Douglas Honnold
Douglas Honnold (August 17, 1901 – March 14, 1974) was an award-winning Canadian-born American architect. He designed many residential properties and commercial buildings in Los Angeles, California. He won an Honor Award from the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in January 1947 for his design of the Embassy Shop in Beverly Hills alongside architect John Lautner.
Douglas Honnold
- Name
- Douglas Honnold
- Born
- August 17, 1901
- Birthplace
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Died
- March 14, 1974
- Place of death
- Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
- Education
- Cornell University University of California, Berkeley
- Occupation
- Architect
- Spouse
- Elizabeth G.
- Nationality
- United States · Canada
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Douglas Honnold (August 17, 1901 – March 14, 1974) was an award-winning Canadian-born American architect. He designed many residential properties and commercial buildings in Los Angeles, California. He won an Honor Award from the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in January 1947 for his design of the Embassy Shop in Beverly Hills alongside architect John Lautner.
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Douglas Honnold (1901–1974) was a Canadian and American architect. The architect was born in Montreal. Douglas Honnold studied at Cornell University and University of California, Berkeley.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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In this article
Biography
Biography
He turned down the offer to design the famous Golden Arches of fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Douglas Honnold • Born — August 17, 1901 • Birthplace — Montreal, Quebec, Canada • Died — March 14, 1974 • Place of death — Los Angeles County, California, U.S. • Education — Cornell University University of California, Berkeley • Occupation — Architect • Spouse — Elizabeth G. Honnold • Children — 1 daughter
Early life
Early life
Douglas Honnold was born on August 17, 1901, in Montreal, Canada. He attended Cornell University in 1920–1921, and the University of California, Berkeley in 1922–1923.
Career
Career
Honnold designed the Dolores del Río House at 757 Kingman Avenue in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles for Mexican actress Dolores del Río and Irish production designer Cedric Gibbons in 1929. He also designed the Samuel Goldwyn Estate in Beverly Hills, California, in 1934. Additionally, he designed the Stars' Dressing Room Building and Stage 8 at the studios of Twentieth Century Fox, and the Westwood Music Center in Westwood. He also designed the Westminster Gardens Project in Duarte, California. With Arthur W. Hawes and George Vernon Russell, he designed the Hollywood Reporter Building on Sunset Boulevard in 1937. A decade earlier, circa 1927, he had designed the Alexander Kiam House in Los Angeles with Russell. With John Lautner, he designed the Beverly Hills Club. They also designed the Embassy Shop in Beverly Hills, which won an Honor Award from the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in January 1947. Additionally, they designed the Coffee Dan's Restaurant buildings on Vine Street in Hollywood as well as on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles in 1946. With John Leon Rex, he designed the Anderson House at 621 Perugia Way in Bel Air in 1951. The same year, they designed the Romanoff Center and Restaurant in Beverly Hills. In 1955, they designed the Edward Albert Adams House at 2331 Cove Avenue in Silver Lake to the designs of Harwell Hamilton Harris. They also designed the Piness Medical Building in Beverly Hills in 1955. They also designed the Psychology Building on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1965. They designed the William Morris Offices in Beverly Hills in 1955. They also designed the McKinley Home for Boys in San Dimas, California, as well as the Portola Middle School in Tarzana, California. They also designed the Los Angeles Federal Savings and Loan Association building in North Hollywood in 1960 and its Hollywood building on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in 1963–1964. They also designed the Raymond Hommes Office Building in Beverly Hills. With Rex and fellow architect Piercy K. Reibsamen, he designed the Barclays Bank Building in Tarzana. They also designed the John K. Kenny Library at 5151 State University Drive on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles in 1969. Additionally, they designed the Campanile, or the Memorial Bell Tower, on the campus of Pomona College in Claremont in 1960–1961; ceramicist Malcolm Leland designed the grillework. They also designed the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Office Building at 888 West 6th Street in Downtown Los Angeles in 1973–1974. They also designed the Linder Plaza Office Building at 1,000 Wilshire Boulevard. They also designed the Hollywood-Wilshire Health Center at 5505 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood in 1968. With Rex, fellow architects Frederick Earl Emmons, Arthur Gallion, A. Quincy Jones, Maynard Lyndon and Raphael Soriano, he designed the San Pedro Community Hospital at 1300 West 7th Street in San Pedro, Los Angeles in 1958–1960. Meanwhile, Honnold, Rex and fellow architect Welton Becket designed the Centinela Valley Community Hospital in Inglewood, California, in 1961. In 1963, with fellow architects Richard Neutra, Herman Charles Light, Robert Evans Alexander and James R. Friend, they designed the County of Los Angeles Hall of Records Building at 320 West Temple Street in Los Angeles in 1963. Honnold declined the offer to design the Golden Arches of the McDonald's restaurant chain because brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald were too opinionated about the design. Instead, they hired architect Stanley Clark Meston.
Personal life and death
Personal life and death
With his wife Elizabeth, often referred to as "Gilly" and their daughter, also named Elizabeth, Honnold resided at 245 South Burlingame Street in Brentwood, Los Angeles, which he designed in 1970. His wife had an affair with his business partner, the architect John Lautner and, after divorce, she married him in 1948 or 1950 (depending on the source). Lautner moved in her house to establish his studio and he took care of her daughter. They remained married until her death in 1978. Despite the scandal, Lautner and Honnold eventually reconciled and remained friends. Honnold died on March 14, 1974, in Los Angeles County, California, at the age of 72.
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q28313079: Douglas Honnold
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Douglas Honnold”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- VIAF cluster 172644058 for Douglas Honnold, aggregating national library name authorities.
General reference · OCLC
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.University of Washington. Douglas Honnold (Architect). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 2.Gebhard, David. An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles. Gibbs Smith. 48. 2009. 9781586853082.
- 3.Brown, Patricia Leigh. A Moderne Masterpiece Revived. Architectural Digest. February 29, 2008.
- 4.University of Washington. Del Rio, Delores House #2, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, CA (1929). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 5.David, Mark. The BevHills Estate of Samuel Goldwyn Back Up for Sale. Variety. March 16, 2015.
- 6.Talbot, Victoria. City Moves To Preserve The Taylor Swift-Owned Samuel Goldwyn Estate. The Beverly Hills Courier. LII. 2. 8; 15. January 13, 2017.
- 7.University of Washington. Westwood Music Center, Westwood, Los Angeles, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 8.University of Washington. Westminster Gardens Project, Duarte, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 9.Hollywood Reporter Building. Los Angeles Conservancy.
- 10.University of Washington. Kiam, Alexander, House, Los Angeles, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 11.University of Washington. Beverly Hills Club #2, Beverly Hills, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 12.University of Washington. Embassy Shop, Beverly Hills, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 13.University of Washington. Coffee Dan's Restaurant, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA (1946). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 14.University of Washington. Coffee Dan's Restaurant, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA (1946). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 15.University of Washington. Anderson House, Bel-Air, Los Angeles, CA (1951). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 16.University of Washington. Romanoff Center and Restaurant, Beverly Hills, CA (1951). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 17.University of Washington. Adams, Edward Albert, House, Los Angeles, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 18.University of Washington. Piness Medical Building, Beverly Hills, CA (1955). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 19.University of Washington. University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Psychology Building #1, Santa Barbara, CA (1965). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 20.University of Washington. Morris, William, Offices, Beverly Hills, CA (1955). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 21.University of Washington. McKinley Home for Boys, San Dimas, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 22.University of Washington. Los Angeles Unified School District, De Portola, Gaspar Junior High School, Tarzana, Los Angeles, CA (1960). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 23.University of Washington. Los Angeles Federal Savings and Loan Association, Branch, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA (1960). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 24.University of Washington. Los Angeles Federal Savings and Loan Association, Sunset-Vine Office Building, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA (1963-1964). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 25.University of Washington. Hommes, Raymond, Office Building, Beverly Hills, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 26.University of Washington. Barclays Bank Building, Tarzana, Los Angeles, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 27.University of Washington. California State University, Los Angeles, Kennedy, John F., Library, Los Angeles, CA (1969). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 28.University of Washington. Pomona College, Campanile, Claremont, CA (1960-1961). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 29.University of Washington. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Office Building, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA (1973-1974). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 30.University of Washington. Linder Plaza Office Building, Los Angeles, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 31.University of Washington. Hollywood-Wilshire Health Center, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA (1968). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 32.University of Washington. San Pedro Community Hospital, San Pedro, Los Angeles, CA (1958-1960). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 33.University of Washington. Centinela Valley Community Hospital, Inglewood, CA (1961). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 34.University of Washington. County of Los Angeles, Hall of Records Building #2, Los Angeles, CA (1963). Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
- 35.Hess, Alan. The Origins of McDonald's Golden Arches. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 45. 1. 62. March 1986. 10.2307/990129.
- 36.University of Washington. Honnold, Douglas, House, Los Angeles, CA. Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q28313079: Douglas HonnoldWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority file
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Studied at
1- Cornell UniversityOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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