Ernest Weihe (1893-1968) and Edward Frick (1891-1977)

The firm of Weihe, Frick & Kruse was established in San Francisco in 1941 and dissolved in 1965. Ernest Weihe (1893-1968) and Edward Frick (1891-1977) were already established San Francisco architects, both having worked in the firm of Bakewell & Brown. After the breakup of that firm in 1927, Weihe partnered with John Bakewell to form Bakewell & Weihe, and Ed Frick joined with Arthur Brown, Jr. to form Brown & Frick. Frick and Weihe formed Weihe, Frick & Kruse with Lawrence Kruse (1874-1971) in 1941. Large projects completed by Weihe, Frick & Kruse include the completion of Grace Cathedral, the San Francisco Hall of Justice, and several buildings for the UC Berkeley campus. The firm also designed the National Memorial of the Pacific in Hawaii. 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.

The bulk of the Weihe, Frick & Kruse collection consists of records documenting Weihe, Frick & Kruse projects. The collection also contains records from predecessor firms of Brown & Frick, and Bakewell & Weihe, as well as material created by the successor firm of William B. Fox. Materials include a few student drawings by Edward Frick and project files and drawings of Frick, and Bakewell & Weihe. Project files and drawings also document Weihe, Frick & Kruse projects, as well as Grace Cathedral, the largest project in the collection.