[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2392]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO ROBERT RICH

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to my dear 
friend and lifelong Connecticut resident and business owner, Bob Rich, 
who passed away this past November.
  Born in Stamford, Mr. Rich graduated from Stamford High School in 
1944 and from Princeton in 1948. He returned to Connecticut to 
eventually take over his father's business, the F.D. Rich Company, 
which had been founded in 1920. For more than 60 years, he and his 
brother, Frank D. Rich, Jr., grew their father's construction company 
into one of our Nation's foremost real estate development firms. Their 
family history in construction and real estate development became an 
important part of our national history of economic growth.
  Under Mr. Rich's leadership, the F.D. Rich Company built innovative 
buildings where there was a great need both in Stamford, CT, and across 
the Nation--from shopping centers and office buildings to schools, 
hospitals, and hotels. In 1958 the F.D. Rich Company made its mark on 
our Nation's Capital when it completed the aircraft hangars for Air 
Force One at Andrews Air Force Base. To this day, F.D. Rich continues 
to create interesting and functional urban and suburban buildings that 
add to our country's landscape.
  Since his death, Mr. Rich has been deservedly memorialized for 
playing a significant role in revitalizing the city of Stamford between 
1970 and 2000. The New York Times wrote that he ``transform[ed] 
Stamford from a fading industrial town suffering from severe urban 
blight to a thriving city which has emerged as an important center for 
commerce, culture, education and recreation.'' Mr. Rich led the 
creation of countless buildings, including an addition to the Stamford 
Hospital in 1967, One Landmark Square in 1973, and the Rich Forum in 
1992, which continues to house the city's center for the arts.
  The University of Connecticut and the Rich family are also closely 
connected. In 1934 Mr. Rich's father oversaw the construction of the 
Wilbur Cross Library at UConn's Storrs campus. When UConn opened its 
downtown Stamford campus, the Riches helped build the Rich Concourse, 
which to this day serves as a central meeting place on campus.
  In addition to Bob Rich's community involvement through the F.D. Rich 
Company and at UConn, he was involved in numerous national and local 
organizations including the Boys and Girls Club of Stamford, the 
Regional Plan Association, and Stamford's State Street Debating 
Society. He and his family founded the Rich Foundation, which continues 
to serve nonprofit organizations, primarily in Fairfield County, 
enriching Connecticut's arts, education, health care, and social 
services.
  Bob was beloved by family and friends throughout his life, and he 
will be remembered by countless residents who live and make memories in 
the spaces he built. I invite my colleagues to pay tribute to a man who 
forever changed the Stamford skyline and improved the community.

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