Gerhardt Kramer was born in New Orleans on 26 October 1909. In 1930, he earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Tulane University and a master’s degree from Cornell University in1932. Kramer spent his early career working in New Orleans on several historical preservation projects in the French Quarter. He served in the Pacific theatre in the U.S. Navy during World War II and came to St. Louis after the war. His first professional position in St. Louis was with friend, Theodore Steinmeyer, whose clientele included many Lutheran churches. Later, Kramer worked with the firm of Hugo K. Graf. After’s Graf’s death in 1953, Kramer purchased the firm and operated it as Gerhardt Kramer Associates. In 1956, he partnered with Joe G. Harms and changed the firm’s name to Kramer & Harms Architects.

Kramer was a prominent preservation proponent in St. Louis, continuing historic preservation work that he learned in New Orleans. In the late 1950s, during Kramer’s tenure as president of the St. Louis chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the state of Missouri began major highway development and destruction of existing buildings ensued. Kramer played a key role in saving both the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion and the General Daniel Bissell House at this time. His work to save these two significant homes led to the founding of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, the region’s non-profit advocate for the built environment.

Joe G. Harms was born in Keytesville, Missouri on 23 November 1909. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Harms began his career working for the Missouri State Highway Department. He served in the Navy during World War II as an architect of ship repair in the Charleston Navy Yard in South Carolina. After Harms ended his Naval service in 1946, he came to St. Louis and worked with the Maguolo and Quick Architecture firm and also worked independently. By 1955, he worked with Gerhardt Kramer Associates and in 1956, he became Kramer’s partner in Kramer & Harms. The firm worked on restoring several historic buildings in the St. Louis area including the General Bissell House and the Chatillon-DeMenil House. It also worked on the historic village at Faust Park, the Thomas Sappington House, and the Palm House in Tower Grove Park. Harms lived in Kirkwood with his wife, Bertha Louis Hederich (1912-200). He died in January 1984.