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Theodore Criley

 

Son of Theodore Criley, Sr., a well-known 

artist from Lawrence, Kansas, Theodore Criley, 
Jr. was born in Los Angeles in 1905, and attended 
Stanford University and the University of Southern 
California’s School of Architecture. He earned his 
degree in architecture from the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology.  During WWII, he served as 
chief draftsman at US naval bases and an associate 
architect for a number of war-housing projects. 

 

After the war, he started his private practice and 
worked as a lecturer at Scripps College and the 
USC School of Architecture.
 

Fred McDowell, a fellow Claremont architect 

who had worked in the office of renowned architect, 
Richard Neutra, began working for Theodore Criley 
in 1952. In 1957, McDowell officially became a partner 
at Criley’s architectural practice. The Criley and 
McDowell partnership is known for their numerous 
projects at the Claremont college campus, including 
the master plans of the dormitory and classroom 
buildings at Pitzer College, the halls at Scripps 
College, and other buildings at the Claremont 
Graduate School and University Center. They were