James H. Garrott

{{Infobox person

| name = James Homer Garrott Jr.{{cite web |url=https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/z1vq4kqv |title=James H. Garrott, architect, circa 1915 |work=UCLA Library Digital Collections |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles}}

| image = James Homer Garrott, c1915.jpg

| caption = Garrott, {{circa|1915}}

| nationality =

| birth_date = June 19, 1897

| birth_place = Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.

| spouse = {{marriage|Helen Ruth Duncan|1942|1973|end=died}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|06|09|1897|06|19}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| occupation = Architect

}}

James Homer Garrott Jr. (1897–1991), was an American architect active in the Los Angeles area in the mid-20th century. He designed more than 200 buildings, including twenty-five churches and several public buildings.{{Citation

| last = Henderson

| first = Wesley Howard

| contribution = James Homer Garrott

| year = 2004

| title = African-American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945

| editor-last = Wilson

| editor-first = Dreck Spurlock

| publisher = Taylor & Francis

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=k5r5cXC67igC

| isbn = 9780203493120

}} He has been described as a "pivotal black avant garde modernist of the 1940s era."{{Citation

| last = Mitchell

| first = Melvin L.

| title = The Crisis of the African American Architect: Conflicting Cultures of Architecture and (Black) Power

| publisher = iUniverse

| year = 2003

}}

Biography

James Homer Garrott Jr. was born on June 19, 1897, in Montgomery, Alabama.{{Cite web |last=Martinez |first=Dai'quiriya |date=November 27, 2017 |title=James H. Garrott (1897–1991) |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/garrott-james-h-1897-1991/ |website=BlackPast.org}} Garrott graduated from Los Angeles Polytechnic High School in 1917. He earned his architect's license in 1928. Garrott's first major achievement was as co-designer of the 1928 Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company. From 1926 to 1928, Garrott worked with Cavagliere Construction Company of Los Angeles.{{Citation

|last= McAvoy

|first= Christy Johnson

|title=National Register Nomination for Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building

|year= 1998

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/44aef1e4-bdcc-40c7-ac52-46d674989095

}} He then studied Architecture at the University of Southern California from 1930 to 1934.

{{cite book

| title = Negro Who's Who in California

| year = 1948

| url = https://archive.org/stream/negrowhoswhoinca00losa#page/n97/mode/2up

}}

Garrott was a close friend of the eminent civil rights attorney Loren Miller. In early 1940, Garrott designed both of their Silver Lake split-level homes at 647 and 653 Micheltorena Street.{{cite news|title=Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder|work=Deed recorded 31 Oct. 1938|issue=Official Records Book 15943}}

In 1946, Garrott was the second African-American admitted to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in Los Angeles, after Paul R. Williams. His application was sponsored by Williams and Gregory Ain.

Garrott and Ain shared office space in the Granada Building beginning in 1940.{{cite news

| title = Architect Garrott Moves Office; Takes On Partner

| newspaper = California Eagle

| location = Los Angeles

| pages = 9B

| date = May 2, 1940

| url = https://archive.org/details/la_caleagle_reel21/page/n637/mode/2up

}}{{cite book

| last = McCoy

| first = Esther

| title = The Second Generation

| publisher = Gibbs Smith

| year = 1984

| isbn = 0-87905-119-1}} Then they worked together in a "loose partnership" in the 1940s and 50s, and together designed a small office building that they shared in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. They were alternately “Garrott & Ain” or “Ain & Garrott,” depending on who was responsible for design, while on other projects they simply assisted each other's solo work without credit.{{cite book

| last = Denzer

| first = Anthony

| title = Gregory Ain: The Modern Home as Social Commentary

| publisher = Rizzoli Publications

| year = 2008

| url = http://www.rizzoliusa.com/catalog/results.pperl?title_auth_isbn=denzer&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit

| isbn = 978-0-8478-3062-6

| access-date = 2012-12-29

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080617114603/http://www.rizzoliusa.com/catalog/results.pperl?title_auth_isbn=denzer&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit

| archive-date = 2008-06-17

| url-status = dead

}} After World War II, Garrott and Ain together designed and built their architectural office, at 2311 Hyperion Avenue, within walking distance from Garrott's home.{{cite book|last1=D.S. Wilson (Ed.)|title=African American architects: A biographical dictionary 1865-1945.|publisher=Routledge Press|pages=165–166}}

File:Carson branch Los Angeles County Library 151 E Carson St - Feb 2024.jpg

Garrott was “politically well connected” and received nine commissions from the Los Angeles County Government in the late 1950s. Yet the Los Angeles Tribune commented: "James Garrott, Paul R. Williams, and Carey Jenkins, are the only Negro architects ever to get a public contract in this slate ... and except for Williams they get them infrequently."{{cite news

| title = Wanted -- somebody to see that we get our share of the pie

| newspaper = Los Angeles Tribune

| pages = 9

| date = November 21, 1958

}}

He died on June 9, 1991, in Los Angeles, California

Buildings

1928: (with Louis Blodgett) Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, Los Angeles, California
listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 (#98000712).
1929: (as Williams, Garrott & Young) St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, California
City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #987
1936: Mount Zion Baptist Church, Los Angeles, California
[before 1939]: George A. Beavers, Jr. residence, Los Angeles, California
1940: Garrott Residence/Loren Miller residence, Los Angeles, California{{Citation

| title = Silver Lake News

|date= August 1, 2015

| url = https://thesilverlakenews.com/judge-loren-miller-residence-james-h-garrott-aia-1940/

}}

1940: Apartment building for Grace F. Marquis, Fifth and New Hampshire streets, Los Angeles, California
1944: Bethlehem Baptist Church (unbuilt project), Los Angeles, California{{cite web

| url = https://stevewallet.com/2014/06/17/from-south-los-angeles-to-west-hollywood-james-garrott-rudolph-schindler-and-the-bethlehem-baptist-church-2/

| title = From South Los Angeles to West Hollywood: James Garrott, Rudolph Schindler and the Bethlehem Baptist Church

| last = Wallet

| first = Steve

| date = June 17, 2014

| website = Steve Wallet, architect

| publisher =

| access-date =

| quote = }}

1948: Dental Building for Dr. George Hurd, Santa Monica, California{{Citation

| title = Job 218

| publisher= Julius Shulman photography archive, Getty Research Institute

| url = http://rosettaapp.getty.edu:1801/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE24423&checkedSSO=true&

}}

1949: (with Gregory Ain) Ain & Garrott Office, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California{{Citation

|title=link to image

|url=http://www.flickriver.com/photos/michael_locke/7491557216/

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629053851/http://www.flickriver.com/photos/michael_locke/7491557216/

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=2013-06-29

}}

1950: John W. Bean & Verna Deckard residence, Los Angeles, California
1950: Moss Construction Co., Kenter Canyon, California
1950: (with Gregory Ain) Hamilton Methodist Church (unbuilt)
1951: (with Gregory Ain) Ben Margolis House, Los Angeles, California{{cite web |title=Online Building Records |url=https://www.ladbs.org/ |website=Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety |publisher=City of Los Angeles |access-date=11 August 2020}}
1952: Harry Friedman & Bernice "Burr" Singer residence, Los Angeles, California{{Citation

| title = James H. Garrott-Designed Home That's Too Cool for School (Except Ivanhoe)

| date = 30 August 2010

| url = http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/08/a_james_h_garrottdesigned_3bedroom_thats_too_cool_for_school_except_ivanhoe.php

}}

1953: M. Wesley Farr residence, El Segundo, California{{Citation

| title = Job 2265

| publisher= Julius Shulman photography archive, Getty Research Institute

| url = http://rosettaapp.getty.edu:1801/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE263146

}}

1955: Firestone Sheriff's Station, Florence-Firestone, California{{cite news

| title = Civic Center Designed By Local Architect

| newspaper = California Eagle

| location = Los Angeles

| pages = 3

| date = Oct 20, 1955

| url = https://archive.org/details/la_caleagle_reel44/page/n515/mode/2up}}

"considered the most modern law enforcement facility of its time."

{{Citation

| last = Lopez

| first = Robert J.

| title = After 38 Years, a Farewell to Arms at Firestone Sheriff's Station

| newspaper = Los Angeles Times

| date = December 26, 1993

| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-26-hl-6604-story.html

}}

1957: Lawndale Administrative Center, Lawndale, California
1958-60: (with Gregory Ain) Westchester Municipal Building, Los Angeles, California{{Citation

| title = link to image

| date = 23 September 2009

| url = https://www.flickr.com/photos/laconservancy/4151746018/

}}