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Architect Charles W. Buchanan

Charles W. Buchanan (1854-2/3/1921) Pasadena, California

Formerly a partner in the firm of Buchanan & Brockway, he left his native state of Illinois in 1880 and settled in California. After 1885 he made his home in Pasadena, and during later years practiced professionally with Leon C. Brockway. Buchanan designed several business structures in the city, including the Union Savings Bank, but was probably better known for his work in residential architecture. Among the clients for whom he planned many fine home were Mrs. George Clark, F.W. Kellogg, B.O. Kendall, also he designed the Scripps residence near Pasadena.

Elaboration

Charles W. Buchanan (or "C.W. Buchanan" as he was commonly referred to) was born in Indiana on February 15th, 1852. His father, John A. Buchanan, was one of the pioneers of that state and founded the Republican Party there. Charles attended the public schools and learned the trade of carpenter and millwright. While working in the building trades and mill supply business, Charles took up the study of architecture over a period of six years. In about 1885, seeking a more equable climate for his chronic health problems, Charles Buchanan relocated to Pasadena.

In Pasadena, Charles soon became involved in various municipal ventures and was seen as being instrumental in the growth of the city. He served as president of the Pasadena City Railway Company and was a member of the school board. He worked to provide the City's north side with a water system, helping to organize, and later working for many years as a director and the treasurer of the North Pasadena Land and Water Company. Charles' father followed his son out west in 1886, and together they formed a building company. (John Buchanan had been for many years a prominent contractor in Indiana and had served as president of the Builders' Exchange.)

By the late 1890s, his father had retired from their construction business, and C. W. Buchanan increasingly became known as an architect of great skill and popularity, who could work well with contractors, having been one himself. His first offices were in the Vandervort Building, but in 1896 he moved them to the Strong Block on East Colorado Street. Buchanan is identified with many of the young city's most prominent buildings. Although he designed several business and civic structures, such as the Union Savings Bank, La Pintoresca Hotel, the Columbia School, and the original Pasadena Public Library (all demolished), he was especially known for his large, solidly imposing residences, mostly in the Craftsman style, in the Flintridge, Oak Knoll, and central neighborhoods of town. But Buchanan didn't restrict himself to Pasadena. He also accepted commissions for buildings in Alhambra, Covina, and Pomona. Besides William Scripps, some of Buchanan's clients included George Clark, F. W. Kellogg, Mrs. George W. Childs, J. D. Giddings, and B. O. Kendall.

Unfortunately, many of his works in central Pasadena have since been demolished due to redevelopment, re-zoning, and road construction. By 1903, Buchanan was also investing in real estate, designing smaller homes on his own lots that he would then sell. All his residential designs, whether small or large, were known for incorporating the latest ideas for comfort and convenience, including first-class plumbing, electric lights, and built-in china cupboards, closets, mantels, and grates. Full front porches and large bay windows were hallmarks of his designs. Interior finishes were often in different varieties of pine. Buchanan is remembered as being particularly adept at achieving a massive, sturdy look for his residential buildings, a design feature that earned him write-ups in The Ladies' Home Journal and The Craftsman magazines.

In 1916, Buchanan formed a partnership with Leon C. Brockway. Buchanan & Brockway, with Buchanan as the senior partner, set up new offices in the Chamber of Commerce Building in Pasadena. Buchanan lived with his wife, the former Delphine Robinson of Indianapolis (whom he had married in 1873), at 67 North Hudson Avenue. They had two sons and a daughter.

C. W. Buchanan, upon his death on February 3rd, 1921 at the age of 69, was characterized as a quiet, but friendly, man whose accomplishments belied his seemingly frail physical condition. He was a 32nd-degree Mason and his obituary said he was "honored and respected in the city at large as a fine type of solid and substantial citizen."

Scripps Hall represents the midpoint in the prolific architectural career of C. W. Buchanan. It became one of his most well-known commissions, due to the social prominence of his client and the sheer size of the project. Other still-extant Buchanan works include the following, all in Pasadena: the Bolter house, 939 South Marengo Avenue (1910); the Bukowski house, now at 447 North El Molino Avenue (1912); the Flintoft house, 800 South Oakland Avenue (1911); the Hale house, 835 North Holliston Avenue (1910); the Kelley house, 629 South Oakland Avenue (1910); the Peterson house, 503 South Hudson Avenue (1912); Reinway Court, 380 Parke Street (1915); the Tintsman house, 544 Prescott Street (1914); and the White house, 645 South Euclid Avenue (1908). Altadena also has two documented Buchanan designs that still stand. These are: Scripps Hall (1904) and 932 New York Drive (1909).