Koehler & Isaak was an architectural firm active in Manchester, New Hampshire, from 1946 to 1970 and under other names until 1985. The firm had the largest architectural practice in New Hampshire at its height during the 1960s. The named partners were Richard Koehler AIA (1912–1974) and Nicholas Isaak AIA (1913–1975).
In 1946, after the war had ended, both Koehler and Isaak returned to New Hampshire, forming the firm of Koehler & Isaak.[1] During the 1950s and 1960s this was the largest and most successful architecture firm in the state.[3] Architects Alexander John Majeski and Andrew C. Isaak worked for Koehler & Isaak before opening their own offices in 1954 and 1956.[4]Gerald F. Oudens, later a successful Washington, D.C., architect, also worked for the firm in the 1950s.[5] Koehler retired from practice in 1970, and died in 1974. After Koehler's retirement Isaak reorganized the firm as Isaak, Moyer, Walsh & Dudley with several associates of the former firm. In 1973 Isaak's partners left to organize Dudley, Walsh & Moyer[a] and Isaak merged his practice with his brother's firm, Andrew C. Isaak Associates. He died two years later in 1975. Andrew C. Isaak ran the firm until his own death in 1985, after which it was dissolved.[6]
Major works completed by Koehler & Isaak include federal office buildings in Concord, Keene, Manchester and Portsmouth, several state office buildings in Concord and much of the campus of Saint Anselm College. In 1958 they completed the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security offices in Concord, a building that was much maligned in later years but at the time was seen as a great indicator of architectural progress in New Hampshire. In 2012 the sale of this building spurred the department to contract with preservation consultant Lisa Mausolf to prepare a report on mid-century modern architecture in the state. Among her recommendations was the writing of a monagraph on the work of Koehler & Isaak as the most prominent local architectural firm of the study period.[6]
Richard Koehler, Nicholas Isaak and Andrew C. Isaak were all members of the American Institute of Architects. All three served as New Hampshire chapter presidents: Koehler for 1953–54 and 1954–55, Nicholas Isaak for 1958–59 and Andrew C. Isaak for 1961–62.[7][8]
^Designed in collaboration with John D. Betley, Carl E. Peterson and Provost & Wright of Manchester.
^Designed in collaboration with Betley and Dirsa & Lampron of Manchester.
^Designed in collaboration with Hersey & Spaulding of Durham, Alfred T. Granger Associates of Hanover, Tracy & Hildreth of Nashua and Maurice E. Witmer of Portsmouth.
^Designed in collaboration with Dirsa & Lampron of Manchester.
^Designed in collaboration with Andrew C. Isaak Associates of Manchester. A contributing resource to the Portsmouth Downtown Historic District, NRHP-listed in 2017.
References
^ abcdefg"Koehler, Richard" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 308.
^ ab"Isaak, Nicholas" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 269.
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