Charles August Hunter was born on May 15, 1886 in Paterson, New Jersey to Charles William Hunter and Maria Smith (nee Post) Hunter. As was common at this time, he learned the skills needed in architecture by apprenticeship. He was employed as a journeyman draftsman in the Montclair, New Jersey office of Francis A. Nelson, AIA. Hunter worked for Nelson for several years and would have learned the fundamentals of design and construction.

Charles married Florence “Flora” Jennie Jackson on April 15, 1908. Their son, Charles Francis Hunter, was born May 24, 1912. The family was living in Washington, DC by the middle of the second decade of the last century. Hunter, according to his World War I draft registration card, was of medium height and build with sandy hair and blue eyes. He did not serve on active duty during the war, but rather was employed by the U.S. Army and Veterans Bureau in the construction division.

Still working for the military, the Hunter family moved to Glendale, California in 1920. In 1925 he took the position of office manager with the architectural firm of Reginald D. Johnson. The Pasadena based firm was one of the most successful architectural practices in Southern California, completing many commissions in Pasadena and Glendale. The firm was known for their expertise with Mediterranean and English style residential architecture. The June 29, 1925 6.7 magnitude earthquake in Santa Barbara led to a Golden Age of Spanish Revival architecture in Southern California as that style was selected as the new official aesthetic for that historic city.  The Johnson firm thrived and Hunter’s role evolved into supervising architect.

In 1928 Charles opened his own firm, based in Glendale. He designed several homes in the Chevy Chase Estates neighborhood in Glendale.  In 1930 he was commissioned to design the Dana Point Inn by Sidney H. Woodruff, developer of ‘Hollywoodland’ in Los Angeles and much of the seaside town of Dana Point. This was the most significant commission in Hunter’s long career and brought him to South Orange County where he would spend the most productive years of his working life. Hunter designed a large Mediterranean structure that was to be built on the cliffs overlooking the coast.  The groundbreaking ceremony was held in January 1930 and the first foundations were poured and a 135-foot deep elevator shaft was excavated. As the old expression goes, timing is everything. Well, the timing could not have been worse. The stock market crash of October 1929, just three months before the groundbreaking, sapped the financial resources of Woodruff and ultimately doomed the project. Today, the elevator shaft and three dramatic poured in place concrete arches are all that remain.

As disappointing as the experience with the Dana Point Inn must have been, Hunter began to earn commissions for commercial and residential structures in Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente. He opened an office at 222 Forest in Laguna Beach in 1935.  Among his most notable projects are the San Clemente Casino, Rancho Tropico in San Clemente, the Dana Villa Inn, and the Excelsior Creamery Building in Laguna Beach. Between 1934 and 1951 he designed dozens of residential homes in Laguna Beach and Dana Point.  Hunter is also considered the most prolific architect in the development of the Three Arch Bay neighborhood. Some of his designs were featured in California Arts and Architecture, Architectural Digest and Sunset Magazine. Charles A. Hunter died on December 30, 1972 in Hemet, California.