Description
The Cliff and Lou Sawyer papers span 13 linear feet and date from circa 1930 to circa 1979. The collection is primarily composed
of architectural drawings and reprographic copies of restaurants designed by the Sawyers as well as project notes, ephemera,
newspaper clippings, small sketches of restaurant exteriors, and disbound scrapbook pages which document the many restaurants
designed by the husband and wife team.
Background
Cliff and Lou Sawyer were a husband and wife design team whose work consisted primarily of designing and decorating food and
beverage establishments in southern California. Lou Sawyer was born in the Basque country in the Pyrenees between France and
Spain in 1905. Cliff Sawyer was born in Boston in 1896. Lou met her husband Cliff Sawyer in Paris, where he was studying art
and design. The two left France for California in the early 1930s. Once in California, the two began an interior design business
together. In 1966, Cliff Sawyer died and Lou Sawyer carried on the business, completing her 368th job by 1968. Lou Sawyer
died in 1995. Over the course of their careers some of their more notable projects include: the original Luau in Beverly Hills,
Don the Beachcomber in Palm Springs, Pago Pago in Long Beach and Tucson, Arizona, and the Reef in Casper, Wyoming.
Extent
13.0 Linear feet
(2 record storage box and 3 flat file drawers)
Availability
Partially processed collection, open for use by qualified researchers.