Leon and Margie Armantrout stand among the rare couples whose partnership not only shaped a family, but helped shape a city. Their story is woven through Redlands’ architectural character, educational landscape, and cultural identity.
A Vision Rooted in Place and Purpose
When Leon and Margie settled in Redlands in 1960, they didn’t simply adopt the community — they chose to help steward it. What followed was a lifelong effort to protect what made Redlands unique while helping guide it into modernity with grace and imagination.
Leon: Architecture as Service
A trained architect with a keen eye for proportion, landscape, and history, Leon believed that buildings should elevate the human experience. His designs are marked by clarity, quiet confidence, and an unmistakable respect for the spaces and stories around them.
Just as important as the buildings he created were the ones he saved. Leon became a leading voice for restoration and adaptive reuse, helping ensure that Redlands’ historic structures were not erased in the name of progress, but honored, preserved, and given new life. His advocacy helped foster a preservation culture that remains one of the city’s defining traits.
Colleagues and community leaders often described him as an “architectural conscience” for Redlands — someone who reminded the city of its own identity, beauty, and responsibility to the future.
Margie: Education as Transformation
While Leon shaped the physical character of Redlands, Margie helped shape its educational soul.
A passionate advocate for Montessori philosophy, Margie believed deeply in the potential of children and in the power of learning environments that cultivate independence, curiosity, peace, and respect. Her leadership helped lay the foundation for a thriving Montessori presence in Redlands, supporting schools and programs that emphasize whole-child learning and community-minded values.
Together, Leon and Margie championed the development of Montessori in Redlands and The Grove School — not only through their personal involvement, but also through the establishment of charitable support that ensures these educational opportunities continue for future generations.
A Legacy That Lives On
Through buildings designed with intention and imagination; through historic structures preserved for the future; through public spaces and private places that reflect his devotion to aesthetics and community well-being.
Through Montessori programs, foundations, and collaborative partnerships created or supported by Margie and Leon — all of which continue to shape how children in Redlands learn, grow, and interact with the world.
Through decades of volunteerism, stewardship, civic service, and advocacy that have helped maintain the city’s distinctive character and elevate its vision of itself.
Through the countless lives touched by their gentleness, their steadiness, their belief in beauty, and their insistence that good work — quiet work — can ripple outward for generations.