Founded in 1873 and located on this site since 1879, the Duquesne Club's architectural setting is appropriate to its fame as the most influential business club in the region. Richardsonian Romanesque was a natural choice in the year following the opening of Richardson's nearby courthouse (AL1), as Longfellow and Alden had apprenticed with Richardson. This commission made them one of Pittsburgh's leading design firms for two decades. The brownstone facade combines Richardson's bold materials and motifs with a more conventional classicism, which became the firm's hallmark as it recast itself into the local equivalent of New York City's McKim, Mead and White, Alfred Harlow's previous employer.