White Plains, NY For 50 years, Lothrop Associates, the architectural firm founded by James Lothrop Sr., has contributed to the look and feel of Westchester County. The firm has grown from five employees in 1967 to 50 over the last half century. In many ways, the firm’s expansion mirrors that of Westchester, a county that has seen growth over the same period.
County executive Robert Astorino acknowledged these and numerous other contributions to the county’s growth with a proclamation citing Lothrop’s half-century of excellence and leadership in its field.
“For 50 years, Lothrop Associates has been a leader in architectural and interior design,” Astorino said. “The company’s award-winning projects can be found throughout Westchester and beyond, and they are a prime example of a company that understands that the County is a great place to own and operate a business. I congratulate the partners and employees at Lothrop and wish them continued success.”
The founder’s son, James Lothrop Jr., has been with the firm since the beginning, and a partner for over 40 years. His father recognized the region’s growth potential while working for a Chicago-based architectural company shortly after World War II. “That firm saw the market potential for public schools, so they established an office in White Plains. Dad moved here in 1950,” Lothrop Jr. said.
Lothrop Sr. remained with the Chicago firm until 1966 when he decided to open his own firm in White Plains the following year. The firm continued to design schools and soon expanded its portfolio to include municipal, corporate/commercial, and recreational facilities. Lothrop Associates has been evolving and growing ever since.
A key to the firm’s success is its ability to embrace various architectural specialties. “One of the things that’s most enjoyable about working at this firm is that we all have different specialties,” says Lothrop Jr. That diversity has enabled Lothrop Associates to design projects for corporate giants such as IBM and PepsiCo.
Expanding into the healthcare market, the firm’s first project came in the early 1970’s with the design of the new Westchester Medical Center, formerly Grasslands Hospital. This marked the beginning of a 40-year relationship that flourished and continues today with dozens of projects throughout the campus. Healthcare continues to be a strong market for the firm as they have designed hundreds of facilities throughout region and beyond.
With growth came design recognition for many of the firm’s commissions. One of the notable, award-winning projects was the major modernization and addition of the Westchester County Airport in the 1980’s. Lothrop Jr. said the airport project was both challenging and rewarding. “The airport was operating out of Quonset hut, and we worked with a consulting firm to develop initial plans for the terminal building and parking lots,” he said. “It was a real chess match trying to develop the site and end up with a terminal that made sense.” The airport now serves as one of the most active aviation facilities in the nation.
Building on their rich history of swimming pool and recreation projects for a wide variety of clients, the firm expanded in 2013 with the addition of Trace Pool Design. Lothrop’s Trace Pool division is also the premier aquatic design firm for many of New York City’s high-rise residential properties.
Most of Lothrop Associates’ projects are located in the Hudson Valley and the greater tri-state area. Yet, without boundaries the firm continues to expand and service clients throughout the United States and internationally. Recently, Lothrop Associates won a design award for the National Microfinance Bank in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
As the firm embarks on the next 50 years, the partners say they’re confident they will continue to be a significant contributor to the economic growth of the region.
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