Many surviving examples of Embury's work are zoos, swimming pools, playgrounds, and other recreational structures in New York City parks.

Following graduate studies, Embury taught architecture at Princeton[1] while also working for various firms in New York City, including Cass Gilbert, George B.

During this period he developed a keen interest in the architecture of small country houses, publishing several books and pamphlets on the subject.

[5][6] He designed the James Boyd House, also known as Weymouth, at Southern Pines, North Carolina, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

[7] Embury served for fourteen months during World War I as a captain in the Fortieth Engineers, United States Army Corps of Engineers[2][8] where he helped establish a unit of eight professional artists to document the activities of the American Expeditionary Force in France.

[2] By the late 1920s, Embury was well-known and had received a wide range of commissions all over the east coast of the United States, entailing college buildings and social clubs in addition to residences.

Embury, along with landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke, was a senior member of an 1,800 strong design and construction team that Moses had assembled at the Arsenal in Central Park.

[19] The eastern shore of Conservatory Water in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, contains the Kerbs Memorial Boathouse, designed by Embury, where patrons can rent and navigate radio-controlled and wind-powered model boats.