henry stephen harvey, born in winona, mississippi, in 1889, and grew up in birmingham, alabama. he graduated from the university of pennsylvania (upenn) in 1914 with a b.s. in architecture. later, he served in world war i in the air 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. by 1920, he had established an independent architectural firm in palm beach. l. philips clarke, son of louis semple clarke, was born in pittsburgh, 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 the navy in 1917 as a chief machinist’s mate, when he worked on bomb diffusion machinery.