Architect Frank Gehry Dies at 96

Frank Gehry, the renowned architect whose innovative designs reshaped skylines around the world, died Friday at his home in Santa Monica, California. He was 96.

Gehry's death followed a brief respiratory illness, according to Meaghan Lloyd, chief of staff at Gehry Partners LLP. Born Frank Owen Goldberg on February 28, 1929, in Toronto, Canada, he developed an early interest in construction using scraps of wood and materials from his grandfather's hardware store. His mother encouraged his artistic pursuits, blending them with his hands-on approach to design. The family relocated to Los Angeles in 1947, where Gehry attended Los Angeles City College while working as a delivery truck driver. He later earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California in 1954, served in the U.S. Army and briefly studied at Harvard's Graduate School of Design before leaving to pursue independent work.

Gehry founded his firm, initially Frank O. Gehry Associates, in 1962 after stints at various architectural practices. Renamed Gehry Partners in 2002, the company grew from modest beginnings. His early commercial venture, the Easy Edges line of cardboard furniture in the late...