ARCHITECTS

(September 17, 1922 – September 1, 2017)

Gin Wong immigrated from China as a boy and went on to have a 60-year career as a successful architect in Los Angeles. He played a key role in the design of post-World War II L.A., with projects including LAX, CBS Television City, and the iconic Union 76 gas station in Beverly Hills. Having graduated from USC in 1950, he later became a trustee of USC; a conference center at the university bears his name. William Pereira was one of his teachers at USC. When Pereira was setting up his architecture practice with Luckman, he hired Gin Wong; Wong went on to become partner and president of Pereira & Associates.

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He founded Gin Wong Associates (GWA) in 1974. The internationally recognized firm specialized in the design and planning of corporate headquarters, commercial and retail spaces, hotels, educational facilities, and university campuses. GWA designed the Arco Tower (now 1055 West Seventh), one of the most prominent Modern skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles.

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The Los Angeles Conservancy’s Modern Committee honored Wong with a Modern Masters award in 2013. Asked in a 2013 interview to name his favorite project, the visionary replied, “The next one.”

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In Rancho Mirage, his 1982 Provident Bank building was, according to his family, one of his favorite projects.  It is the only example of his work in the Coachella Valley. Designed with a façade of Mexican lava rock, the circular entry is accessed by wide steps. Massive metal fascia hangs over solid wood beams.