James Homer Garrott Jr.[1]
Garrott, c. 1915
Born	June 19, 1897 Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Died	June 9, 1991(1991-06-09) (aged 93) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Architect
Spouse	Helen Ruth Duncan ​ ​ (m. 1942; died 1973)​

James Homer Garrott Jr. (1897–1991), was an American architect active in the Los Angeles area in the mid-20th century. He designed more than 200 buildings, including twenty-five churches and several public buildings.^[2] He has been described as a "pivotal black avant garde modernist of the 1940s era."^[3]

James Homer Garrott Jr. was born on June 19, 1897, in Montgomery, Alabama.^[4] Garrott graduated from Los Angeles Polytechnic High School in 1917. He earned his architect's license in 1928. Garrott's first major achievement was as co-designer of the 1928 Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company. From 1926 to 1928, Garrott worked with Cavagliere Construction Company of Los Angeles.^[5] He then studied Architecture at the University of Southern California from 1930 to 1934.^[6]

Garrott was a close friend of the eminent civil rights attorney Loren Miller. In early 1940, Garrott designed both of their Silver Lake split-level homes at 647 and 653 Micheltorena Street.^[7]

In 1946, Garrott was the second African-American admitted to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in Los Angeles, after Paul R. Williams.^[4] His application was sponsored by Williams and Gregory Ain.

Garrott and Ain shared office space in the Granada Building beginning in 1940.^[8][9] Then they worked together in a "loose partnership" in the 1940s and 50s, and together designed a small office building that they shared in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. They were alternately “Garrott & Ain” or “Ain & Garrott,” depending on who was responsible for design, while on other projects they simply assisted each other's solo work without credit.^[10] After World War II, Garrott and Ain together designed and built their architectural office, at 2311 Hyperion Avenue, within walking distance from Garrott's home.^[11]

Garrott was “politically well connected” and received nine commissions from the Los Angeles County Government in the late 1950s.^[2] Yet the Los Angeles Tribune commented: "James Garrott, Paul R. Williams, and Carey Jenkins, are the only Negro architects ever to get a public contract in this slate ... and except for Williams they get them infrequently."^[12]

He died on June 9, 1991, in Los Angeles, California^[4]

• 1928: (with Louis Blodgett) Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, Los Angeles, California
  • listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 (#98000712).^[5]
• 1929: (as Williams, Garrott & Young) St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, California
  • City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #987
• 1936: Mount Zion Baptist Church, Los Angeles, California
• [before 1939]: George A. Beavers, Jr. residence, Los Angeles, California
• 1940: Garrott Residence/Loren Miller residence, Los Angeles, California^[13]
• 1940: Apartment building for Grace F. Marquis, Fifth and New Hampshire streets, Los Angeles, California^[8]
• 1944: Bethlehem Baptist Church (unbuilt project), Los Angeles, California^[14]
• 1948: Dental Building for Dr. George Hurd, Santa Monica, California^[15]
• 1949: (with Gregory Ain) Ain & Garrott Office, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California^[16]
• 1950: John W. Bean & Verna Deckard residence, Los Angeles, California
• 1950: Moss Construction Co., Kenter Canyon, California
• 1950: (with Gregory Ain) Hamilton Methodist Church (unbuilt)
• 1951: (with Gregory Ain) Ben Margolis House, Los Angeles, California^[17]
• 1952: Harry Friedman & Bernice "Burr" Singer residence, Los Angeles, California^[18]
• 1953: M. Wesley Farr residence, El Segundo, California^[19]
• 1955: Firestone Sheriff's Station, Florence-Firestone, California^[20]
  • "considered the most modern law enforcement facility of its time."^[21]
• 1957: Lawndale Administrative Center, Lawndale, California
• 1958-60: (with Gregory Ain) Westchester Municipal Building, Los Angeles, California^[22]
  • David Gebhard described Garrott's design as “an anonymous building.”^[23]
• 1958-60: (with Gregory Ain) Loyola Village Branch Library, Los Angeles, California^[24]
• 1959: (with Gregory Ain) Ralph Atkinson residence, Monterey County, California^[25]
• 1960: Bodger County Park Director's Building, Hawthorne, California
• 1960: Del Aire County Park Director's Building, Hawthorne, California
• 1963: Victoria Park Pool and Bathhouse, Carson, California
• 1970: Carson Public Library, Carson, California^[4]

• African-American architects