Architects
And More
No one had as profound and lasting an impact on Laguna Beach architecture as St. Clair. Scion of one of the most significant families in the city’s early history, his designs can be found all over town. His legacy carries on in the dozens of civic, commercial and residential he completed in a career that spanned five decades.
Charles A. Hunter’s professional career began on the east coast, but he was working in Southern California by 1920. Recognized as an expert in the Spanish Colonial Revival style that was so popular at the time, he was brought down to Orange County in the late-1920’s in collaboration with developer Sidney Woodruff and would amass an impressive portfolio of work over the next couple decades.
Texas born and raised, DeAhna followed his parents to California in the early 1920’s. He began his professional career in Los Angeles but was working in Laguna Beach by the middle of the decade. Though less well known than some of his peers, his simple yet elegant style left a strong impression of the town’s residential and commercial properties.
The French-born Egasse created some of the most eccentric and whimsical architecture in Laguna Beach. He was working in Los Angeles in the early 1920’s before moving to our town in 1923. His Storybook style captured the artistic spirit of his adopted city and although his career in Laguna Beach spanned only a decade, his designs are among the town’s most treasured architectural icons.
Architects are artists; they design beauty with pencil and ruler as sure as any painter does with palette and brush. Don Williamson is the epitome of the all-encompassing artistic spirit of our town. Born in Mexico, he completed his professional education in Southern California and was living in Laguna by the late 1930’s. He designed many striking commercial and residential structures in the town before dedicating his creative energy to Laguna’s world famous Pageant of the Masters.
Rare among the early architects who worked in Laguna, Harper was an Orange County native. Like many of his peers, he was influenced by traditional European design styles that he studied while touring that continent. He was earning commissions in Laguna Beach by the late-1920’s and his residential designs are some of the most admired in town.
Gates W. Burrows
California native, Gates Burrows’ career reflected the professionalization of architecture that occurred in the last century. Formal education gradually replaced the previous apprenticeship model. Burrows was well educated. He spent three years at Stanford University and completed his degree at MIT. He also studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. His long career left a strong imprint on our town’s residential architecture.
