDonald Becket. Around 1985, the firm was acquired by Ellerbe Incorporated to become Ellerbe Becket. The collection consists of photographs related to the work of the Welton Becket & Associates architectural firm. Most of the photographs represent projects in and around the Los Angeles area and include examples of both residential and commercial buildings with interior and exterior views.
Extent:
31 Linear Feet (62 boxes)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Elliot Mittler collection of Welton Becket and Associates photograph archives (Collection Number 1325). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of photographs related to the work of the Welton Becket & Associates architectural firm. Most of the photographs represent projects in and around the Los Angeles area. Includes examples of both residential and commercial buildings with interior and exterior views. Architectural photographers whose works are represented in this collection are: Glen Allison, Orlando R. Cabanban, Fred S. Carr, Louis Checkman, Robert C. Cleveland, Gerbert Bruce Cross, Fred Daly, Philip Fein, Eddie Hoff, Richard K. Koch, Balthazar Korab, Nathaniel Lieberman, Joseph W. Moliter, Rondal Partridge, Marvin Rand, Gerald Ratto, Otto Rothschild, Ben Schnall, Gordon H. Schneck, Julius Shulman, Douglas Simmonds, Delmar Watson, Todd A. Watts, and Dick Wittington.

Boxes 46-62 are not included in the finding aid because they contain duplicate photographs described in boxes 1-36.

Biographical / historical:

Welton Davis Becket was born in Seattle, Washington, on August 8, 1902; BA, Architecture, University of Washington, (1927), with one year of graduate study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Fontainebleau, France, (1928); partnered with Walter Wurdeman and Charles Plummer under the name Becket, Wurdeman, and Plummer in 1933; following Plummer's death in 1939 and Wurdeman's death in 1949, Becket continued the firm as Welton Becket and Associates, serving as President (1949-68) and Chairman of the Board (1968) until his death in 1969; served as Master Planner and Supervising Architect, UCLA, 1949-69; Becket's philosophy of total design, embracing all requirements demanded of architectural design, became integral to the firm; the firm's designs are not identified with a particular style, but are individual to each client; the firm was one of the largest firms in Los Angeles with building credits throughout the world, including: Pan Pacific Auditorium (with Wurdeman, 1934), Beverly Hilton Hotel (1955), Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles Music Center (1964), Gulf Life Tower, Florida (1967), Xerox Square, New York (1968), several Bullock's Department Stores in California (1951-77), and various UCLA campus structures (1958-70); after Becket's death, the firm continued under the same name, directed by his nephew, MacDonald Becket; around 1985, the firm was acquired by Ellerbe Incorporated to become Ellerbe Becket.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Elliot Mittler, 1982, 1983.
Processing information:

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff.

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Photographs by Julius Shulman may not be copied.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Elliot Mittler collection of Welton Becket and Associates photograph archives (Collection Number 1325). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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