Claud W. Beelman (1883, Ohio – January 30, 1963, Los Angeles, California), sometimes known as Claude Beelman, was an American architect who designed many examples of Beaux-Arts, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style buildings. Many of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Beelman was married to Lourene Taft Beelman (b. 1883, Ohio - d. 1948, Ca.). In 1910, he was a draftsman in the state of Indiana. (Cite: U.S. Census Records, State of Indiana, 1910.) It was there they had a daughter, Helen Beelman (b. 1912). By the 1920s, the family had relocated to Los Angeles, and by 1930, they lived in Beverly Hills.

From the 1920s on, Beelman, as partner or owner of one or another of several firms (Curlett + Beelman; Allison and Allison; Ruck & Beelman; Claud Beelman & Associates) designed a number of prominent civic and private structures. By 1956, Claude Beelman & Associates officed at 7421 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036.



When he was in his seventies, Beelman designed the 12-story Superior Oil building for oil tycoon W.M. Keck. Completed in 1955, the Superior Oil building later became The Bank of California Building, and was used for the bank's offices until the 1980s. By the late 1990s the building had been vacant for nearly ten years, but has been renovated beginning in 2000 by hotel developer Andre Balazs, and now is the location of his hotel The Standard.



It is the zig-zag moderne Eastern Columbia Building, however, with its facade of turquoise green terra cotta tile, ornate clock tower, art deco lighting, fixtures, signage and architectural detail that is Beelman's most recognizable work. In 2006, the Eastern Columbia has been converted from office space to loft live/work spaces by the Kor Group and is now one of the most desirable loft buildings in Downtown Los Angeles.

Some of the California landmark buildings designed by Beelman include:

Registered in The National Register of Historic Places

(All located in Los Angeles, California unless otherwise noted)

• Board of Trade Building, Downtown Los Angeles
• Building at 816 South Grand Avenue, Downtown Los Angeles
• Culver Hotel, Culver City, California
• Cooper Arms, Long Beach
• Eastern Columbia Building/9th & Broadway Building (Contributing structure in Broadway Theater and Commercial Historic District)
• Garfield Building
• Heinsbergen Decorating Company Building
• Security Building, Phoenix, Arizona
• Spring Street Realty Building (Contributing structure in Spring Street Historic District)
• Superior Oil Company Building/The Standard
• U.S. Post Office--Hollywood Station

Other Structures of Note

• Barker Brothers Building
• Central Plaza Building
• Elks Lodge No. 99 / Park Plaza Hotel
• Farmer's & Merchant Bank Office Towers - Long Beach
• Harbor Building at Crenshaw
• Irving Thalberg Building, MGM (Sony) Studios
• L.A. Jewelry Center
• Mary Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
• May Company Garage - 1926 - one of the Nation's first parking structures
• Mercury Building
• Pacific South West Trust Building
• Roosevelt Building
• Rose Hill Housing Structure
• Security Pacific Bank
• Norma Talmadge|The Talmadge Building

References / Links / Photos

• National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places - database

• "Services for Architect Claud Beelman Set" Los Angeles Times, February 2, 1963 Part II, Page 6.