Harry Livingston French


Harry Livingston French was an American architect based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He designed in a variety of styles, including classical architecture and Gothic revival. His built works included numerous banks, schools, and armories.

Biography

Harry Livingston French was born at Plymouth, Pennsylvania, on November 21, 1871, the son of politician, author, and building contractor Samuel Livingston French and his wife, Harriet Seville Turner. French attended Cornell University, where he was editor of The Cornellian, a member of the junior honorary society Aleph Samach, and a member of the senior honor society Sphinx Head. He also joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and through that organization became a member of the Irving Literary Society. He graduated in 1894 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture.
In 1897, French and the Canadian-born architect Frederick McCormick formed McCormick & French, an architectural partnership based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Their built works included the interior of the Luzerne County Courthouse, the Nesbitt Theater, and several banks, including the 1906 Second National Bank, considered by some to be Wilkes-Barre's first skyscraper.
French was a member of the Architectural League of New York.
On June 28, 1910, French married Anne Lee Worden of Wilkes-Barre. Their son, Livingston Paine French, was born at Wilkes-Barre on May 6, 1911.
Harry Livingston French died at New York City on January 16, 1928. His business partner, Frederick McCormick died on September 2, 1929.

McCormick & French's built work

Among the completed buildings of French's firm, McCormick & French, are the following: