Architecture firm, United States Carrère and Hastings’ designs of the early 20th century evoked the essence of the American Renaissance and Beaux-Arts classicism. Simple, understated forms as well as their coherent use of materials resulted in elegant compositions and French classical motifs. John Mervin Carrère (1858–1911) left Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to study architecture in Switzerland and eventually in Paris, at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he met his future partner. Hastings (1860–1929), a native New Yorker, joined the architectural division of the furniture-making and decorating firm Herter Brothers after study at Columbia University. He worked mainly under the guidance of Charles Atwood, who at that time was busy designing W.H.Vanderbilt’s residence on Fifth Avenue. Both men settled in New York City in 1883, where they worked for the firm of McKim, Mead and White. It was not until 1886—when Henry Flagler commissioned Carrère and Hastings (not McKim, Mead and White) to build a...