Millard Archuleta

A Tribute to Millard Archuleta June 27, 1929 – May 12, 2010 Acclaimed as a pioneer of modern shopping center design, Archuleta – known as "Arch" to everyone – is the architect of record for over twenty major regional malls. He contributed to the design of such major departments stores as JC Penney, Sears, Gottschalks, Broadway, Montgomery Ward, Buffums, Bonwit Teller, Saks, Boston Store, Harris, and Marshalls, to name a few. For many, the bucolic influences of his formative years appear out of context with a cosmopolitan career in architecture. Millard Archuleta was born in 1929 in Longmont, CO, where his mother and father managed a golf course. "People still played golf during the depressions," said Arch, who developed an early love for the game. His mother and father were both born in CO. and are part of a family heritage that goes back over 300 years and covers a region that now includes CO., CA., and NM. There is actually an Archuleta County in CO and his ancestors are documented on the definitive history of the early Southwest, "Glory, God, and Gold." The book details the Archuleta's activities during the Civil War, including how Arch's great grandfather transported ammunition in wagons from CO. to the Union Army in the northern states. There was of course, no television during the '30s. For entertainment, Arch would draw and paint and read. He also demonstrated an acute aptitude in math at the 2-room country school he attended. "What I didn't realize at the time is that my abilities in art and math created the foundation of an architectural sensibility," said Arch. In 1940, Arch's family moved to the L. A. area where he attended Edison Jr. High School, then Fremont High School, where he was on the school's gymnastic team and competed in the Southern League on the horizontal bar. It was also at Fremont High that Arch's future in architecture was cultivated. The school offered an experimental curriculum in photography and architecture. If a student completed 2,000 hours of classes in architectural drafting and related subjects, they received qualification as a junior architectural draftsman. Arch enthusiastically completed the course and solicited his services to contractors and architects in the 13-floor Architect's Building at 5th and Figueroa in downtown L.A. He was hired as a junior draftsman / office boy at Burke and Kober, the authors of the architectural bible. "Modern Store Design," and one of only two companies with a national reputation for designing retail stores. While working for Burke and Kober, Arch continued his education in architecture at Polytechnic, L.A. City College and the USC School of Architecture. He was promoted to architectural draftsman with Burke and Kober and worked on retail projects for Florsheim shoes, Silverwoods, Desmonds, and many retail stores on Pasadena's Lake Avenue, including Haggerty's. Arch married his first wife Diana, in 1950 and had two sons, Justin and Christopher. The family would remain together in La Cañada Flintridge, CA. until Diana's death in 1975. During the Korean War, Arch served as a Tactical Officer at Fort Benning's Infantry Officer Candidate School. The company included 205 GIs and 40 Koreans. On Thanksgiving Day 1953, he was released from active duty and returned to L.A. In 1954, Arch went to work for Welton Beckett Associates while continuing his education at USC in the evening. During his year with the firm, he was the project architect for Gimbels dept. stores. In 1955, he returned to Burke and Kober, which had become Burke Kober Nicolais. He worked as project architect on department stores and traveled with Edgar Kober throughout the country. Locally, his work with the firm included Bullocks Fashion Square Santa Ana, Bullocks Fashion Square Sherman Oaks, and the Rossmoor Corporation's extensive Leisure World projects in Laguna Hills, Walnut Creek and Seal Beach. In 1961, Arch became a licensed architect and a partner in Burke Kober Nicolais Archuleta. Soon after, Arch hired Andrew Feola, who was fresh out of college, as a project architect. During his 18 years as a partner, Millard Archuleta established a reputation as a premier architect with specialization in regional malls. Medical facilities, banks, and office buildings. His projects included Montclair Plaza; Tyler Mall; Del Amo Fashion Center, Northridge Center; Los Arcos mall in Scottsdale; Laguna Hills Mall; and corporate offices for IBM and NCR. Along with his partner, Charles Kober, he developed the master plan for a major retail development in Johannesburg, South Africa. Arch formed Millard Archuleta Associates in 1973 and hired Burke and Nicolais from his former partnership to serve as Vice Presidents. He soon operated four regional offices with over 150 employees. Developer Ernest Hahn became the firm's tope client. Major projects from the firm's headquarters in L.A. included Santa Maria Town Center; The Village at Corte Madera; Ogden City Mall; Sunnyvale Town Center; Central Coast Plaza; Holiday Inn Hotel in Solvang; Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo; Huntington Oaks Center in Monrovia; Yuba City Mall; Southern Palms Center in Tempe, AZ.; Eureka Federal Saving and Loan headquarters in San Carlos; Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis, CA.; the Roy Disney Building at the Disney Studios in Burbank; and numerous high schools and elementary schools for the L.A. City School District. From his Rancho Mirage office, Arch was the architect for the Palm Desert Town Center, the Betty Ford Center and the Hal Wallis geriatric facility at the Eisenhower Medical Center, the St. Francis Catholic Church in La Quinta, the Desert Horizons Country Club in Indian Wells; the Rancho Mirage Fire Station and numerous office buildings, neighborhood centers, and community centers. Arch returned to his Colorado roots with the opening of a Denver office where he designed mind- and high-rise office buildings, including the 28-story Mountain Towers. In 1975, Arch married his second wife, Hildegarde, a former Eileen Ford fashion model and an accomplished concert violinist, who performed with orchestras throughout Southern CA. After her marriage to Arch, she ceased performing and dedicated her time to golf and raising Arch's son Christopher during his education at Flintridge Preparatory school and USC. In 1988, seventeen years after they first worked together, Andy Feola and Millard Archuleta joined forces as Feola and Archuleta Architects. Over the next ten years, Feola-Archuleta would establish a new dynamism in Southern CA. architecture. In 1982 Arch was elected to membership in Lambda Alpha, an International Honorary Land Economics Fraternity. One of the most memorable events of Arch's career occurred in 1983 when he received the Humanitarian Award from the national Conference of Christians and Jews. Over 800 guests attended to pay tribute and witness a roast by Arch's old friend Ernie Hahn. He also won a National Award of Excellence from the Pacific Coast Builders Conference for his design of the San Diego Tech Center. A special highlight of Arch's practice was his experience in Saudi Arabia where he consulted on the planning and design of a palace for Prince Faisal Bin Turki, a son-in-law of Abdul Aziz, Founder of the Kingdom. Millard Archuleta's career embodies all facets of architectural practice; master planning, design, production of construction documents, marketing, client relations, administration, and contracts. Friends of Arch knew him as a modest man with a quick wit and keen sense of humor. Despite his monumental accomplishments, he offered a simple assessment of his ability; "It's not that I am necessarily smarter than the next guy, it's just that I've been at it a long time." He said. "Been there, done that. That says it all about me." Arch is survived by his wife Hilde and his sons Christopher and Justin. Services were held on May 27, 2010 at Forest Lawn, Glendale.