Roland E. Coate: Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940

As part of a larger series on "Master Architects of Southern California: 1920-1940", this book highlights the work of Roland E. Coate, using vintage photographs.

In the second volume in its series, ROLAND E. COATE, the authors focus on one of the most admired and influential residential architects ever to practice in Southern California. In a remarkable career that spanned more than three decades, Roland E. Coate produced hundreds of exceptional designs from Santa Barbara to Bel-Air, Hollywood, Hancock Park, and Pasadena that ranged from quaint bungalows to grand mansions. Coate's ability to work in a variety of styles from English Tudor to Monterey Colonial with equal grace made him a favorite with those seeking the very best. His client list--with names like Doheny, O'Melveny, Hoover, and Hertz--reads like a "Who's Who" of the most important and influential figures of the era.

Yet Coate is best known today as an "architect to the stars," a much sought-after designer for the elite of Hollywood with a stellar array of commissions from such legends of classic cinema as Darryl F. Zanuck, Barbara Stanwyck & Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper, Irene Mayer & David O. Selznick, Frank Capra, William Wellman, Pando Berman, and Myrna Loy. Other celebrity residents of Coate-designed homes have included Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Kenny Rogers, Danny Kaye, and fashion icon Tom Ford. The Coate-designed mansion in Hancock Park of aviator/film producer/oil magnate Howard Hughes remains one of the most famous houses in Los Angeles.

Marc Appleton is the principal of Appleton Partners LLP, an architectural firm in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara. He has written, published, or contributed to many books including: George Washington Smith: An Architect's Scrapbook (2001), Robert Winter's Myron Hunt at Occidental College (2012), and Ranches: Home on the Range in California (2016). Marc lives in Santa Barbara.

Bret Parsons has written five books, including Colcord Home (2008), the biography of the beloved Southern California architect Gerard Colcord. A residential Realtor, he founded Bret Parsons Real Estate in 2008. He is associate manager of the Hancock Park office of Compass, specializing in architectural properties. Bret resides in Los Angeles.

Steve Vaught is an author and historian who specializes in Southern California architecture and social history. He has written about Palm Springs's rich history in The Committee of Twenty-Five, The First 65 Years, 1948-2013 (2014); Sentinels in Stone, Palm Springs Historic Tennis Club Neighborhood and its Iconic Walls (2015); and Einstein Dreamt Here, The Willows Historic Palm Springs Inn (with Tracy Conrad) (2015). Steve lives in Palm Springs.