Résumé

Draftsman, Hunt and Hunt, Architects, New York, NY, c. 1901.

Designer, Carrère and Hastings, Architects, New York, NY, c. 1903; work in Los Angeles, CA, c. 1905-1910.

Principal, Robert D. Farquhar, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1910-1918; restarted 1919-1940; like many architectural offices in the US, World War I disrupted Farquhar's usual business; many architects joined the armed forces or worked in defense related building projects. Farquhar closed his architectural practice in Los Angeles, CA, in 02/1918. In 08/1918, it was reported that he had left for Italy to work for the Red Cross. By late 10/1919, he had reopened his office in Los Angeles. Architectural practices, for the most part, stayed frozen between 1917-1919. A note in the American Architect and Architecture reported: "Robert D. Farquhar has again opened offices in Los Angeles at 426-7 Security Building." (See "Personal," American Architect and Architecture, vol. 116, no. 2295, 1919, p. 763.)

The virulent Spanish Flu Pandemic also caused a public health emergency across the US between of 03/1918 and mid-1919, (becoming most serious in CA, OR, and WA between 09/1918 and 11/1918, but lingering through the Spring of 1919), further stagnating architectural and construction operations. (See American Historical Association.org, "The Great Pandemic," published 05/04/2009,accessed 10/27/2014.)

Professional Activities

Member, Architectural Commission, Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE), San Francisco, CA, c. 1912-1914. A note in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's alumni periodical, Technology Review, said of Farquhar: "Robert D. Farquhar, '95, a resident of Los Angeles, has been appointed by President Moore of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition as a member of the architectural commission of the exposition. Mr. Farquhar was a graduate of Harvard College before coming to Technology; he afterwards obtained his degree at l'École des Beaux Arts, at Paris." (See "Tech Men in the Public Eye," Technology Review, vol. XIV, no. 4, 04/1912, p. 229.)

Professional Awards

Distinguished Honor Award, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Southern California Chapter.

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1919.

Archives

Farquhar's papers, "Robert D. Farquhar Architectural Drawings, 1920-1940," were donated to the the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections, Collection #1579; letters from Farquhar to the decorative wrought iron manufacturer, Edward G. Trinkkeller (1872-1945), are held at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Robert E. Kennedy Library, Special Collections Department, Manuscript Collection #097;

Graduate, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH, c. 1889; undergraduate degree, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1893; degree in architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 1893-1895; Dipl., École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1896-1901.

Born in NY, he resided at 381 California Terrace, Pasadena, CA, in 1930. According to the US Census of that year, the house had a value of $18,000. He lived alone except for a servant, his cook, Bettina Kjolmoen (1885-1972), born in Norway, who came to the US c. 1909. In 1930, he lived next door to architect Roland E. Coate, Sr., (1890-1958) who resided with his family at 389 California Terrace. Farquhar died in Hayward, CA, at the age of 95.

His parents were David Webber Farquhar (1844-1905) and Sarah Malvina Joslyn, both born in MA.

SSN: 550-34-9624;