Man Without a Roof Joins Elite on Walls of Warner Center Gallery

There will be an unexpected face among portraits of corporate big shots and workers chosen to decorate the lobbies of Warner Center’s fanciest high-rises--that of the area’s only street person.

A photograph of Frank Perkins, who for five years has lived out of a shopping cart among the office buildings of the glitzy Woodland Hills industrial area, was one of 500 pictures taken for a contest commissioned by Warner Center’s major developer, the Voit Cos.

The photos were snapped last month by students from Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design. Perkins’ picture was included in an entry by Charlene Burroughs that won second place and $750.

“I found out later that he was Warner Center’s token bum,” said Burroughs, 23, of Burbank. “He was a really nice guy. His picture was my favorite shot of the 125 I took.”

The $1,000 first-place prize went to Patricia Tryforos, also 23, of Altadena. Her photos included striking views of executives in stately board rooms and on the grounds of the office complex.

Other photographs selected for display in Voit’s lobbies focused on construction workers building a 12-story office tower and employees of other businesses in the 1,100-acre Warner Center industrial area. Several also show Warner Center residents relaxing in the area’s park.

“I saw some hard hats come in and look at the pictures and nudge and kid each other about being on the wall,” said Fred Hutton, chairman of the college’s photography department.

“I think some of the Voit people, the architects, were a little disappointed that there weren’t more pictures of the buildings.”

But Robert Voit, president of the company, praised the portraits. He said previous photographs commissioned as lobby decorations have primarily depicted his development.

“We’d maybe overlooked the people aspect,” Voit said.

Voit said he is not embarrassed to include Perkins in the picture collection, which was displayed Thursday in a gallery and will later will be rotated among Voit’s buildings.

The pipe-puffing Perkins, 62, is a familiar figure in Warner Center. He said in an interview last year that he opted for life on the streets because he was unhappy with construction and cafe jobs.

“I’ve been on the road for 13 years and haven’t slept in a bed in 12,” he boasted.

Said Voit: “We’re trying to recognize Warner Center for what it is. He’s part of Warner Center, probably more so than I am.”