WESTLAKE REED LESKOSKY, an architectural firm, was founded in 1905 by ABRAM GARFIELD, son of President JAMES GARFIELD. In 1897, Garfield moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to work with fellow architect FRANK MEADE after completing his studies at M.I.T. When his partnership with Meade dissolved in 1905, Garfield started a firm under his own name, which operated out of the Garfield Building at Euclid Avenue and East 6th Street. He specialized in conservative, historically eclectic residential buildings like the Hay-McKinney Mansion on East Boulevard, which was completed in 1911 and is now part of the Cleveland History Center of the WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The name of the firm changed as partners were added or dropped. In 1926, the firm was called Garfield Stanley-Brown Harris and Robinson. In 1936, it was called Garfield Harris Robinson and Shafer. From 1957 to 1959, the firm was called Garfield Harris Shafer Flynn and Williams. Abram Garfield died in 1958.
In the 1960s, the firm was called Van Dijk Pace Westlake and Partners. During this time, the company began to excel in modern design for performing arts centers and historic preservation. In 1968, the firm designed Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Westlake Reed Leskosky has worked on a variety of projects in Cleveland, including renovations in the PLAYHOUSE SQUARE district (HANNA THEATRE, ALLEN THEATRE, and Idea Center), renovations of the HUNTINGTON BUILDING, and design of the Shafran Planetarium at the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, and the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. In 2014, Westlake Reed Leskosky was ranked #1 among U.S. firms in Architecture Magazine.
In 2015, the partners in the firm were Paul Westlake, Jr., Ronald A. Reed, and Vince Leskosky. The firm had offices in Cleveland at 1422 Euclid Avenue, as well as in Phoenix, Washington, D.C., New York, and Los Angeles.
Jennifer Graham, Western Reserve Historical Society
Sources:
MS 3695 Abram Garfield Papers WRHS Research Library
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History Abram Garfield Entry
Cleveland City Directory 1906-7
Cleveland Plain Dealer