Frank Furness was a Philadelphia native born in 1839 to a Unitarian minister. He studied at the atelier of Hunt with Charles Gambrill and Henry Van Brunt in New York City. This environment also put him in contact with celebrity artists of the time, John LaFarge, Winslow Homer and Frederic Church. When the civil war broke out he enlisted in the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, making him the only American architect to win a medal of honor. After the war he returned to Philadelphia where he started the firm Furness & Hewitt.
His style is included with in the Beaux-Arts movement but it has connections to Gothic Revival. Furness was taught in the Beaux-Arts tradition. This can be seen in the layout of his plans with the importance of hierarchy in a sequence of spaces. His façades are filled with industrial and Gothic inspiration. Unlike most of his colleagues, Furness never visited Europe, which may explain his unique style.