Beelman was married to Lourene Taft Beelman (b. 1884, Ohio - d. 1948, Ca.). In 1910, he was a draftsman in the state of
Indiana. (Cite: U.S. Census Records, State of Indiana, 1910.) It was there they had a daughter, Helen Beelman (b. 1912). By the 1920s, the family had relocated to Los Angeles, and by 1930, they lived in
Beverly Hills.
From the 1920s on, Beelman, as partner or owner of one or another of several firms (
Curlett + Beelman;
Allison & Allison; Ruck & Beelman; Claud Beelman & Associates) designed a number of prominent civic and private structures. By 1956, Claude Beelman & Associates officed at 7421 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles 90036.
When he was in his seventies, Beelman designed the 12-story
Superior Oil building for oil tycoon
W.M. Keck. Completed in 1955, the Superior Oil building later became The Bank of California Building, and was used for the bank's offices until the 1980s. By the late 1990s, the building had been vacant for nearly ten years, but has been renovated beginning in 2000 by hotel developer
Andre Balazs, and now is the location of his hotel
The Standard.
It is the
zig-zag moderneEastern Columbia Building, however, with its facade of turquoise green
terra cotta tile, ornate clock tower, art deco lighting, fixtures, signage and architectural detail that is Beelman's most recognizable work. In 2006, the
Eastern Columbia Building was converted from office space to loft live/work spaces by the Kor Group and is now one of the most desirable loft buildings in Downtown Los Angeles.
On May 12, 2023, Beelman was posthumously awarded an Honorary Doctor of Architecture from Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
Works
Registered in The National Register of Historic Places
Some of the
California landmark buildings designed by Beelman include (All located in
Los Angeles, California unless otherwise noted):