English architect who designed iconic USC buildings subject of new exhibit

You may not recognize architect John Parkinson’s name, but you will surely recognize the buildings he designed at USC. Parkinson imagined the Bovard Administration Building, the Gwynn Wilson Student Union, Town and Gown, and other Romanesque Revival structures built at the university in the 1920s and 1930s.

He was first recruited in 1919 by then-USC President George Finley Bovard to develop a campus plan that would embrace the automobile age. In a departure from traditional pedestrian-focused campuses, he positioned structures along University Avenue (now Trousdale Parkway), then a busy thoroughfare.

Parkinson is best remembered for his role designing Los Angeles City Hall, Union Station and Bullocks Wilshire. He also created the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and holds the unofficial distinction of having competed in the first race at the storied venue held shortly after the first stage of construction was completed in 1923. His challengers were contractor L.E. Dixon and stadium manager Zack Farmer.

“Zack was 28, an all-round athlete; Dixon was 32, a slim chap; and I was 61 and no longer slim, but feeling like a youngster. I challenged to race them,” Parkinson recalled. “They instantly agreed, and off we went. Zack was over the line first, running easily 50 feet ahead of Dixon, and I was 50 feet behind Dixon, going well but glad to get over the finish line. … That was the right place and time for me to retire as a runner.”

Author Stephen Gee celebrates Parkinson’s remarkable career with an exhibition of historic photographs from the Los Angeles Public Library’s photo collections. It is on display at the History and Genealogy Department at the Los Angeles Central Library until Aug. 17. The exhibition traces Parkinson’s journey from his humble origins in Lancashire, England, to his death in 1935.