‘Gentleman’ builder Paul Matt, who worked on Crystal Cathedral and other landmarks, dies at 85

Paul Matt, a veteran Southern California builder and longtime Newport Beach resident, has died. He was 85.

Matt, co-founder of Santa Fe Springs-based MATT Construction, had put his thumbprint on iconic Southern California buildings from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla and the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, to the Petersen Automotive Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art Resnick Pavilion, to the Hollywood Bowl and Wilshire Boulevard Temple restorations.

Matt died June 30 at Hoag Hospital of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, surrounded by family. He had lived in Newport Beach for more than 45 years.

Architect Michael Palladino worked with Matt on a number of projects, including the Crystal Cathedral and the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills. He said Matt brought a “gentleman’s approach” to building.

“Paul approached construction looking to be fair and efficient,” said Palladino, design partner with Richard Meier & Partners. “It’s what we all assume is normal, but Paul did this the best.”

Matt was born on June 1, 1932, in Rome, N.Y. He was an Air Force veteran who used the G.I. Bill to earn his structural engineering degree from the Oregon Institute of Technology.

He worked as a welder on The Dalles Dam in Oregon after his military service and as a surveyor for the George A. Fuller Co.

In 1962, he was the job superintendent for the Louis Kahn-designed Salk Institute; Matt helped develop the concrete forming system that made the modern building possible, according to his biography on his company website. He became a senior executive and director at C.L. Peck (now Jones & Jones) before leaving to start MATT Construction in 1991 with his son Steve and brother Al.

Billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad, who worked with Matt on his namesake art museums, said he and his wife “are saddened by the loss of Paul Matt, whose iconic buildings have become unmistakable Los Angeles landmarks.”

“We were grateful to have the opportunity to work with Paul and his team on The Broad and the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA,” Broad said in a statement. “We will miss Paul’s collaborative spirit, innovative thinking and his willingness to take on the most challenging of projects, but we know his legacy and his work will live on through his son Steve and all the talented builders at MATT Construction.”

Matt is survived by his second wife, Cathy; children Steven, Colleen and Neil; 11 grandchildren and five siblings. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Evelyn, and three brothers.

Funeral services will be private, with a public celebration of life later this month. In lieu of flowers, those who knew Matt can send their memories to paulmattremembered@mattconstruction.com.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

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