John Harbeson

Who was John Harbeson?

John Frederick Harbeson was a Philadelphia architect and a long-time architecture professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a principal in the Philadelphia 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 architect John T. Windrim. After graduation he joined Kelsey and Cret to work on the design of the Pan-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.