Kurt Werner Meyer

Kurt Meyer, a Swiss-born American architect who worked primarily in the Los Angeles area, is recognized for numerous financial institutions' buildings as well as education and civic projects across the southwest.

Mr. Meyer 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 he worked as a junior draftsman for the Bechtel Corporation.

In 1955, Meyer 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 office. 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 to design a multi-family condominium project on the grounds of the Dodge house and 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, eight years after the Dodge House demolition Meyer helped form the Los Angeles Conservancy.

Meyer joined with Clifton Allen and the name of Kurt Meyer and Associates changed to Meyer & Allen Associates in 1988. In 1992 Meyer retired from architecture and sold the firm to Allen.

Partial List of Projects

American Savings & Loan (1965)
15725 Whittier Boulevard, 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, California

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, California

Fisherman & Merchants Savings and Loan (1966)
29000 S. Western Avenue, 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, California

Palomar Savings and Loan Association (1970)
260 West Grand Ave, Escondido
*Published in the Times Advocate on December 1, 1970 with photography 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, California

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