# Eldon Davis

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Eldon_Davis
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Eldon_Davis.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldon_Davis
> Source revision: 1350931815
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|American architect}}
{{Infobox architect
| name                  = Eldon Davis
| image                 = Eldon Davis.jpg
| image_size            = <!-- if image is smaller than 250px -->
| caption               = 
| birth_date            = {{Birth date|1917|02|02}}
| birth_place           = [Anacortes, Washington](/source/Anacortes%2C_Washington)<br>United States
| death_date            = {{Death date and age|2011|04|22|1917|02|02}}
| death_place           = [West Hills, California](/source/West_Hills%2C_Los_Angeles)<br>United States
| alma_mater            = [University of Southern California](/source/University_of_Southern_California)
| influences            = 
| influenced            = 
| practice              = [Armet & Davis](/source/Armet_%26_Davis)
| significant_buildings = {{Unbulleted list|[Norms Restaurants](/source/Norms_Restaurants)|[Pann's Restaurant](/source/Pann's)|
[Wich Stand](/source/Wich_Stand)
}}
| significant_projects  = 
| significant_design    = 
| awards                = 
}}
'''Eldon Carlyle Davis''' (February 2, 1917 &ndash; April 22, 2011) was an [American](/source/Americans) [architect](/source/architect), considered largely responsible for the creation of [Googie architecture](/source/Googie_architecture), a form of [modern architecture](/source/modern_architecture) originating in [Southern California](/source/Southern_California). Googie architecture is largely influenced by Southern California's [car culture](/source/car_culture) and the [Space Age](/source/Space_Age) of the mid-20th century.<ref name=latimes>{{cite news |first=Valerie J.|last=Nelson|title=Eldon Davis dies at 94; architect designed 'Googie' coffee shops |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-me-eldon-davis-20110426,0,5591348.story?track=rss |work=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |date=26 April 2011}}</ref> Davis was a founding partner of the [Armet & Davis](/source/Armet_%26_Davis) [architectural firm](/source/architectural_firm) which championed Googie architecture, including the original Norms Restaurant, a Googie [coffee shop](/source/Coffeehouse) designed by Davis.<ref name=latimes/> For his work, the ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'' called Davis, "the father of the [California](/source/California) coffee shop."<ref name=latimes/>

==Biography==
Eldon Davis was born in [Anacortes](/source/Anacortes%2C_Washington), [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)) in 1917.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digital.lib.washington.edu/architect/architects/669/ |title= Davis, Eldon |work=Pacific Coast Architecture Database |access-date=14 July 2013}}</ref> He originally worked at a [fish cannery](/source/fish_cannery) while attending the [University of Southern California](/source/University_of_Southern_California).<ref name=latimes/> He created a new design for the fish cannery as an architectural student, a design that was later built.<ref name=latimes/> Davis earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Southern California in 1942.<ref name=latimes/>

Davis and his business partner, architect [Louis Armet](/source/Louis_Armet), expected to work in [industrial architecture](/source/industrial_design) following their graduation from USC.<ref name=latimes/> However, their plans changed thanks to the post-war construction boom in [Southern California](/source/Southern_California) following [World War II](/source/World_War_II).<ref name=latimes/> They began designing structures geared towards a growing population, including nurseries, [churches](/source/church_(building)), [country club](/source/country_club)s, banks and even [bowling alley](/source/bowling_alley)s.<ref name=latimes/>

In 1947, Davis and Armet opened their architectural firm, [Armet & Davis](/source/Armet_%26_Davis).<ref name=latimes/> Together, the architects used their firm and its designs to champion [Googie architecture](/source/Googie_architecture), especially in California.<ref name=latimes/>  The firm exists today as Armet Davis Newlove Architecture and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

One of the best preserved examples of Davis's work is the [Pann's](/source/Pann's) coffee shop and its [neon sign](/source/neon_sign) in [Westchester, Los Angeles](/source/Westchester%2C_Los_Angeles).<ref name=latimes/> Davis also designed the early prototypes for local [Big Boy](/source/Big_Boy_(restaurant)) and [Denny's](/source/Denny's) restaurants in Los Angeles.<ref name=latimes/> The older buildings on the Fullerton campus of [Hope International University](/source/Hope_International_University) also display Davis's classic Googie style.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hiu.edu/news/042911_googie.shtm |title=HIUs 'Googie' Architect of the Past, Eldon Davis, Passed Away |work=[Hope International University](/source/Hope_International_University) |access-date=14 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119100358/http://www.hiu.edu/news/042911_googie.shtm |archive-date=19 January 2013 }}</ref>

Eldon Davis died of complications from [spinal meningitis](/source/spinal_meningitis), at a hospital in [West Hills, Los Angeles](/source/West_Hills%2C_Los_Angeles), on April 22, 2011, at the age of 94.<ref name=latimes/> He was survived by his second wife, Luana; a daughter, Karen; three sons, Dan, Mark and Wyatt; five grandchildren, Robin, Cindy, Ryan, Eric, and Marisa; and two great-grandchildren, Audrey and Connor.<ref name=latimes/> His first wife of more than thirty years died in the 1970s.<ref name=latimes/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.adnarch.com/ Armet Davis Newlove Architecture website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Eldon}}
Category:1917 births
Category:2011 deaths
Category:Modernist architects from the United States
Category:20th-century American architects
Category:USC School of Architecture alumni
Category:People from Anacortes, Washington
Category:Architects from Washington (state)
Category:Deaths from meningitis in California

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eldon Davis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldon_Davis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldon_Davis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.