E.C. Wilson Jr.; Architect of Getty Museum

Architect Ernest Clifford Wilson Jr., whose projects included such disparate designs as the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu and the Richard M. Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, died Tuesday at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach of complications from a stroke. He was 68.

Wilson, who with Robert Langdon founded Langdon Wilson Architecture Planners in 1951, over the years produced structures credited with shaping the faces of Orange and Los Angeles counties. At his death, he was senior partner of Langdon Wilson, based in Newport Beach, and president of Koll International, where he was involved in the planning and development of hotels and golf resorts in Baja California.

Wilson is credited with designing more major office towers in Orange County than any other architect. His work included the Wells Fargo Tower and the Taco Bell headquarters in Koll Center Irvine North. The firm did the master planning of Irvine Spectrum, Jamboree Center and the Koll Center.

Langdon Wilson also designed 22 office buildings and collaborated on six more on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The CNA Tower at 6th Street and Commonwealth Avenue, the nation’s first all-reflective glass building, was designed by Wilson, according to Pat Allen, a partner in the firm.

The firm has also designed buildings and planned communities throughout the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Spain, South Korea and Mexico.

Wilson’s involvement in the community brought key projects to the firm, including the Nixon library, associates said. Wilson met with the former President on several occasions to discuss the library design, Allen said.

For the Getty Museum, Wilson’s firm was faced with re-creating a 1st Century Roman villa on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Born in Burbank, Wilson graduated from the USC School of Architecture. He played on two Trojan football teams that went to the Rose Bowl.

He was a member of the American Institute of Architects and the USC Architectural Guild. He was honored in 1987 by The Executive magazine as one of 100 outstanding executives in real estate and construction.

Wilson is survived by his wife, Shirley; two sons, Peter and Ernest III; a daughter, Caroline Grazioli, two brothers and three grandchildren.

A celebration of his life is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club.