Claud W. Beelman (1884 – January 30, 1963), sometimes known as Claude Beelman, was an American architect who designed many examples of Beaux-Arts, Art Deco, and Streamline Moderne style buildings. Many of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Biography
Beelman was married to Lourene Taft Beelman (b. 1884, Ohio - d. 1948, Ca.). In 1910, he was a draftsman in the state of
Indiana. (Cite: U.S. Census Records, State of Indiana, 1910.) It was there they had a daughter, Helen Beelman (b. 1912). By the 1920s, the family had relocated to Los Angeles, and by 1930, they lived in Beverly Hills.
From the 1920s on, Beelman, as partner or owner of one or another of several firms (Curlett + Beelman; Allison & Allison; Ruck & Beelman; Claud Beelman & Associates) designed a number of prominent civic and private structures. By 1956, Claude Beelman & Associates officed at 7421 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles 90036.
When he was in his seventies, Beelman designed the 12-story Superior Oil building for oil tycoon W.M. Keck. Completed in 1955, the Superior Oil building later became The Bank of California Building, and was used for the bank's offices until the 1980s. By the late 1990s, the building had been vacant for nearly ten years, but has been renovated beginning in 2000 by hotel developer Andre Balazs, and now is the location of his hotel The Standard.
It is the Art Deco Eastern Columbia Building, however, with its facade of turquoise green terra cotta tile, ornate clock tower, art deco lighting, fixtures, signage and architectural detail that is Beelman's most recognizable work. In 2006, the Eastern Columbia Building was converted from office space to loft live/work spaces by the Kor Group and is now one of the most desirable loft buildings in Downtown Los Angeles.
On May 12, 2023, Beelman was posthumously awarded an Honorary Doctor of Architecture from Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
Works
Registered in The National Register of Historic Places
Some of the
California landmark buildings designed by Beelman include (All located in Los Angeles, California unless otherwise noted):
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Board of Trade Building, Downtown Los Angeles
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Building at 816 South Grand Avenue, Downtown Los Angeles
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Culver Hotel, Culver City, California
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Cooper Arms Apartments, Long Beach
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Eastern Columbia Building, 849 S. Broadway, Los Angeles (contributing property in the Broadway Theater and Commercial District)
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Garfield Building
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Heinsbergen Decorating Company Building
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Ninth and Broadway Building, 850 S. Broadway, Los Angeles (contributing property in the Broadway Theater and Commercial District)
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Norwalk Memorial Hospital, 269 W. Main St. Norwalk, OH (Schriber & Beelman)
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Pacific Electric Building, 610 S. Main St. Los Angeles
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Roosevelt Building, 727 W. Seventh St. Los Angeles
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Security Building, Phoenix, Arizona
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Spring Street Realty Building (Contributing structure in Spring Street Historic District)
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Superior Oil Company Building (now The Standard Downtown LA Hotel)
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U.S. Post Office--Hollywood Station
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Woodbury University, Wilshire Boulevard Building, Los Angeles
Other notable works
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Barker Brothers Building
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Central Plaza Building
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Elks Lodge No. 99 / Park Plaza Hotel
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Farmers and Merchants Bank Office Tower - Downtown Long Beach
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Tidewater Building
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Irving Thalberg Building, MGM (Sony) Studios
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L.A. Jewelry Center
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Mutual-Don Lee Broadcasting System studios (oldest surviving Hollywood studio built for television, now the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
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May Company Garage - 1926 - one of the Nation's first parking structures (Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 1001)
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Getty Building
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Pacific South West Trust Building
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Rose Hill Housing Structure
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Security Pacific Bank
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The Talmadge
External links
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"Services for Architect Claud Beelman Set", Los Angeles Times, February 2, 1963 Part II, page 6.
