Norman Foote Marsh (July 16, 1871 - September 5, 1955) was an American architect in practice in Los Angeles from 1900 until his retirement in 1945. He specialized in the design of schools and churches and worked mostly in California and Arizona. The firm he established in 1901 was active until its dissolution in 1997.

Life and career Norman Foote Marsh was born July 16, 1871, in Upper Alton, Illinois, to Ebenezer Marsh and Kate Marsh, née Provost. He was educated in the Upper Alton public schools and at Shurtleff College and the University of Illinois School of Architecture, graduating from the latter in 1897 with a BS in architecture. After graduation he joined the American Luxfer Prism Company, representing them in New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia. In 1900 he relocated to Los Angeles, where he formed the partnership of Preston & Marsh, architects, with J. N. Preston. This was dissolved after a year and he formed the new partnership of Marsh & Russell with Clarence H. Russell."Norman Foote Marsh" in A History of California, volume. 3 (Los Angeles: Historical Record Company, 1915): 637-638.

Marsh & Russell served as principal architects for the design and construction of the city of Venice in 1905, working for the developer Abbott Kinney. Venice's design includes canals and a central district along Windward Avenue with the look of an Italian Renaissance street.

Marsh & Russell was dissolved in 1907 and Marsh worked alone until 1915, when he formed Marsh & Howard with Herbert C. Howard, a long-time employee."Personal notes and business factors" in Southwest Contractor 16, no. 1 (November 6, 1915): 8. This was dissolved in 1917 and Marsh was again a sole practitioner until 1927, when he formed Norman F. Marsh & Company with engineer David D. Smith and architect Herbert J. Powell. At this time Marsh settled into an administrative role in the firm, delegating engineering to Smith and architectural design to Powell."Personal notes" in Southwest Builder and Contractor 50, no. 14 (October 5, 1917): 9."Architect broadens scope" in Architect and Engineer 88, no. 3 (March, 1927): 120. In 1928 Smith and Powell became full partners in the reorganized Marsh, Smith & Powell.

In 1912 Marsh established a branch office in San Diego under the management of architect V. O. Wallingford."News of churches," San Diego Sun, November 14, 1912, 5. In 1914 Marsh and Wallingford moved the office to Phoenix, Arizona."Marsh and Wallingford maintain local office," Arizona Republic, September 26, 1914, 3. Wallingford opened his own office in 1919, though Marsh and Wallingford continued to collaborate on certain projects.

Marsh and his partners designed more than twenty churches in the Los Angeles area (in Pasadena, Glendale, San Jose, Long Beach and elsewhere) and at least seven in San Diego. He designed houses in Hollywood, Ojai and elsewhere for prominent persons. He designed dozens of elementary and secondary schools and several university buildings in Arizona and California.

Personal life Marsh was married in 1901 to Cora Mae Cairns of Polo, Illinois. They had two children, one son and one daughter. From 1902 he lived in South Pasadena, where he was active in the community, serving on the boards of the YMCA and the public library. In 1955, during a brief illness, he moved into a sanitarium in Pasadena to recuperate. Instead, he died there on September 5, 1955, at the age of 84."Norman Foote Marsh, 84, retired architect, dies," Los Angeles Times, September 6, 1955, III-12.

Legacy Marsh retired in 1945, but his partners kept his name as part of the firm's until 1955, when they reorganized it as Smith, Powell & Morgridge, reflecting the addition of Howard H. Morgridge."Architectural and engineering firm changes name," Los Angeles Times, January 16, 1955, V-10. Smith died in 1964, and in 1965 the firm was reorganized as Powell, Morgridge, Richards & Coghlan."Area architects change name of partnership," Independent Star-News, February 14, 1965, 11. In 1977 Powell retired and the firm was renamed Morgridge, Bader, Richards & Coghlan."Firm changes name," Los Angeles Times, September 18, 1977, VIII-5. In 1979 the firm was renamed a final time to Howard H. Morgridge FAIA & Associates and moved its offices out of the city proper to Tustin. After retiring from full-time practice Morgridge maintained the firm in a small way from his home in Balboa. It was dissolved in 1997.California corporate filings, accessed September 27, 2024.

A number of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Architectural works Marsh & Russell, 1901–1907 1904 – Santa Monica Public Library, 503 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, California"Santa Monica, Los Angeles County," Carnegie Libraries of California, 2009. Accessed September 28, 2024. 1905 – City plan and buildings, Venice, California 1906 – Hollywood Public Library, Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, California"Hollywood, Los Angeles County," Carnegie Libraries of California, 2009. Accessed September 28, 2024. 1908 – South Pasadena Public Library, 1100 Oxley St, South Pasadena, California"South Pasadena, Los Angeles County," Carnegie Libraries of California, 2009. Accessed September 28, 2024.

Norman F. Marsh, 1907–1915 and 1917–1927 1909 – Mesa Union High School, 260 S Center Ave, Mesa, Arizona 1910 – Administration Building, University of Redlands, Redlands, California 1910 – Azusa Public Library, 213 E Foothill Blvd, Azusa, California"Azusa, Los Angeles County," Carnegie Libraries of California, 2009. Accessed September 28, 2024. 1910 – Park Place Methodist Episcopal Church South, 508 Olive St, San Diego With . 1911 – First Baptist Church, Garey and Holt Aves, Pomona, CaliforniaDavid Gebhard and Robert Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, ed. Robert Winter (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003): 463. 1912 – Phoenix Union High School (former), 512 E Van Buren St, Phoenix, Arizona With . 1913 – First Baptist Church (former), 906 10th Ave, San Diego 1913 – Women’s Club of South Pasadena, 1424 Fremont Ave, South Pasadena, California 1914 – Bisbee High School (former), 100 Old Douglas Rd, Bisbee, Arizona 1914 – Industrial Arts Building, Arizona State University, Tempe, ArizonaIndustrial Arts Building NRHP documentation (1985) 1914 – Monroe School, 215 N 7th St. Phoenix, Arizona 1916 – Jefferson High School, 1319 E 41st St, Los AngelesJefferson "High" to cost Quarter-Million – Los Angeles Times – July 4th, 1915 1920 – Fourth Avenue Junior High School, 450 S 4th Ave, Yuma, Arizona 1920 – Kenilworth Elementary School, 1210 N 5th Ave, Phoenix, ArizonaKenilworth Elementary School NRHP Inventory-Nomination Form (1982) 1923 – Flagstaff High School, 400 W Elm Ave, Flagstaff, ArizonaCoconino Sun, September 29, 1922, 9. 1925 – Friendship Baptist Church, 80 W Dayton St, Pasadena, California 1926 – Roosevelt School, 201 6th St, Yuma, Arizona 1926 – Second Baptist Church, 1100 E 24th St, Los Angeles 1927 – First Presbyterian Church, 402 W Monroe St, Phoenix, Arizona 1927 – Parkhurst Building, Santa Monica, California With

Marsh & Howard, 1915–1917 1918 – First Baptist Church, 6682 Selma Ave, Hollywood, CaliforniaAmerican Architect 112, no. 2170 (July 27, 1917): 8.

Norman F. Marsh & Company, 1927–1928 1928 – Memorial Chapel, University of Redlands, Redlands, California

Marsh, Smith & Powell, 1928–1955 1928 – Sierra Madre Congregational Church, 170 W Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CaliforniaDavid Gebhard and Robert Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, ed. Robert Winter (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003): 449. 1930 – South Pasadena Public Library, 1100 Oxley St, South Pasadena, CaliforniaDavid Gebhard and Robert Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, ed. Robert Winter (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003): 436. 1935 – Hollywood High School, 1521 Highland Ave, Hollywood, CaliforniaHollywood High School Historic District NRHP Registration Form (2012) 1935 – Roosevelt School, 801 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CaliforniaDavid Gebhard and Robert Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, ed. Robert Winter (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003): 57. 1937 – South Pasadena High School auditorium, 1401 Fremont Ave, South Pasadena, CaliforniaDavid Gebhard and Robert Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, ed. Robert Winter (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003): 437. 1939 – El Monte High School, 3048 Tyler Ave, El Monte, CaliforniaDavid Gebhard and Robert Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, ed. Robert Winter (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003): 459. 1939 – Pier Avenue School (former), 710 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, CaliforniaDavid Gebhard and Robert Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, ed. Robert Winter (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003): 82. 1950 - Willow Glen Middle School (Formally Edwin Markham Junior High School) 2105 Cottle Ave, San Jose, California 1950 - Willow Glen High School, 2001 Cottle Ave, San Jose, California 1952 – Schauerman Library, El Camino College, Torrance, CaliforniaDavid Gebhard and Robert Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, ed. Robert Winter (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003): 115.

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