NORMAN FOOTE MARSH

Los Angeles County

Biographies

NORMAN FOOTE MARSH

MARSH, NORMAN FOOTE, Architect, Los Angeles, California, was born at Upper Alton, Illinois, July 16,1871, the seventh son of Ebenezer Marsh and Kate (Prevost) Marsh. He married Cora Mae Cairns at Polo, Illinois, January 23, 1901, and they are the parents of two children, Norman LeRoy and Marian Elizabeth Marsh.

Mr. Marsh received his early education in the schools of his native city and was graduated from the high school of Upper Alton in 1886. He then studied art, literature and science at Shurtleff College, Upper Alton, for three years and followed this with attendance at the University of Illinois. He remained there five years and was graduated from the School of Architecture with the degree of Bachelor of Science in the class of 1897.

Upon leaving the university Mr. Marsh went to Chicago, Illinois, as lucical engineer for the American Luxfer Prism Company. He remained with the company for three years, representing them in various cities, including New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Resigning his position in 1900, Mr. Marsh went to Los Angeles and there began his career as an architect. He formed a partnership with J. N. Preston under the firm name of Preston & Marsh, and while it lasted they were among the leaders of their profession, their work being confined almost exclusively to handsome residences. At the end of the year, however, the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Marsh then formed an alliance with C. H. Russell under the name of Marsh & Russell.

They remained in association for nearly six years and during that time were engaged in some of the most important architectural work in the Southwest. Their most notable accomplishment, perhaps, was the designing of Venice, California, one of the most unique seashore resorts in the United States. The place is patterned after beautiful Venice, Italy, and besides numerous handsome building, has a chain of canals through its principal section, these canals being spanned by picturesque bridges. It is the only city of its kind on the Western Continent and stands a monument to the architects.

In September, 1907, Messrs. Marsh & Russell dissolved partnership, the latter going to San Francisco, while Mr. Marsh remained in Los Angeles, continuing his work alone. Since that time he has taken a leading position among the architects of the country, devoting most of his attention to public buildings, including churches, schools, libraries, etc.

Among buildings designed by him are the Hollywood High School buildings, the first group high school in that part of the country. Another work which has attracted attention to Mr. March is the Pasadena High School, said by Harland Updegraff, specialist in school administration, Bureau of Education of Washington, D.C., to be the finest high school structure in the entire United States. Other buildings designed by Mr. Marsh are the First Methodist Church of Oakland, California; the First Methodist Church, Long Beach, California; the First Baptist Church of Pomona, California, and the University of Redlands, Redlands, California, a handsome group of modern fireproof buildings.

The most recent work of Mr. Marsh and one of the best productions of his career is the Columbia Hospital of Los Angeles. This institution is known as the finest of its kind west of New York City and compares favorably with any in the metropolis. It is modern in every detail, fireproof, and equipped with every device known to modern science. Its greatest feature, perhaps, is the fact that its sanitation is perfect, due to the installation by Mr. Marsh of a water system for washing all air entering the hospital, which affords absolute protection.

These are only a few of the structures designed by Mr. Marsh in Southern California, there being in addition numerous fine residences, and buildings in the business district of the city.

Mr. Marsh makes his home in South Pasadena. There he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Public Library and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Memorial Baptist Church.

He is an enthusiastic worker for Southern California’s upbuilding and, although he is not a clubman, has a wide circle of friends. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, and has been a member of the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Transcribed 7-1-08 Marilyn R. Pankey.

Source: Press Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 90, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta. 1913.

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