Is there any record of an architect named Alfred H. Faber working in
Southern California either in the years from 1900 to 1904 or from 1919
to 1947? If so, where and what kind of buildings did he produce?
Faber was an architect in Portland, OR, from 1904 to 1919 and was
known for his audacious innovation in designs and building technology
for residential and church architecture. We believe he died in Los
Angeles County around 1945-1947. |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
01 Mar 2006 17:12 PST
I checked a few pretty comprehensive historical sources, including
obituaries of the LA Times, but didn't find anything on Faber.
Is there anything more you can tell us about him? Are you certain of
the spelling of his first and last names?
Let us know whatever you can.
Thanks,
pafalafa-ga
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Clarification of Question by
jimbopdx-ga
on
01 Mar 2006 17:21 PST
Alfred H. Faber is known to be the correct spelling of his name. His
wife's name was Avis Bell Faber (Bell was her maiden name). We have a
record of a death certificate for Avis Bell Faber in Los Angeles
County on August 31, 1946. An Alfred Faber is recorded as having died
on October 5, 1947, in Los Angeles County and are guessing that this
is our man. We know that Alfred Faber was a personal friend of an
Arthur Babcock who lived in Altadena, CA, from the late 30's until the
50's or 60's, and owned other property in Pasadena, CA. It is
possible that any obituary of Faber would have appeared in a regional
paper.
We have tracked down a record of an Alfred Hepner Faber who died in
Tulare County, CA, on 19 January 1952, but his occupation was listed
as "oilman", although he is listed as having been born in
Pennsylvania. We suspect this is not our Alfred Faber, but can't be
certain as we don't know what the "H." stood for.
The Alfred Faber we are inquiring about was almost certainly born in
or near Philadelphia, PA. He worked in architecture there for at
least some time before moving to Southern California. He is known to
have moved to Portland, probably from So. Cal. in 1904.
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Request for Question Clarification by
tutuzdad-ga
on
16 Mar 2006 06:25 PST
It does indeed appear that the Alfed Faber you have found the Los
Angeles death record on, is the same Alfred Faber of Portland
architectural fame. It seems that Faber dropped off the public life
map some time after his achievements in the Portland area and is not
known for any more works in the Loas Angeles area or elsewhere. I
received a response from Holly Chamberlain, of the Architectural
Heritage Center, part of the Bosco Milligan Foundation, who tried to
research the matter in my behalf with what little resources are
available. She indicated to me that little is known about Faber's life
following his time in Portland and it is believe that Faber was born
in Pennsylvania in 1883 and died in Los Angeles in 1947. This of
course would logically make the Alfred Faber you mentioned the same
Alfred Faber of Portland.
Please let me know if this suffices as an answer given the absence of
better information.
tutuzdad-ga
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Clarification of Question by
jimbopdx-ga
on
16 Mar 2006 16:11 PST
Regarding the request for clarification from tutuzdad-ga, Holly's
source for information about Alfred Faber was the lecture I presented
at Portland's Architectural Heritage Center on March 11, 2006. We can
only suspect the connection between the Alfred Faber who died in 1947
in Los Angeles County and the Alfred H. Faber from Portland. The
connection is that an Avis Bell Faber died in Los Angeles County in
1946. Faber's wife's name, as obtained from Portland tax and property
records, was Avis Bell Faber. Since that is an usual name, we assume
this is the same person who died in LA in 1946. Further assuming that
they remained married for these years, the Alfred who died in LA in
1947 may be our Alfred H. Faber.
All of that doesn't answer the question: did he design anything in
Southern California? Faber was one of the most original and
innovative architects to practice in Portland from 1904 to 1917. We
have to imagine that he continued as an architect after his move to
California, but have not been able to travel to that area to dig
through area records on early architects in the period from 1918 to
1947. The question, then revolves around what he did after he got to
California, and if he was an architect, what did he design.
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