Our One-Of-A-Kind Historic Architecture Tour Preserved on Video
It was a perfect Saturday in May when fifty-five fans of architectural history boarded a luxury coach and spent the day traversing Orange County from north to south visiting a curated selection of the buildings and landscapes designed by William Pereira. “Pereira in the New Frontier: The Orange County Buildings, 1962 to 1975” was Preserve Orange County’s first tour since the Eichler Home Tour in 2019 and the organization’s first bus tour. It might have been the first of its kind, a multi-site tour dedicated to the mid-20th century Los Angeles-based architect and planner who, in spite of a Time magazine cover story in 1963, has not received the popular or academic attention his successful career and firm deserve.
Pereira’s most recognized buildings are probably the Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego and the Transamerica tower in San Francisco but the Orange County sites on this tour are also examplars of the era and the firm’s design creativity and planning expertise: the unique form of Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods; the ambitious corporate statements of the Pacific Life building in Newport Beach and the Chet Holifield Federal Building in Laguna Niguel; and the enduring planning concepts applied in the early 1960s to the University of California Irvine campus and Fullerton’s Hunt Library.
“This past weekend Preserve Orange County had a delightful tour heralding William Pereira, FAIA, and his deep contribution to modernism. Architect/historian Alan Hess expounded on Pereira’s far-reaching influence… Preservationist Jason Foo enlightened the crowd about artist Tom Van Sant who worked on numerous [Pereira] projects… Founding POC board member Krista Nicholds set the whole day in context, while Monica Pereira gave us the personal background we could get from no one else.” Taylor & Company Linkedin post, May 24, 2023
The tour was made possible because of the dedication of a number of special people: the current stewards of the buildings and our event volunteers. The following representatives of each building were generous with their time and provided us with access to archives and interiors that enriched our own and our tour-goers’ experience.
Stephen Bise, City of Fullerton, Hunt Library
Laura McCallum and Rev. Dr. Steven Marsh, Geneva Presbyterian Church, Laguna Woods
Jason Hagin and Brandon Pierce, Government Services Administration, Chet Holifield Federal Building, Laguna Niguel
Ryan Lilyengren, Irvine Company, Newport Beach
Chris Hibler, Rosa Martinez Marcial, and Ellen Mikowychok, Pacific Life Insurance Company, Newport Beach
The following volunteers donated their valuable time to make sure Preserve Orange County had a successful event:
Jennifer Harris, tour brochure layout and design
Alan Hess, co-leader and guide
Jason Foo, co-leader and guide
Patrisia Prestinary, photographer
For a good synopsis of the tour, watch the work of journalists Jacqueline Toueg and Tina Gharai who filmed the tour as programming for the City of Irvine television channel, ICTV.
