Frank Gehry, the world-renowned architect whose early designs in Maryland included the historic Merriweather Post Pavilion amphitheater, has died.

Gehry’s death Friday at his home in Santa Monica, California, followed a brief respiratory illness, according to the Associated Press. He was 96.

The Canadian American leaves behind a body of work that includes some of the world’s most recognizable buildings, each reflecting his distinctively modern, sculptural style. Yet, long before he designed the Guggenheim Museum in Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Gehry left his fingerprints on the Baltimore region.

In Howard County, developer James Rouse was an early patron of Gehry’s work. The founder of the planned community of Columbia tapped Gehry around 1967 to design buildings downtown, including the first fire station, an exhibit center marketing the town’s first homes and the outdoor concert venue that came to be known as Merriweather.

The amphitheater, which anchored Rouse’s vision of a community that centered the arts, remains a major attraction in Howard County. It features an unusually low stage that puts performers closer to their audience’s eye level, giving shows a more intimate feel than other venues.

Gehry’s work in Maryland continued into the 1970s. The Rouse Co. again hired his firm in 1974 to design its headquarters on the Kittamaqundi lakefront. Gehry also designed the Harper House condominium in Baltimore’s Village of Cross Keys and the Mid-Atlantic Toyota distributor offices in Glen Burnie.

Despite his legacy as a visionary, not all of Gehry’s buildings in Maryland have stood the test of time. The concrete-and-stucco exhibit hall in Columbia, which inspired Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon, was demolished to make way for other projects. The Rouse headquarters was redeveloped into a Whole Foods grocery store around 2014.

Nonetheless, Gehry’s legacy is sealed. He was awarded every major prize architecture has to offer, according to the Associated Press, including the field’s top honor, the Pritzker Prize. The Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi, which he designed, is expected to be completed in 2026.