A Virginia-born architect who worked in Canada and Southern California, Barton Myers is remembered for major cultural, civic, and residential projects and a long career teaching at the University of Toronto and UCLA.
Myers built a significant body of work in Canada—cultural centers, university buildings, and civic projects—before relocating to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.
He combined practice and teaching, influencing generations of architects through faculty positions at the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and UCLA.
Major works include the Citadel Theatre (Edmonton), the former Seagram Museum (Waterloo), Art Gallery of Ontario Stage III, and multiple U.S. performing-arts centers.
# Overview
Barton Myers, an architect whose career spanned Canada and Southern California, has died at age 91. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he spent formative professional years in Toronto, where he taught at the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo and executed several notable cultural and educational projects. Later he established a presence in Los Angeles and lived in Santa Barbara in his later years.
# Career milestones
He moved to Toronto and formed a partnership with Jack Diamond in 1968. That partnership ended in 1975, and Myers founded Barton Myers Associates. During his time in Canada he built significant projects and taught architecture, leaving a visible imprint on public and institutional architecture across Ontario and Alberta.
In 1984 Myers opened an office in Westwood, Los Angeles, and later relocated to the West Coast full time. He maintained an active teaching role at UCLA while continuing to practice, designing houses in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles as well as civic buildings across the United States.
# Notable projects
Myers also designed innovative residential projects—most notably steel-and-glass houses in Southern California—and a notable sustainable family compound in Montecito that later went on the market after his wife's death.
# Teaching and influence
# Awards and recognition
# Personal and final years
# Why it matters
Myers's career bridged two national contexts—Canada and the United States—yielding civic, cultural, academic, and residential buildings that were widely published and awarded. He was active as a teacher at major universities while leading a practice that produced both large public buildings and experimental residences.
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