Born in Houston, on April, 14 1926, Benjamin Urmston graduated from USC in 1954. Following graduation he served as a draftsman for A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons (1954) followed by work for Walt Disney Productions (1955) and Christian E. Choate (1956).
In 1958, the architect launched Benjamin P. Urmston, AIA, & Associates in Pasadena the same year he married his fellow USC architecture graduate Marilyn McCarron.
McCarron and Urmston were partners in addition to Marilyn launching Marilyn McCarron, Architect, AIA circa 1961. Living in Arcadia, the two-person firm would produce work in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Lompoc, South Lake Tahoe, Anaheim, Riverside, Lakewood, and Orange among other locations.
Partial List of Projects
Brass Door Restaurant & Bar (1966)
Lompoc, CA
Butler-Harbour Construct. Co, Influential Homes (1965-70)
Anaheim, Riverside, Lakewood, Orange and Santa Barbara
*This project earned American Builder Homes of Year (1967) and Blue Ribbon Award from the Saturday Evening Post (1968)
Crenshaw-Sepulveda Medical Center Addition (1967)
Torrance, CA
Frematic Homes (1955)
Lakeridge Public Marina (1961)
Fresno City
Lakeridge Yacht Club, Bldg. #7 (1961)
Fresno City
Marine Drycleaners (1966)
Goleta, CA
Meadowbrook Homes (ca. 1956-57)
Oceana (ca. 1965)
Oceanside
*Photographed by Julius Shulman
*According to the Oceana website, 932 housing units were built for this 55+ community in the 1960s and '70s.
Pomona Tile Exhibit Booths (1959-60)
Rodeway Inn Motel (1969)
South Lake Tahoe, CA
Villa Del Sur Student Housing Apartments (1960)
Santa Barbara
Villa Del Sur Student Recreation Hall (1961)
Santa Barbara
Windsor Homes Tract Housing (1960)
San Diego
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