Elliot Mittler collection of Welton Becket and Associates ... - Calisphere

Descriptive Summary
Title: Elliot Mittler collection of Welton Becket and Associates Photograph Archives
Date (inclusive): 1940-1979
Collection number: 1325
Creator: Mittler, Elliot
Extent: 62 boxes (31.0 linear ft.)
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.
Language: Finding aid is written in English.
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary 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.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Elliot Mittler, 1982, 1983.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Elliot Mittler collection of Welton Becket and Associates Photograph Archives (Collection Number 1325). Department
of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Biography
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.
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.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Finding Aid for the Elliot Mittler
collection of Welton Becket and
Associates Photograph Archives, 1...
1325 2