![[Bielski Picture]](BielskiM_02.JPG)
Mark Bielski (Maciej Saryusz-Bielski)
Architect and University Professor
by Margaret Bielski-Szalay
My father, Mark Bielski (Maciej Saryusz-Bielski), was born in Boryslaw, Poland (now Ukraine), on September 6, 1927. This will not be an objective biographical sketch, an impossible task for a doting daughter. l hope, however, to convey the multi-faceted personality of a talented, charming and energetic man who through many diverse contributions, continues to leave his imprint on the world of architecture, as well as the Polish community of Los Angeles.
My father spent the war years in Krakow, Poland where he was a member of the AK (Armia Krajowa, the Polish Underground movement). He left Poland in 1945, and spent two years in Italy, where he served with the Polish Second Corps. He eventually found his way to England, where he met and married my mother, Katarzyna (Kathrene) Wielkopolanin-Nowakowska, in 1949. l was born in 1950, my brother Janek, in 1953. My father graduated from South West Essex School of Architecture (London) in 1953, and we moved to Southern California in June, 1955.
My father immediately found work as a designer, and by the 1960's held the position of Senior Designer at Albert C. Martin and Associates. After several years with Welton Becket and Associates, (1969-1976), he became a partner in private practice: Associated Architects and Planners (AA&P). During this period he worked extensively on the restoration and rehabilitation of Saint Vibiana's Cathedral -- a historical landmark in downtown Los Angeles. From 1976 to 1988 he held the positions of Director of Architecture at E. Jerome Tamen and Associates and Vice President of Architecture at Cannell Heumann and Associates as well as pursuing private practice at home.
His completed projects represent an entire spectrum of facilities, functions and many national and international endeavors. They include the Arco Plaza shopping facility in downtown Los Angeles, Progressive Savings in Beverly Hills, the Glendale Municipal Services Office Building in Glendale, the Rogers Entertainment Center on Sunset Blvd. (for Kenny Rogers), the interior of the Regency Club for David Murdock, the master plan and total design for the Flintridge Riding Club, the Goldwater Department Store in Phoenix, Arizona, the Denver Department Store in Denver, Colorado, the Greenway Plaza Subterranean Shopping Center in Houston, Texas, and the City of Knox Regional Shopping Center near Melbourne, Australia.
Since 1986, he has held the position of Associate Professor and Chair of the Interior Design Department at Woodbury University in Burbank, California. In this position, he was responsible for having the program accredited with the prestigious FIDER Accreditation (Foundation for Interior Design Educational Research).
My father has always been an avid horseman, participating in equestrian sports. For twelve years (1970-82), he was a member of the West Hills Hunt, where he served on the Board of Directors for two consecutive years and was an honorary whipper-in for three seasons.
Teaching has always been a profession close to his heart and, in addition to his other activities, he has taught at several prestigious institutions in the Los Angeles area. In 1958-1963 he taught History of Architecture at Los Angeles City College, in 1981-1986 he taught History of Medieval and Renaissance Architecture on both the undergraduate and graduate levels at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCIARG). In the spring of 1983 he taught an introduction to Greco-Roman Architecture at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Architecture and history have always been my father's great loves and his incredible creativity comes from the depths of his heart; but his soul is purely Polish, firmly rooted in the traditions, history and culture of generations before him. It manifests itself in the many activities he has been intimately involved in since our arrival to this country. He and my mother immediately became part of a Polish folk dancing group, led by Mr. Henryk Jankowski. To this day, he can out dance all his contemporaries in a Mazur or Oberek. He gained the life-long respect, admiration and friendship of the "new" generation at several Polish camps (kolonie) when he spear-headed the organization of activities, hikes, dances and games, all of which he participated in himself, and always in great style.
My father's greatest contribution to the Polish community, however, was his role as Director of the exhibition entitled "The Invincible Polish Spirit" held at the County Museum of Science and Industry (December 1979 - April 1980). The incredible success of this endeavor is a manifestation of what my father is "all about": we saw the perfect blending of both his heart and soul in the accomplishment of this incomparable feat.
Today, my parents live in Sunland, California. My father still works at Woodbury University, but finds time to pursue what was probably his first love, horseback riding, which he does as often as he can with his granddaughter, Magda Szalay. He also plans and dreams of as many visits as possible to the land of his birth. He takes great pride in the accomplishments of his children. My brother, Janek, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Architecture from the University of Southern California, and pursued a graduate diploma from the Architectural Association in London, England. His work has been published in several prestigious architectural journals internationally. He is now in private practice in Los Angeles. He also teaches at the Art Center in Pasadena and Woodbury University in Burbank. l graduated with a BA in Anthropology from UCLA, and a Master's Degree in Library Science and presently teach history and geography at Milpitas High School, in Milpitas, California.
From: Polish Americans in California, vol. II. National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs & Polish American Historical Association. California 1995.