What do Fresno’s Saroyan Theater, Valley Children’s Stadium, and Selland Arena have in common? They’re not just places of civic, cultural and athletic achievement, they’re all the work of one architect. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots – the story of Robert W. Stevens.
Born in Minnesota, Stevens grew up in Southern California and studied architecture at USC. He settled in Fresno after World War II and quickly became one of the top local architects of the mid-century era.
His designs blended the Southern California modernism of architects like Richard Neutra with a more rustic Central Valley flavor. He mixed steel and glass with local materials like adobe bricks and cedar shingles. His designs were also adapted to the valley’s climate, with broad eaves and other features to create shade during the harsh summer heat.
Everywhere you look in Fresno and the valley, you’ll find his work: Fresno’s Hoover High School. Fresno State’s art building. Theformer Fresno Hilton hotel. The many branches of former Guarantee Savings and Loan all are his designs.
Stevens’ imprint is most visible on Fresno’s Shaw Avenue where developers built dozens of his low-slung garden office buildings, each with open air garden atriums to bring in natural light, while also providing protection from direct sunlight.
His designs would be built across California, Nevada and as far away as Georgia and Florida. Stevens became a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1979, the AIA’s highest membership honor.
