Theatre Architects

Born: 1874 (Melbourne, Australia)

Died: 1956 (San Diego, California)

Australian-born Wheeler was educated in Melbourne where he also studied architecture, before emigrating to Canada in late 1893. Wheeler relocated to San Francisco by 1900 however after the devastating earthquake of 1906 he moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he was the supervising architect for the Southern Pacific Railway from 1907 to 1912.

In late 1912 or early 1913 Wheeler moved to San Diego from where he would operate a successful firm for 30 years. In San Diego, Wheeler is known for the Balboa Theatre (opened 1924), the Eagle’s Masonic Hall (both the original building in 1917 and the remodeling completed in 1934), Temple Beth Israel Synagogue (1926), and All Saints Episcopal Church (1928). Wheeler also designed the Angelus Temple in Los Angeles (1922).

In the late 1920s Wheeler founded the San Diego chapter of the AIA (American Institute of Architects). Around the same time he was appointed by the Governor of California as President of the State Board of Architecture, a title he would hold for eight years.

Wheeler was an accomplished operatic and vaudeville performer in his own right, and it is thought that his familiarity with entertainment and the arts led to some of the performance-enhancing features of the places of entertainment he designed, such as generously-sized orchestra and performer accommodations and favorable acoustics.

Theatres on this website in which this architect was involved:

Balboa Theatre, San Diego, California, USA