Preserve an Historic Landmark
Constructed in the mid-fifties, the Stuart Pharmaceutical building was listed on the National Register in 1998. As provided in the National Register Registration Form, the property is significant at the state level "as an outstanding example of mid-century modern architecture in California, one of the earliest expressions... of the New Formalist (or Neo-Formal) style and of architect Edward Durell Stone's philosophy and work."
In 1958, The Stuart Pharmaceutical Building won the American Institute of Architecture's (AIA) prestigious Honor Award and appeared on the cover of Time Magazine alongside architect Edward Durell Stone. Noteworthy for its dramatic perforated facade screen, golden columns, reflecting pools and fountains, cantilevered eves, light filled atrium, and ingenious landscaping (designed by Thomas Church), the building operated under the ownership of Stuart Pharmaceutical Company until 1993.
Thomas Dolliver Church (1902-1978) was a pioneer in American landscape design and opened the door to the modern movement in landscape architecture with what came to be known as the "California Style." In 1951, Church received the Fine Arts Medal of the American Institute of Architects in recognition of his contribution to modern landscape architecture.