[3] After returning from war, Kruse joined the office of renowned modernist architects John Elkin Dinwiddie and Erich Mendelsohn to start his career.

This prolific partnership designed more than 500 residences and commercial buildings in the California, Hawaii, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Quebec, and El Salvador.

[4] Their design helped define Second Bay Tradition, which combined International Style with Northern California's regional vernacular and wood materials.

[4] Kruse moved to Carmel after his retirement, living in one of the three houses, nicknamed "Three Sisters", designed by his partner Henry Hill on the same block, along with one of their former associates.

[5][6] His house on Lopez Avenue is a Mid-century modern residence constructed in 1961, featuring wood walls and a steeply pitched roof.