page_title: Charles Luckman
section_title: Charles Luckman Associates
hierarchical_section_title: Charles Luckman / Architecture / Charles Luckman Associates
caption_attribution_description: English: LAX Theme Building in Los Angeles
context_page_description: Charles Luckman was an American businessman, property developer, and architect known for designing landmark buildings in the United States such as the Theme Building, Prudential Tower, Madison Square Garden, and The Forum. He was named the "Boy Wonder of American Business" by Time magazine when president of the Pepsodent toothpaste company in 1939. Through acquisition, he later became president of Lever Brothers. Luckman would later collaborate with William Pereira, in which the two would form their architectural firm, Pereira & Luckman, in 1950. Pereira & Luckman would later dissolve by 1958, parting ways for both himself and Pereira. Luckman would continue successfully with his own firm, Charles Luckman Associates. Luckman retired from the firm, although he would still be present.
  Aside from his business and architectural work, Luckman did public work that dates back during World War II. He was appointed on the President's Committee on Civil Rights during the Truman administration, as well as being the chairman of the Citizens Food Committee and the Freedom Train; both of which helped out Europe. As a result of his work in Europe, Luckman was honored with the Order of St.
context_section_description: After parting ways in 1958, Luckman went on to establish his own firm, Charles Luckman Associates. The firm soon had offices in Boston, Chicago, and Phoenix, in addition to Los Angeles, and by 1968 was one of the country's five largest architectural practices.
  In April 1960, a $50 million overall revamp project of the airport, known as the "Los Angeles Jet Age Terminal Construction Project", began at the Los Angeles International Airport. Luckman, along with his former partner, Pereira, and Welton Becket of Los Angeles, were contracted to design the Theme Building. The Theme Building was a concept that Luckman had in mind since 1953. In the original conception, the Theme Building was to be a much larger structure that would have consisted primarily of a glass dome that was meant to be LAX's main ticketing area and terminals. However, the plan was scaled back dramatically before construction even began.
  The Theme Building would have also hosted a revolving restaurant, giving patrons a 360-degree view of the surrounding area. The mechanism soon proved to be too costly to maintain, and the restaurant became stationary. The Theme Building opened to the public in 1961. 
  Luckman would later become known for his innovative use of steel. Originally, now gone, there was a second minor Theme-like building: the airport Standard Oil Service Station, which was situated east of the Theme Building. The service station was designed by Luckman in 1962, with Becket and Paul R. Williams. Its design repeated the theme of the circle in its wide cantilevered canopy, matched by its small circular drum for an office. The service station would receive an architectural award of excellence from the American Institute of Steel Construction for the "imaginative use of steel beyond its function as a basic support frame." Luckman designed the Federal Pavilion for the 1964 New York World's Fair, for which he received a jury award for the simple and bold structure that utilized dramatic engineering approach through the use of steel.
  Luckman's firm went on to design the Prudential Tower in Boston, The Forum in Inglewood, Aon Center in Los Angeles, and the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. Furthermore, Luckman is responsible for the design of Madison Square Garden in New York, and the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Although Madison Square Garden did not open to the public until 1968, Luckman started designing the center prior to receiving the commission for the Forum.
  In 1968, Luckman's second son, James, became president of the firm, while he became chair of the board. That same year, Luckman sold his firm to the Ogden Corporation, a real estate developer based in Southern California, and became president of its subsidiary, Ogden Development. Luckman would retire from the firm in 1977, although he remained an active presence there. The Charles Luckman Associates was eventually reorganized as the Luckman Partnership, with James Luckman holding the position of president until his retirement in 1991.
caption: The Theme Building, designed by Luckman with William Pereira and Welton Becket.
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