Kurt Werner Meyer
Architect | 1922-2014The only known project Meyer designed in San Diego County was Palomar Savings and Loan in Escondido
The only known project Meyer designed in San Diego County was Palomar Savings and Loan in Escondido
Mr. Meyer was a Swiss-born American architect who worked primarily in the Los Angeles area and is recognized for his buildings for numerous financial institutions as well as education and civic buildings across the southwest.
Kurt was born in Zurich Switzerland in 1922, and earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (in 1946). He immigrated to the United States in 1948 and made his way to Los Angeles in 1949 where worked as a junior draftsman for the Bechtel Corporation. In 1955, he became a licensed architect and started a new job at Kistner, Wright & Wright (KWW). In 1957 with the blessing of KWW he took the commission for Death Valley High School and started his own firm Cox, Hagman & Meyer. He served as a principal for the firms Cox, Hagman & Meyer (1955-57); Hagman & Meyer (1957-63) as well as Kurt Meyer & Associates, Inc. (1959-1988). In 1957 a commission to remodel the storefront office of Canoga Park Savings led to many more commissions for financial institutions.
In 1967 Bart Lytton, through Lytton Savings, purchased Irving Gill’s Dodge House in West Hollywood. Lytton hired Meyer design a multi-family condominium project on the grounds of the Dodge house to preserve the mansion. In 1970, Lytton lost control of his Savings & Loan, and the Dodge House was sold and demolished. On learning of the demolition, Meyer, who had fought for seven years to save the house, said, "This is like slashing a Rembrandt with a razor.” In 1978, 8 years after the Dodge House demolition Meyer helped form the Los Angeles Conservancy.
In 1988 Meyer joined with Clifton Allen and the name of Kurt Meyer and Associates changed to Meyer & Allen Associates. In 1992 Meyer retired from architecture and sold the firm to Allen.[7]
American Savings and Loan (1965)
15725 Whittier Blvd, Whittier
*Meyer reportedly designed 35 projects for American Savings & Loan
Brentwood Savings and Loan (1965)
12001 San Vincente, Brentwood
Cal State Fresno State Science Building (1976)
600 E. San Ramon Fresno
Canoga Park Savings (1957)
Canoga Park
Carter Company Office Building. (1969)
425 S. Shatto Place, Los Angeles
Century Federal Savings and Loan (1976)
501 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica
Death Valley High School (1957-58)
Old State Highway 127, Shoshone
Dodge House rescue plan condos (1969)
West Hollywood
*Unbuilt
Eastland Savings (1965)
Anaheim
Fisherman & Merchants Savings and Loan (1966)
29000 S. Western Ave, Rancho Palos Verdes
Guam-Daikyo Hotel (1969)
Aganya, Guam
Huntington Beach Civic Center (1975)
2000 Main Street, Huntington Beach
Korean Exchange Bank (1977)
3099 W. Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles
Liberty Savings and Loan (1966)
1180 S Beverly, Los Angeles
Longview Savings & Loan (1970s)
1265 14th Avenue, Longview
Lytton Savings (1966)
6633 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Canoga Park
Lytton Temporary Branch (1966)
Wilshire and Hobart, Los Angeles
*Demolished
Lytton Savings (1964)
300 W. Second Street, Pomona
Lytton Savings (1964)
5050 Broadway, Oakland
Lytton Savings & Loan Headquarters (1960)
8150 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles
Maple Drive Condominiums (1977)
320 N. Maple Drive, Beverly Hills
Meyer & Allen Architects (1977)
Los Angeles, California
Mt. Washington Elementary School (1968)
Los Angeles
Palomar Savings and Loan Association (1970)
260 West Grand Ave, Escondido
*Published in the Times Advocate. Dec 1, 1970. Photos by Dan Rios
Plaza de la Raza
Los Angeles
Private Residence (1964-65)
Los Cerritos, Long Beach
Safety Savings and Loan (1968)
4333 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles
San Bernardino County Government Center
San Bernadino
School for Nursery Years (The Center for Early Education) (1967)
563 N. Alfred Street, West Hollywood
South Coast Air Quality Control District Headquarters
Diamond Bar
University of Redlands Campus Center
Redlands
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