James H. Garrott

James Homer Garrott Jr. (1897–1991), was an American architect active in the Los Angeles area in the mid-20th century. He designed more than 200 buildings, including twenty-five churches and several public buildings. He has been described as a "pivotal black avant garde modernist of the 1940s era."

Biography James Homer Garrott Jr. was born on June 19, 1897, in Montgomery, Alabama. Garrott graduated from Los Angeles Polytechnic High School in 1917. He earned his architect's license in 1928. Garrott's first major achievement was as co-designer of the 1928 Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company. From 1926 to 1928, Garrott worked with Cavagliere Construction Company of Los Angeles. He then studied Architecture at the University of Southern California from 1930 to 1934.

Garrott was a close friend of the eminent civil rights attorney Loren Miller. In early 1940, Garrott designed both of their Silver Lake split-level homes at 647 and 653 Micheltorena Street.

In 1946, Garrott was the second African-American admitted to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in Los Angeles, after Paul R. Williams. Then they worked together in a "loose partnership" in the 1940s and 50s, and together designed a small office building that they shared in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. They were alternately “Garrott & Ain” or “Ain & Garrott,” depending on who was responsible for design, while on other projects they simply assisted each other's solo work without credit. After World War II, Garrott and Ain together designed and built their architectural office, at 2311 Hyperion Avenue, within walking distance from Garrott's home.

Garrott was “politically well connected” and received nine commissions from the Los Angeles County Government in the late 1950s.

He died on June 9, 1991, in Los Angeles, California 1940: Apartment building for Grace F. Marquis, Fifth and New Hampshire streets, Los Angeles, California 1944: Bethlehem Baptist Church (unbuilt project), Los Angeles, California 1948: Dental Building for Dr. George Hurd, Santa Monica, California 1949: (with Gregory Ain) Ain & Garrott Office, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California 1950: John W. Bean & Verna Deckard residence, Los Angeles, California 1950: Moss Construction Co., Kenter Canyon, California 1950: (with Gregory Ain) Hamilton Methodist Church (unbuilt) 1951: (with Gregory Ain) Ben Margolis House, Los Angeles, California 1952: Harry Friedman & Bernice "Burr" Singer residence, Los Angeles, California 1953: M. Wesley Farr residence, El Segundo, California 1955: Firestone Sheriff's Station, Florence-Firestone, California "considered the most modern law enforcement facility of its time." 1957: Lawndale Administrative Center, Lawndale, California 1958-60: (with Gregory Ain) Westchester Municipal Building, Los Angeles, California David Gebhard described Garrott's design as “an anonymous building.” 1958-60: (with Gregory Ain) Loyola Village Branch Library, Los Angeles, California 1959: (with Gregory Ain) Ralph Atkinson residence, Monterey County, California 1960: Bodger County Park Director's Building, Hawthorne, California 1960: Del Aire County Park Director's Building, Hawthorne, California 1963: Victoria Park Pool and Bathhouse, Carson, California 1970: Carson Public Library, Carson, California