Weihe, Frick & Kruse (firm)

Name

Weihe, Frick & Kruse

Location

State: CA

This record has not been verified for accuracy.

Firm History Sources

American Architects Directories:
Listing in 1962 American Architects Directory
Biographical/Historical information:
Contributed by the Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley:
The firm of Weihe, Frick & Kruse was established in San Francisco in 1941 and dissolved in 1965. Ernest Weihe and Edward Frick were already established San Francisco architects, both having worked in the firm of Bakewell & Brown (1905-1927). After the dissolution of that firm in 1927, Weihe partnered with John Bakewell to form Bakewell & Weihe, and Edward Frick continued to work with Arthur Brown Jr. Bakewell & Weihe ended their partnership in 1941, when Weihe joined with Frick and Lawrence Kruse to found Weihe, Frick & Kruse.
Ernest Weihe (1893-1968) received his architecture degree from the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1923. He won the Paris Prize, an architecture scholarship to the Ecole, in 1919. Weihe served on the Architectural Commission of the Treasure Island Exposition in San Francisco from 1935-1939. He designed the "Portals of the Pacific" that drew visitors into the fair. Weihe was also a member of the California State Board of Architectural Examiners from 1939-1941.
Edward Frick (1891- 1977) won a $1,000 scholarship to the Ecole des Beaux Arts from the Architectural League of the Pacific Coast in 1912 for his design of "A Festival Hall and Open Air Theatre" for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. A year later, he went to Paris to study at the Ecole. His studies were interrupted by World War I, and he returned to San Francisco. When the U.S. entered the war, Frick enlisted in a detachment of engineers and architects and served in France from 1917-1919. He subsequently finished his studies at the Ecole, receiving his degree in 1922. Frick continued his association with Arthur Brown, Jr., after Bakewell & Brown dissolved in 1927. He served as Chief of the Division of Architecture for the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island from 1935 to 1939 and was a member of the San Francisco Art Commission from 1935 to 1945. Frick was also the principal assistant on several Arthur Brown, Jr. projects, including the Department of Labor and Interstate Commerce Commission buildings in Washington, D.C. and the Tower of the Sun on Treasure Island.
Lawrence Kruse (1894-1971) received his architectural training at the Harvard School of Architecture, graduating in 1921. Like Frick, he served with the detachment of U.S. engineers and architects in France from 1917-1919. Kruse also trained at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design in New York and at Atelier Arthur Brown, Jr. Before he helped founded Weihe, Frick & Kruse, he worked as a draftsman at Bakewell & Brown (1914-1920) and as an associate at Arthur Brown, Jr. & Associates (1923-1937).
William Fox (1911-1977) graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in architecture in 1939 and joined Weihe, Frick & Kruse in 1954. When the firm dissolved in 1965, Fox established his own firm and retained several Weihe, Frick & Kruse clients. After 1970, Fox worked for the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, inspecting hospitals and government buildings to ensure they adhered to fire and health safety codes. He also worked on home designs for builder Hal Rafael and engineers Wagner & Martinez.

Archival Holdings

Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley

Collection number 1978-3. Extent: 28 boxes, 18 flat file folders.
Weihe, Frick & Kruse worked on many significant projects, including San Francisco's Hall of Justice, the National Memorial of the Pacific in Honolulu, and the completion of Grace Cathedral (begun by Lewis P. Hobart). The bulk of the collection consists of records documenting architectural projects completed by the firm. It also includes student work by several of the partners and project records from the predecessor and successor firms of Bakewell & Weihe and William B. Fox. There is a lot of continuity between these firms, as all three principals had worked for Bakewell & Brown or Arthur Brown & Associates. Weihe, Frick & Kruse remodeled buildings originally designed by Bakewell & Weihe, such as the Frank B. King house.
Weihe, Frick & Kruse – and later, William B. Fox – completed, remodeled or did additions for many project originally designed by Bakewell & Brown or Arthur Brown, Jr. & Associates. Some of those records and drawings, such as the remodel of San Francisco's City Hall and additions to UC-Berkeley's Doe Library Annex, are included in the collection. In order to best capture this overlap, as well as the continuity of specific projects, the project files have been arranged alphabetically, rather than separated by firm. The collection is organized into three series: Series I, Personal Papers; Series II, Project Records; and Series III, Grace Cathedral.
Link to online finding aid: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf8j49p0h0

AIA Historical Directory of American Architects

ahd4005705