- John Harbeson
John Frederick Harbeson (30 July 1888 – 21 December 1986) was a
Philadelphia architect and a long-time architecture professor at theUniversity of Pennsylvania . He was a principal in thePhiladelphia design firm,Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson , successors to the office of Paul Cret.Harbeson received a B.S. in Architecture from the
University of Pennsylvania in 1910, and received an M.S. in Architecture the following year. During the summers while he was in school, Harbeson worked for architectJohn T. Windrim . After graduation he joined Kelsey and Cret to work on the design of thePan-American Union Building in Washington DC. In 1923 Harbeson became Cret's partner, along with William J. H. Hough and William Livingston. In 1925 the firm was joined by Roy Larson. After Cret's death in 1945, the younger partners followed Cret's wishes and removed Cret's name from their masthead, continuing as Harbeson, Hough, Livingston, Larson.Harbeson is best known for his teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. He served as Chair of the University's Department of Architecture from 1927 to 1935 and as Acting Dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University from 1929 to 1930.
In the early to mid 1920s, Harbeson authored a series of articles in the architectural journal, "Pencil Points", on the Beaux-Arts method of architectural education (as coordinated through the
Beaux-Arts Institute of Design ). In 1926 these articles were published as a book, "The Study of Architectural Design: With Special Reference to the Program of the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design".Harbeson's design work was not limited to architecture. He was one of the primary designers working with the
Budd Company on the Burlington's "Pioneer Zephyr " in 1934. Drawing on his "Pioneer Zephyr" experience, in 1936 he led the firm through the design project of the Burlington's "Denver Zephyr ".Harbeson was elected a Fellow of the
American Institute of Architects in 1934.References
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