Architect. Becket, who graduated from the University of Washington in 1927 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, studied at the École des Beaux Arts, Fontainebleau in France for a year before working several years as a junior designer for firms in Los Angeles and his native Seattle. In 1933, he settled in Los Angeles, forming a partnership with established architects Charles F. Plummer and Walter Wurdeman. The firm gained considerable attention with their award-winning design for the Pan Pacific Auditorium in 1935, which facilitated their entry into Hollywood film circles, leading to a series of residential commissions for movie stars such as James Cagney, Cesar Romero, and Robert Montgomery. Incorporated as Wurdeman and Becket in 1939 after Plummer's death, the firm prospered and expanded during the World War II era, completing public housing and defense projects. After the war, they focused on larger commercial projects. Some of their best known commissions include Bullock's Department Store in Pasadena (1944) and buildings for General Petroleum (1946) and Prudential Insurance (1947) in Los Angeles. Following Wurdeman's death in 1949, Becket took over sole leadership of the firm as Welton Becket and Associates. It grew to be one of the largest architectural firms in the United States, with headquarters in Los Angeles and offices in San Francisco, New York, Houston, and Chicago. Becket designed numerous well known and high-profile projects around Los Angeles, including such icons of mid-twentieth century Modernism as the Capitol Records Building (1954-56) and the Cinerama Dome, the world's first concrete geodesic dome (1963-1964). Other projects include the Beverly Hilton Hotel (1955), Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (1958), Memorial Sports Arena (1959), Los Angeles International Airport Theme Building (1962, with Paul R. Williams) and the Pauley Pavilion at UCLA (1965). Becket received the Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1936, the Pan American Congress of Architects Award in 1950 and was elected as a Fellow of American Institute of Architects in 1952.
Architect. Becket, who graduated from the University of Washington in 1927 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, studied at the École des Beaux Arts, Fontainebleau in France for a year before working several years as a junior designer for firms in Los Angeles and his native Seattle. In 1933, he settled in Los Angeles, forming a partnership with established architects Charles F. Plummer and Walter Wurdeman. The firm gained considerable attention with their award-winning design for the Pan Pacific Auditorium in 1935, which facilitated their entry into Hollywood film circles, leading to a series of residential commissions for movie stars such as James Cagney, Cesar Romero, and Robert Montgomery. Incorporated as Wurdeman and Becket in 1939 after Plummer's death, the firm prospered and expanded during the World War II era, completing public housing and defense projects. After the war, they focused on larger commercial projects. Some of their best known commissions include Bullock's Department Store in Pasadena (1944) and buildings for General Petroleum (1946) and Prudential Insurance (1947) in Los Angeles. Following Wurdeman's death in 1949, Becket took over sole leadership of the firm as Welton Becket and Associates. It grew to be one of the largest architectural firms in the United States, with headquarters in Los Angeles and offices in San Francisco, New York, Houston, and Chicago. Becket designed numerous well known and high-profile projects around Los Angeles, including such icons of mid-twentieth century Modernism as the Capitol Records Building (1954-56) and the Cinerama Dome, the world's first concrete geodesic dome (1963-1964). Other projects include the Beverly Hilton Hotel (1955), Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (1958), Memorial Sports Arena (1959), Los Angeles International Airport Theme Building (1962, with Paul R. Williams) and the Pauley Pavilion at UCLA (1965). Becket received the Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1936, the Pan American Congress of Architects Award in 1950 and was elected as a Fellow of American Institute of Architects in 1952.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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