Arthur Banta Gallion (1902-1978) was born June 30, 1902 in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois-Champagne-Urbana (UIUC) in 1924, Gallion traveled from 1927 to 1928 on a Steedman fellowship in Europe, and attended the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. Following his time abroad, he worked for UIUC as supervising architect under University Architect James M. White during which he also worked in private practice and in the offices of public works in Urbana until 1934. Later he moved to Washington, DC to work with the Public Works Administration (PWA) housing division, from 1934 to 1936.

In 1936 Gallion moved to Oakland, California. While in the bay area, he established a residential practice, and between 1938 and 1945 also worked as project planner and director of development for federal housing authorities throughout the western region. After making a significant mark on bay area commercial and residential architecture, he left Oakland in 1945 and relocated to Southern California to become the Dean of the Architecture Department at USC.

As Dean, Gallion added a department of Industrial Design, led by Raymond F. Loewy, and brought in progressive and well-known faculty members, such as, Robert Alexander, Garrett Eckbo, Harwell Harris, and Calvin Straub. Gallion organized exhibitions of progressive international figures, directed students who went on to have notable careers including Pierre Koenig and Frank Gehry, and consulted with three faculty members in active partnership.

He served as chair of the Los Angeles City Regional Planning Unit in the immediate postwar years and influenced the city’s development in its most explosive period of growth. His thinking is reflected in The Urban Pattern: City Planning and Design, 1951, reprinted in 1953 and then in revised editions with Simon and Stanley Eisner through 1993. The book played a central role in formulating the urban design movement and became the standard textbook in the field. He created and introduced two pioneering architecture guides to the Southern California region, published in 1951 and 1956, which, along with his exhibitions and essays on contemporary architecture in Southern California, were essential in establishing recognition for the modern movement and in defining its distinctive character. Gallion was elected a Fellow of The American Institute of Architects (FAIA) in 1957 and served as Dean of Architecture at the University of Southern California until 1964.

Sources: Appraisers report.