STACY-JUDD, Robert Benjamin (1884-1975), architect, explorer, author and a seemingly restless figure who spent the first 40 years of his career constantly on the move from city to city and country to country. Born in London, England on 21 June 1884, he attended Acton College and studied naval architecture, then took up the study of architecture by articling for four years with James Thompson, an architect in Westcliff-on-Sea, from 1900 to 1904. He attended the Regent Street Polytechnic in London in 1906-07 while working in the Architect’s Department of the Great Northern Railway Company there during 1906-07. He then took up a position supervising the Grounds Office of the Franco-British Exposition in London, overseeing the architectural staff there in 1907-08. He opened his own office in Eastborne, Co. Kent in 1908, and another office in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight where he operated a theatre for three years.
He left England in the spring of 1913 and travelled extensively in the United States before deciding to settle in Minot, North Dakota. He formed a partnership there with R.T. Frost, but this lasted only three months, then Stacy-Judd opened an office under his own name. Between 1914 and 1916 he became one of the most successful architects in the state, and by August 1916 he had 27 building projects either completed or under construction. His works in Minot include the Central Block, the Eby & Young Block, the Blakey Block, Bethany Lutheran Church, and the Zoology Building in Roosevelt Park, as well as the La Duc Block in Williston, N.D., the Armory in Williston, the Catholic Church in Hazelton, N.D., the Person Flat Block at Bismark, N.D., and the McKinney-Fuller Block at Grand Forks, N.D. In 1916 he was briefly in partnership with George F. Bugenhagen, but their collaboration lasted only four months (see list of works under Bugenhagen & Stacy-Judd). A lengthy article on the formation of their new office in Minot appeared in the Ward County Independent [Minot], 20 April 1916, 1.
Stacy-Judd arrived in Calgary, Alberta in early 1920, but it is unclear why he chose to move to Canada, and specifically to Alberta. There, he formed a partnership with William P. Major (see list of works under Major & Stacy-Judd). Their collaboration appears to have been moderately successful, but it was brief, and by 1922 the partnership had been dissolved. He was also a prolific writer, and he adopted the pseudonym ' Buildicus' in 1922 to prepare a series of lengthy articles on contemporary architectural design which were published in the local Calgary newspaper called The Calgary Daily Herald (inf. Robert Hamilton, of Hamilton, Ont.). A list of these ten essays is included below under "Selected Essays"
Stacy-Judd moved to Los Angeles, Calif. in late 1922 where he remained for the duration of his career. He claimed to be “..the first architect to utilize Mayan architectural motifs under modern American conditions”, but his claim ignored the earlier work by such architects as Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles where Wright incorporated Mayan motifs in his designs for the Millard House (1923). The most interesting example of Stacy-Judd’s ideas of Mayan expressionism can be seen in his eclectic design of the Aztec Hotel in the Monrovia neighbourhood of Los Angeles (1925), where he incorporated dense and richly ornate stucco decoration to the entrance façade and cornice elements of the building.
Stacy-Judd died at Canoga Park, California on 10 February 1975 (biog. Clement Lounsberry, North Dakota History & People: Outlines of American History, 1917, iii, 475-76; biog. and list of works in Ward County Independent [Minot], 30 Jan. 1919, 1; biog. and port. Calgary Daily Herald, 6 March 1920, 21; biog. Who’s Who in America, xvii, 1932-33, 2166; xxvi, 1950-51, 2609; biog. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects, 1982, iv, 119; biog. and works in Alison Sky & Michelle Stone, Unbuilt America, 1976, 235-7, illus.; biog. Who Was Who in America 1977-1981, vii, 541; biog. R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2001, Vol. ii, 679). A full monograph on the work and theories of this architect, written by David Gebhard, was published in 1993 entitled Robert Stacy-Judd: Maya Architecture and the Creation of a New Style. A photographic portrait of Stacy-Judd, together with an interview, was published in the Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 1972, Section IV, page 1 and 4.
(works in North Dakota)
MINOT, N.D., Anglican Episcopal Church, South Main Street, 1915 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 24 June 1915, 12, descrip.)
MINOT, N.D., Union National Bank Block, Main Street at Central Avenue, new facade and major alterations, 1915 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 15 April 1915, 1, descrip.; 29 July 1915, 9, descrip.)
MINOT, N.D., Bethany Lutheran Church, 3rd Avenue S.E. at 3rd Street S.E., 1915 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 9 Sept. 1915, 1, illus.)
MINOT, N.D., First Christian Church, at the entrance to the Eastwood Addition, 1916 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 23 March 1916, 9, descrip.)
WILLISTON, N.D., The Armoury, 1915-16 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 26 Aug. 1915, 1, descrip.; 17 Aug. 1916, 16)
WILLISTON, N.D., The Elks Home, 1916 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 17 Aug. 1916, 16)
WILLISTON, N.D., First National Bank Block, 1916 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 17 Aug. 1916, 16)
DES LACS, N.D., public school, 1916 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 14 Sept. 1916, 1, descrip.)
MINOT, N.D., Kermott Block, West Central Avenue, for Dr. L.H. Kermott, 1916 (Ward County Independent [Minot], 12 Oct. 1916, 9)
(works in the Los Angeles region)
ALHAMBRA, CALIF., La Granada Hotel, South Garfield Avenue, 1924 (Los Angeles Times, 9 March 1924, Section Five, 14, descrip.)
OJAI, CALIF., The Krotona Institute of Theosophy, Hermosa Road, 1924 (David Gebhard & R. Winter, Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles & Southern California, 1982, 500, illus.; Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 1994, Ventura County Life Section, page 19, illus. & descrip.)
MONROVIA, CALIF., The Aztec Hotel, White Oak Avenue at Magnolia Street, 1924-25; major addition and alterations, 1937 (Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 1924, Section Five, 7; 26 Aug. 1926, Section Two, 10; 24 April 1927, Features Section, 1, illus.; Pacific Coast Architect [San Franciso], xxxm Nov. 1926, 26, 28, 29-31, illus.; Western Architect [Minneapolis], xxxvi, July 1927, 109-16, illus.; Monrovia Daily News-Post [Monrovia], 21 Jan. 1938, Supplement for Aztec Hotel, pp. 1 to 4, illus. & descrip.; David Gebhard & R. Winter, Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles & Southern California, 1982, 359, 657, illus.)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF., large residence for Charles Stone, Summit Drive, in Beverly Ridge, 1925 (Los Angeles Times, 10 May 1925, Section Five, 5 & 8, illus. and descrip.; 4 Dec. 1927, Section Five, 6, port. of the architect with model)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF., large residence for S.S. Woodbury, Summit Drive, in Beverly Ridge, 1925 (Los Angeles Times, 10 May 1925, Section Five, 5 & 8, illus. and descrip.; 4 Dec. 1927, Section Five, 6, port. of the architect with model)
SOBOBA HOT SPRINGS, CALIF., a group of 21 cottages, with nearby heating plant, 1925 (Los Angeles Times, 27 Sept. 1925, Section Five, p. 5; 20 May 1931, 18, descrip.)
SAN JACINTO, CALIF., Women’s Club of San Jancinto, Rowana Street at 2nd Street, 1926 (David Gebhard & R. Winter, Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles & Southern California, 1982, 413-14, illus.)
LA JOLLA, CALIF., The La Jolla Country Club, 1926-27 (Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 1926, 10; 24 April 1927, Features Section, 2)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF., mansion for T.A. Willard, Benedict Canyon Drive at Roxbury Drive, 1929 (Los Angeles Times, 17 March 1929, Section Five, 6, illus. & descrip.)
VENTURA, CALIF., First Baptist Church, Santa Clara Street at Laurel Street, 1930 (Los Angeles Times, 21 Sept. 1930, Section Five, 2; 27 March 1932, Section One, 14; 20 Aug. 1933, 21, illus.)
LOS ANGELES, CALIF., The Atwater Bungalows, Avon Park Terrace at Park Drive, 1931 (David Gebhard & R. Winter, Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles & Southern California, 1982, 178, illus.)
LOS ANGELES, CALIF., Southwest Topics Printing Plant, South Vermont Avenue at West 84th Street, for Luther S. Gahan, 1933 (Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 1933, 21, descrip.; 20 Aug. 1933, 21, illus.)
SHERMAN FOREST, CALIF., residence for N.E. Monroe, 1933 (Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 1933, 21, illus.)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIF., House of Philosophy, Griffith Park Avenue at Los Feliz Boulevard, 1935-36 (Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 1935, 20; 3 Nov. 1935, Section Five, 4, descrip.; 17 Nov. 1935, Section Five, 4, illus.)
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIF., Masonic Temple, Tujunga Avenue, 1951 (David Gebhard & R. Winter, Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles & Southern California, 1982, 278, illus.)
Selected Essays
"Buildicus", a pseudonym for the Calgary architect Robert Stacy-Judd, a series of essays published in the Calgary Herald in 1922, under various titles, including:
Chats on Practical Architecture, Calgary Herald, 21 Jan. 1922, 31
Slecting The Site, Calgary Herald, 28 Jan. 1922, 7
Telling the Public the Absolute Truth about Present Building, Calgary Herald, 11 Feb. 1922, 16
Office Block Design, Calgary Herald, 18 Feb. 1922, 7
Planning a Small & Medium Sized House, Calgary Herald, 1 April 1922, 7
Planning a Rural School Building, Calgary Herald, 8 April 1922, 15
Interior Design of a House, Calgary Herald, 29 April 1922, 9
Roof Design for Houses, Calgary Herald, 6 May 1922, 18
Fireplace Design, Calgary Herald, 20 May 1922, 10
Bungalow Design, Calgary Herald, 27 May 1922, 26
Stacy-Judd, Robert B., ‘Spanish and Aztec Architectural Forms Combined’, in Arts & Decoration [New York], xxix, May 1928, 74, 126.
Stacy-Judd, Robert B., ‘Wanted: An All-American Architecture’, in The Architect & Engineer [San Francisco], cxv, Dec. 1933
Stacy-Judd, Robert B., ‘Some Local Examples of Mayan Adaptations’ in The Architect & Engineer [San Francisco], cxvi, February 1934, 21-30, illus.
Stacy-Judd, Robert B., ‘The National Hall Project, Los Angeles’, a visionary scheme for a huge auditorium seating 23,000, with office block, department store and theatre seating 2,500, in The Architect & Engineer [San Francisco], cxvi, February 1934.
Stacy-Judd, Robert B., The Ancient Mayas, Adventures in the Jungles of Yucatan, c. 1934, a full book on the subject of Mayan architecture.
Stacy-Judd, Robert B., ‘Maya Architecture: Architect-Explorer Replies to Critic‘, in The Architect & Engineer [San Francisco], cxxiv, Feb. 1936, 19-23. This article was a rebuttal by Stacy-Judd to an earlier article by Gerhardt Kramer which appeared in the same journal in August 1935.