Don Wheeler
WE LOST A FRIEND – ODE TO DON WHEELER
Santa Monica has lost a friend as Don Wheeler, a local architect who made his mark on the city, passed away after medical complications in June of 2022.
His practice in Santa Monica spanned over forty years; working as an independent in his own firm, as half of Spiess/Wheeler Partners with close friend Greg Spiess, and at various local firms like RTK, founded by former Santa Monica Councilman and Mayor Herb Katz, FAIA. He was responsible for a number of buildings in the area, both residential and commercial, and worked on many projects to benefit the homeless community and persons with disabilities.
Don originally hailed from the East Coast, growing up in Leominster, Massachusetts. He joined the military and, after discovering a knack for spatial problem solving while serving in the Air Force in Korea, he trained in draftsmanship and design work. Wanting to continue this path, he put himself through architecture school at the Boston Architectural College. While there, he studied under many notable teachers, including Josep Lluís Sert, Dean at Harvard and a contemporary of the Bauhaus, whom Don also worked with while in school. After graduation, he worked at the noted Boston firm CBT, assisting in the renovations of the Pine Street Inn, a Boston landmark known for its pioneering support of the homeless and indigent.
Don carried that progressive reformist zeal with him as he moved to the West Coast in the late seventies, continuing to be involved with homeless shelter projects while also working on residential and commercial properties. One of his first projects when landing in LA was to serve as Project Architect with Kamnitzer Cotton Vreeland Architects on the competition-winning Promenade Plaza across from the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. His dedication to the homeless continued with his pro bono work with longtime activist Shirley Quarmyne and her Queue-Up organization, known for renovating facilities to becoming training centers and restaurants employing the homeless and for planning affordable housing units in the Crenshaw and Crescent Heights neighborhoods.
When he founded his own office in Santa Monica, Don became very involved in the redevelopment of the downtown Santa Monica area. He was a local fixture at Planning Board hearings and the Building Department and served prominently on the Board of Directors at the onset of the renovations to the Third Street Promenade. Over the years, he worked on numerous projects in the area, most notably the Pacific Court mixed-use complex on the southeast corner of 5th St and Santa Monica Boulevard, signature restaurants like Bikini and Real Food Daily, and office and commercial property renovations like the Bayside Arts Building on the Third Street Promenade and the Weathervane on Montana Ave. He enjoyed all of his projects and was particularly proud of his innovative design work on the Oldsmobile garage loft conversion that became the 18th Street Arts Center. In his later years, Don continued to work on commercial and restaurant properties all over Los Angeles, including the Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas and Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica (also one of his favorite hangouts), and continued to dedicate his time to making accessibility improvements for the disabled at commercial properties and restaurants throughout the region.
Don loved listening to music and dancing at local haunts like Harvelle’s in Santa Monica and for years was an active member of the darts team at Ye Olde King’s Head. He performed in various groups and in jam sessions, playing guitar and later learning the Djembe drum. He loved to share the story that he started his architectural practice in the “yellow house” behind the Santa Monica Greyhound Bus Station that was mentioned in the rock history book No One Here Gets Out Alive as the place where the Doors used to rehearse. He was an avid photographer, artist, and gourmet cook, and enjoyed visiting art museums, watching basketball and tennis, and biking and roller skating at the beach.
If you were to ask him to define himself, though, he would tell you that first and foremost he was an Architect with a capital A. It was his true vocation and he felt very lucky to have worked on such a variety of projects with so many talented people.
To fulfill one his last wishes before he passed, some of his ashes were scattered from a hot air balloon above the vineyards of Temecula, a trip he was hoping to take for his 80th birthday. In addition, a service to commemorate his time in the Air Force took place at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood, where he was also interred, and a small memorial was held at Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica.
One of Don’s favorite songs was “Working Class Hero” and he often thought of himself as such. Humble and hardworking, he gave generously to the Santa Monica and Los Angeles communities and businesses and loved all of his time here as a Californian.
Don leaves behind a son and daughter and a grandchild along with an extended group of family and friends.
We will miss Don, his sense of humor, his enthusiasm, and his creativity, and we hope he is at peace.
A get-together at Ye Olde King’s Head will be held on June 24, 2023, from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m., and we would like to invite all who knew Don to attend as we remember him fondly on the anniversary of his passing.
Details can be found here:
http://evite.me/pCmHTpExrd
Don’s Memorial Page at Legacy.com (if you would like to leave messages or thoughts):
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/don-wheeler-obituary?id=52179066
