Arthur Froehlich (May 17, 1909 – October 3, 1985), was an American
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. His firm, Arthur Froehlich & Associates, is known for their mid-century commercial building designs, and
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
horse racetracks.
Biography
Froehlich was born in Los Angeles to a cattle and dairy farmer.
He attended Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles and studied at UCLA. One of his first jobs was drafting plans for
Santa Anita racetrack
Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...
, which opened in 1934.
He began his own firm in 1938, and became well known for his design of
Hollywood Park Racetrack
Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred horse racing, race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to The Forum (Inglewood, California), the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, t ...
in Inglewood, California.
Buildings credited to Arthur Froehlich & Associates
Froehlich's firm designed
Hollywood Park Racetrack
Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred horse racing, race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to The Forum (Inglewood, California), the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, t ...
in Inglewood, California;
Keeneland
Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...
in Lexington, Kentucky; and
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...
and
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...
, both in New York. He also designed tracks in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Panama, France and Trinidad. His firm also designed
Roosevelt Raceway
Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York.
Initially created as a venue for the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup auto race, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual ci ...
in
Roosevelt Field, New York
Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located in the East Garden City, New York, East Garden City section of Uniondale, New York, Uniondale, on Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerod ...
,
Garden State Park in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...
,
the Jack Rose Building in
Ventura, California
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...
, the Center 3 Theater in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, and the Wagon Wheel Bowling Alley in
Wagon Wheel Junction, Oxnard, California.
One of his most lavish designs was for Hipódromo Nacional at Caracas, Venezuela (A.K.A.
La Rinconada Hippodrome) in 1959. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote that year that his creations were as "bright and gay as a state fair." The magazine described them as colorful, spacious, and glamorous. The tracks were filled with art and lush landscaping and provided a comfortable and relaxing environment in which to gamble. Froehlich noted that a good racetrack design has to be "as efficient as a bank, as careful in its community relations as a department store and as comfortable as a public park."
The output of Froehlich's firm ranged from the mundane (a parking structure at UCLA), to the fantastic: the animation studio for
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
in Hollywood. In between, the firm designed White Memorial Medical Center,
the headquarters building for
Merle Norman Cosmetics
Merle Norman Cosmetics Inc. or simply known as Merle Norman, is an American cosmetics company that manufactures skin care, personal care, and makeup products founded in 1931 by Merle Nethercutt Norman, Merle Norman. The company sells its products ...
, in Westchester, The
Screen Directors Guild in Hollywood, Francisco Sepulveda Middle School in North Hills.
Froehlich renamed his firm Froehlich & Kow in 1978, after appointing architect Morio Kow as a partner and Gordon Gong as associate in charge of special projects.
See also
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List of horse racing venues
This is a list of currently active horse racing venues, both Thoroughbred racing and harness racing, sorted by country. In most English-speaking countries they are called "racecourses". The United States and some parts of Canada use the ...
References
Sources
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External links
Arthur Froehlichat Pacific Coast Architecture Database
Residence of Arthur Froehlich — Los Angeles, Californiaat ''
Architectural Digest
''Architectural Digest'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast
...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Froehlich, Arthur
1909 births
1985 deaths
People from Beverly Hills, California
20th-century American architects