Leonard Veitzer, FAIA

Following his passion for skillfully drawing airplanes in high school drafting classes, Veitzer pursued an aeronautical engineering track at Cal-Berkeley. But looking over the shoulders of fraternity brothers majoring in architecture, including Ray Kappe, Veitzer was increasingly impressed by the beautiful and creative work coming off their boards. He liked what he saw and he knew he had the talent to do that as well. It was 1948 and this was his first glimpse into the emerging modernist movement. He was hooked. Veitzer decided to change majors.

He did, and during that summer worked in San Diego for a journeyman drafting service (where he came to be able to do a complete set of working drawings for a house in four days). Subsequent summers he worked as well for several local architects.

Being drafted into the US Army during the Korean War after just two years in the architecture program turned out to be the best of good fortunes. He was assigned to teach at a small base in Japan between Tokyo and Yokohama. This afforded him the opportunity to easily explore the country and to appreciate the Japanese way of life, especially its connection to nature, in its art, architecture and the activities of daily life. It was a life-altering year-and-a-half.

Before returning to Cal in 1954, Mr. Veitzer took a brief summer job with Fred Liebhardt in a rustic cottage overlooking La Jolla cove. During their many conversations together, they admired the purity and simplicity of the Japanese approach to design, and shared as well a passion for contemporary architecture.
The modernist movement in northern California had some stylistic differences from that in southern California. The climate, the geography, the life style, all contributed to what has been termed “The Bay Area” style in residential architecture: pitched roofs rather than flat, wood siding rather than stucco, more rustic textures rather than slick smooth surfaces, an abundance of trees rather than low scale semi-arid landscaping, and a differing quality of light.

Modernism had become the new wave, but most of the faculty at Cal were the old guys, there since before the war (WW2) and steeped in the beaux-arts tradition. But to their everlasting credit and without stylistic dogma, they taught and emphasized only the most fundamental principles of design, those which could and should be applied to any “style.” Principles such as proportion, scale, unity, variety, texture, color, composition and relationship of parts to the whole. And the critiques were always valid and to the point, regardless of the students’ design philosophy. Mr. Veitzer and his classmates were the fortunate beneficiaries of this program. At the same time, students greatly admired and were influenced by the leading modern architects of the region, luminaries like Bernard Maybeck, William Wurster, Vernon DeMars, Warren Callister, Jack Hillmer, Joseph Esherick, Harwell Hamilton Harris, Anshen and Allen, Bernardi and Emmons, Mario Ciampi and others.

After graduating from Cal-Berkeley Cum Laude, Veitzer worked briefly in Berkeley and then began traveling around the country. As an experienced draughtsman, he could get a job anywhere, and did. New Orleans, because it is New Orleans. Sarasota, Florida because if was then a hotbed of new architecture, led by Paul Rudolph. New York, as assistant designer for Harrison & Abramovitz on the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. Then back to San Diego in 1958 and a position with Dale Naegle in La Jolla.

Veitzer was filled with an almost religious zeal for architecture and was impatient to design his own buildings, and having become licensed in 1960, opened a small office on Fifth and Upas near Hillcrest. He launched his practice with the first office building in Mission Valley (later remodeled horribly) and a house for an old army buddy. Roy Wieghorst’s home overlooking El Cajon, the first of two Leonard would design for him, remains intact in the hands of the original owner. Veitzer’s early influences are evident in the way the house is unobtrusively set into the hillside between two parallel rock retaining walls, the low pitched shake roof, rough-sawn cedar siding inside and out, extensive use of glass, and rock walls quarried from the site. Other notable projects from 1960-1963 were the Rust House in Coronado (also remodeled horribly) and a city recreation club remodel and addition in East San Diego.

In 1963, Veitzer closed his office for lack of work and joined the larger firm of Robert Mosher and Roy Drew. During his two years there, he was the principal designer of San Diego State’s Aztec Center and a startling high rise apartment building designed for 1200 Prospect Street in La Jolla that was never built.

The office of Architect Leonard Veitzer AIA reopened again on Fifth Avenue, this time in Lloyd and Ilse Ruocco’s Design Center Building. He became very close friends with the Ruoccos, a pioneering and influential couple who were at the forefront of post-war modernism in San Diego. They would often engage in long and spirited discussions about architecture, environment and the responsibilities of architects to society. The Design Center in those days was a nexus for creative professions -- architects, landscape architects, photographers, graphic designers, advertising and modeling agencies, and even a bohemian barber who was also a very talented portrait painter there in her shop. Veitzer’s practice flourished in this environment for 20 years with larger projects, including hundreds of student housing units, medical and science buildings at UCSD. And from 1969-1976, he was a part-time adjunct professor in the Art Department at San Diego State University teaching architecture to interior design students.

In 1997, Veitzer was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, an honor bestowed to less than one percent of American architects. He continues a modest, part-time practice from his home studio.

Partial list of San Diego Projects

Aztec Center (1964 )
SDSU Campus
While working for Mosher and Drew

Bazaar del Mundo (1972)
Old Town State Park, San Diego
Recently remodeled              

Beers Residence (2002)
631 North Crescent Court, Mission Hills, San Diego

Collwood Townhouse Apartments (1969)
4545 Collwood Blvd, College Area

Congregation Beth El  (1979)
8660 Gilman Drive, La Jolla

Creaser Residence (1972 )
333 Hilltop Drive, Chula Vista

Dawson Residence (1971)
13612 Nogales Drive, Del Mar

DeKock Residence (1974)
2548 Singing Vista Way, El Cajon

East San Diego Shuffleboard Club (1963)
4077 Fairmount Avenue, San Diego

Fisch, Arline Studio (1972)
Mission Hills

Frandsen House  (1956)
First completed project, while attending at UC Berkeley

Goodwin Residence (1998)
Larry Lane, Japatul Valley, San Diego County

Laventhol Residence (2006)
5875 La Jolla Mesa Drive, La Jolla

Lee Residence (1962)
Coronado

Lincoff Residence (1964)
152 Old Ranch Road, Chula Vista

Mallery Residence (1976)
1912 Ocean Front, Del Mar

Mission Square Office Building (1961)
Camino Del Rio South, Mission Valley
First office building in Mission Valley
Horribly remodeled

Pacific College of Medical and Dental Assistants (1972)
4411 30th Street, North Park, San Diego
Poorly remodeled

Potrero Park Restrooms (1971)
County Park Potrero, San Diego County

Rosado Residence (1967)
6808 Elaine Way, Del Cerro, San Diego

Rozkansky Medical Office (1984)
3730 Third Avenue, San Diego

Rust Residence (1962)
Coronado
Remodeled beyond recognition

Silverman Residence (1966)
4635 Yerba Santa Drive  Alvarado Estates. San Diego

UCSD 200 Unit Married Student Housing (1975)
UCSD Campus, La Jolla

UCSD Ambulatory Care Facility (1987)
UCSD Campus, La Jolla

UCSD Center for Magnetic Recording Research (1984)
UCSD Campus, La Jolla

UCSD Structural Testing Lab  (1984)
UCSD Campus, La Jolla

UCSD (Warren College ) 225 Unit Student Housing  (1983)
UCSD Campus, La Jolla

UC Santa Cruz 143 Unit Student Housing  (1986)
UCSC Campus,  Santa Cruz

Roy Wieghorst Residence #1 (1960)
5037 Bluff Place, El Cajon
First completed project in San Diego

Roy Wieghorst Residence #2 (1989)
Sonoita, AZ

Weiner Residence (1969)
1789 Hacienda Place, Fletcher Hills, El Cajon

Woolley Residence (1972)
1090 Solymar Drive, La Jolla