Another Portuguese American that we should know, and be proud of is, William L. Pereira - (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) From Chicago, Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry, who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings. Prolific architect best known for designing San Franciscos most famous skyscraper, the Transamerica Pyramid, Tallest building in San Francisco, as well as the CBS Television City and the Los Angeles County Art Museum in Los Angeles. Though his buildings were often quite stark and sterile in their appearance (owing largely to the science fiction of the era), they were noted for their functional style with a certain flair that made them unmistakable. He took pride in the concept of designing for the future. A great deal of Pereiras futurist style is owed to his longtime design collaborator James Langenheim, who had created the initial design for the Theme Building at LAX. The initials J.L. have appeared as the designers signature on a number of blueprints for Pereira projects including the similarly futuristic library at UC Irvine, but it is unclear if the initials are Langenheims. In 1949, Pereira became a professor of architecture at the University of Southern California. He then formed a partnership with fellow architect and classmate, Charles Luckman, in the early 1950s. The firm, Pereira & Luckman, grew into one of the nations busiest. The duo designed some of Los Angeless most well-known buildings, including the famed Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (in collaboration with Paul Williams and Welton Becket). By the time of his death, Pereira had over 400 projects to his name. Among the structures he designed throughout Southern California were CBS Television City, the Los Angeles County Art Museum, the Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground in Anaheim, and the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. He is also responsible for creating the monumental Spanish-inspired facades that defined Robinsons department stores for nearly 20 years, and he was the architect of Pepperdine University at Malibu, named by the Princeton Review as the most beautiful college campus in America. Out of his immense body of work, three have really stood out in the public mind: the master-planned cities of Irvine and Newport Beach, and the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. His most praised and criticized work was probably the Transamerica building, which was completed in 1972. It was first panned as an intrusion on the citys skyline, but has been accepted as having more character than the buildings around it and as being an oddly creative city symbol. Perhaps his greatest lasting legacy besides his buildings are the numerous respected architects of today who came out of both Pereiras firm and the classes he taught at USC, including Gin Wong, William Blurock, and Frank Gehry. Pereiras firm was taken over upon his death by his two primary cohorts, Scott Johnson and Bill Fain.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 22:08:17 +0000