Established in 1910 by University of Pennsylvania classmates and Carrere & Hasting alumni, Walter T. Karcher and Livingston Smith, this firm designed both public and private buildings in Philadelphia and its surrounds. Perhaps chief among their designs was the Naval Hospital on Pattison Avenue in Philadelphia, but the firm also designed a number of residences in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the Cooper Library in Camden, NJ. As with other Philadelphia architects trained in the Ecole tradition, Karcher & Smith participated in a number of architectural competitions and were premiated in 1933 for their design for the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church. In 1936 they received one of the second prizes in the Oregon State Capitol competition. Others honors included the 1929 medal of the Philadelphia Chapter, AIA, for their buildings at Swarthmore College. (In 1934 the Royal Institute of British Architecs requested photographs and plans of the Clothier Memorial Auditorium at Swarthmore College for exhibition and permanent placement in their architectural files.)

Written by Sandra L. Tatman.