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Harvey and Clarke was an Americanarchitectural firm formed byHenry Stephen Harvey andL. Philips Clarke inWest Palm Beach, Florida, in 1921. The firm was active in South Florida for only a few years, but in that time, designed a number of distinctive homes, apartments, churches, and commercial buildings. Harvey was a member of the West Palm Beach Planning Commission.[1] An additional firm member and staff architect wasGustav Maass, who designed several local railroad stations and later became a noted South Florida architect in his own right.
Henry Stephen Harvey, born inWinona, Mississippi, in 1889 and grew up inBirmingham, Alabama. He graduated from theUniversity of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in 1914 with aB.S. in architecture.[1] Later, he served inWorld War I in theAir Service branch as a second lieutenant of civil life- a position in which he planned and constructed aviation buildings at various aviation camps throughout the United States. Harvey remained in the Air Service for a few years after the war, until receiving an honorable discharge.[2] By 1920, he had established an independent architectural firm inPalm Beach.[1]
L. Philips Clarke, son ofLouis Semple Clarke (1866-1957), was born in the North, inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but visited Palm Beach frequently since infancy. In the 1880s, his father built a home in Palm Beach known as "Dulciora". Like Harvey, L. Philips Clarke graduated from UPenn and also served in World War I, enlisting in theNavy in 1917 as a chief machinist’s mate, where he worked on bomb diffusion machinery.[2]
After the war, Clarke wanted to return to the Palm Beach area to establish an architectural firm, but lacked the experience to be eligible for a license. Harvey, intrigued by the possibility of an economic land boom, trained Clarke so he could pass the licensing examinations. In exchange, Clarke apparently financed the firm, providing between $1,000 and $2,000 for startup funds. Overall, Harvey and Clarke designed over 200 commercial and residential buildings between 1921 and 1929, including 50 train stations for theSeaboard Air Line Railroad. The firm estimated that between 1921 and 1925, they were responsible for $7 million in new construction in South Florida. Harvey served as aMayor of West Palm Beach from 1924 to 1926. During the peak, at least 25 people were involved in the firm,[3] includingGustav Maass.[4] The firm offered small house plans to those unable to afford a personal architect.[3]
Initially, the firm survived the collapse of the1920s land boom, but began to fail during the onset of theGreat Depression. In October 1928, the month after adevastating hurricane, Clarke became supervisor of plans for new hotels and residences. Harvey moved to Birmingham, Alabama, before returning to Florida in 1933 to work at a hardware store inMiami Beach. Clarke remained in the architectural industry, designing buildings such as a school auditorium inBelle Glade in 1932 and a new City Hall for West Palm Beach in 1947.[3] Several of the firm's remaining structures were listed in theNational Register of Historic Places or have otherwise been preserved. However, theDixie Court Hotel was demolished in 1990 for construction of a new courthouse forPalm Beach County, while the Pennsylvania Hotel was demolished in 1995 and replaced with the McKeen Towers, a senior living facility.
Several of their works are listed on the U.S.National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Works of Harvey and Clarke include:[4]
