| Notes |
Marin Independent Journal
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1999
Section B, pages 1 & 3
Renowned architect Chuck Bassett of Mill Valley dies at 77
Critic Allan Temko praised him as 'one of the finest' by Beth Ashley
IJ Senior features writer.
Edward Charles "Chuck" Bassett of Mill Valley, one of California's most distinguished architects, has died after a massive stroke. He was 77.
A man who shunned the limelight, Bassett designed some of San Francisco's best known buildings: the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, the Bank of America headquarters, the Crocker Galleria and the Industrial Indemnity building, his favorite.
He was the design partner of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architectural firm in San Francisco for 21 years, until his retirement in 1981.
He died Saturday, following the stroke 10 days earlier.
"He was a brilliant designer," said Wally Costa of Lafayette, a former colleague. "His work was classic in its feeling, but at ths same time very contemporary. It was beautifully thought out and beautifully executed."
San Francisco architectural critic Allan Temko called Bassett "one of the finest architects ever to practice. He designed buildings all over this country and in several countries abroad: the Australian Mutual Provident Society complex in Melbourne, the Royal Dutch Shell headquarters in The Hague, and the U.S. Embassy complex in Moscow.
With all his accomplishments, he consistently refused newspaper interviews, preferring to live quietly with his family in Mill Valley, his home for 35 years. "He never through anyone was less or more than he," said his wife, Doris. "Everyone was a fellow human being."
Said San Francisco artist Mark Adams, who created tapestries for many of Bassett's buildings: "He was a man of great talent and modesty, interested in everything, a warm and private man who believed that the way to perfection was hard work."
Bassett was born in Port Huron, Mich., in 1921. As a teen-ager he often helped out in the office of his architect father.
He enrolled in architecture studies at the University of Michigan, but left during World War II to serve in the infantry. He was in combat throughout the South Pacific and was wounded on Okinawa.
Back home, he married Doris "Dory" West, a close friend since elementary school. "I had never thought about marrying him," she said, "but when I heard he was wounded, I just fell apart."
They returned to the University of Michigan, where both enrolled under the GI Bill; while he was in the Army, she had been a WAC.
Upon graduation from Michigan, Bassett was awarded the Alpha Rho Chi medal and was elected to Tau Sigma Delta and Phi Kappa Phi honorary scholastic fraternities.
In 1951, he received a master's degree in architecture from Crankbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where he was a member of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen's last studio.
From 1950 to 1955, he served an architectural apprenticeship with Eliel's son, the world-famous Eero Saarinen, in his office in Bloomfield Hills.
Bassett then moved to San Francisco to join Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Among his designs for the firm were the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Kamuela, Hawaii, the San Francisco Opera House addition, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseuam complex.
His work brought him many honors, among them the Brunner Prize in Architecture from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the Award of Honor from the city and county of San Francisco, and the Maybeck Award from the California Council of the American Institute of Architects.
He was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and an academician at the National Academy of Design.
He also served as architect-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome and on review panels and boards for the State Department, the University of Washington and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
Former colleague Dave Larson of San Mateo remembered Bassett as "a complete architect, interested in design and also the contruction aspect of every project. He was an inspiration to me and a great many others. He was an in-charge kind of person and, because of that, everyone learned a great deal from him. I had complete admiration for the man."
Bassett called himself "a contextual architect," interested in the complete marriage of a building to its site and the landscape around it.
He was also a tireless reader and assembled a collection of rare books on art, architecture and landscaping.
He loved boats from childhood, and in later years owned his own sailboat, which he berthed at the San Francisco Yacht Club in Belvedere. He was a fine sailor, according to his wife, but not a racer. "He loved the water and was not the least fearful of it."
Bassett is survived by his wife; four children - Christine Carlisle of San Francisco, Ann Bassett Wheelock of Tiburon, Joseph Antoine Bassett of Mill Valley and Peter Newton Bassett of Garberville - and three grandchildren.
In accordance with his wishes, no memorial service will be held.
The family suggest memorial contributions to "your favorite Bay Area museum."
(Allan Temko authored a wonderful obituary which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, Sept. 3, 1999, Section D, page 7)
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Bassett Family Association Database
1921 - 1999 (77 years)