Everyone has heard of architects from the East Coast, but has anyone heard of any architect from the West Coast? Not me, until now.
Edward Campfield Kent (1866-1951) was born on June 28th in Gwynedd, PA to Rodolphus and Elizabeth Kent.
Fun Fact #1: Before the Church of Messiah was established, his father's home was used for services held for summer visitors. As numbers of people increased in attendance, they all decided to hold an organizational meeting in December 1866.
It was unknown what his education was, but according to a source, young men like Edward "learned the trade by working as a draftsman or journeyman designer in the offices of professional architects." In this case, he studied under Philadelphia architects Arthur Truscott (known for designing the Broad Street Station) and William Eyre (known for designing the Penn Museum).
Fun Fact #2: Edward was a member of the architecture club "T Square" in 1889.
During the early 1900s, he moved out of Pennsylvania to settle in California where he officially began his architectural career. He even designed a home for himself and his wife in 1907 that was on 947 East California Street.
In 1913, Edward was named Pasadena's building inspection board by the Mayor of the city. By 1920, he worked under John Parkinson in Los Angeles as a draftsman.
Fun Fact #3: His building is currently part of the Victorian Era Grandeur Walking Tour in Pasadena. It's located in the Ross Grove Landmark District on 268 S. Orange Grove Boulavard.
"Mr. Kent’s designs ranged from Craftsman to Period Revival. Locally, his early works can be found in the larger Pasadena area, including Altadena and South Pasadena."
- Tim Gregory, The Building Biographer
List of Edward C. Kent's Building:
335 East Altadena Drive, Altadena (1906)
Pritchard house--455 South Marengo Avenue (1906–characterized by a newspaper article as a “most up-to-date dwelling”)
Sercombe house–650 South St.
John Avenue (1906)
Thomas house–562 Bellefontaine Street (1907)
Sherk house–268 South Orange Grove Avenue (1908–remodel of 1892 original)
39 West Altadena Drive, Altadena (1909)
Dale house–528 California Terrace (1909)
W. N. Holmes house–1653 North Lake Avenue (1910)
J. F. Holmes house–1677 North Lake Avenue (1910)
Antonius Kuhn house–1700 Wayne Avenue, South Pasadena (1910)
1313 Garfield Avenue, South Pasadena (1910)
Roberts house–854 Elizabeth Street (1911)
Van Dyke house–815 Fairfield Circle (1930)
Bibliography
Gregory, Tim. "815 FAIRFIELD CIRCLE, PASADENA." The Building Biographer. Last modified April 2019. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58b8c3b137c581622350bb19/t/5cd07abcec212d9c627c7fec/1557166809882/Property+Biography.pdf.
Levy, Florence N. American Art Annual 1905-1906 Vol. V. (New York, American Art Annual, 1905): 483.
"OUR HISTORY." Church of the Messiah. Accessed May 20, 2021. https://www.messiahgwynedd.org/history-celebrating-150-years.
Scott, J. D. Montgomery County 1877, Gwynedd, North Wales, Ambler, Royer's Ford, Limerick Station, 1877.