About the historic L.C. Wesley Super Garage

The L.C. Wesley Supergarage was designed by architect H. Rafael Lake (1894-1958) in 1931. Lake began his architectural education at the University of California, then transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1916. He apprenticed under Cass Gilbert and worked in New York for five years.

 

Lake's father was involved in planning of the Californian Hotel in downtown Fresno for the Sun Maid Hotel Corporation and in 1923 Lake moved to Fresno to design the hotel. Lake went on to design other Fresno historical landmarks such as the Wilson Theatre (1926), the L. C. Wesley Super Garage (1931), and the Blue Cross Veterinary Clinic (1936). Lake also designed several fine residences in Fresno.

 

During the Great Depression, Lake became part of Allied Architects, and in the 1940s he joined William Hastrup in the firm of Lake and Hastrup. H. Rafael Lake died in Fresno on August 9, 1958.