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[Group photo of Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson] Harbeson, Hough, Livingston, Larson John Harbeson Collection, Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Local ID #: 47-P-055-001
[Group photo of Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson]
Harbeson, Hough, Livingston, Larson
John Harbeson Collection, Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
Local ID #: 47-P-055-001
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Born: 3/31/1893, Died: 6/30/1973

Roy F. Larson was born in Minneapolis, MN, and before coming to Philadelphia had already worked in the Chicago firms of Zimmerman, Saxe & Zimmerman (1911-1915) and Lowe & Bollenbacker (1916-1917). He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1923 with his B.S. in Architecture and 20 years later completed a course in city planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His undergraduate university career was illustrious; Larson won the Huckel Prize, the Faculty Medal, and the Arthur Spayd Brooke Medal. In 1924 he added the Walter Cope Memorial Prize for his design for "The Remodeling of Franklin Square." Following graduation Larson entered the office of Paul P. Cret and in 1925 became a partner in that organization. Followng Cret's death in 1945, Larson, along with John F. Harbeson, William H. Livingston, Sr., and William Hough, established the succeeding firm of Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson, which later became H2L2. He retired from Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson in 1970. Over the years of his professional career Larson had developed considerable interest in planning historic sites and was instrumental in the planning of Independence Mall in Philadelphia.

Larson was a member and fellow of the AIA. He was also active in the local Chapter and in the T-Square Club in Philadelphia. In addition he served as chair of the National Committee on the Architect and Governmental Relations, as a consultant for the U.S. Army, and as visiting critic in the Engineering Department of Pennsylvania State University. He was a member of the Philadelphia Art Jury and served as a director of the American Swedish Historical Society in Philadelphia and as a vice-president of the Independence Hall Association, associate trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and director of the Citizens Council on City Planning.

Written by Sandra L. Tatman.

Clubs and Membership Organizations

  • American Institute of Architects (AIA)
  • Philadelphia Chapter, AIA
  • Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
  • T-Square Club
  • National Academy of Design
  • National Sculpture Society
  • American Swedish Historical Society
  • Independence Hall Association

School Affiliations

  • University of Pennsylvania
  • American Academy in Rome
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

 

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