At age 15, he entered the office of Theophilus Parsons Chandler Jr. Beginning in 1893 he worked for prominent Philadelphia architectural firms, including Wilson Brothers & Company, Cope & Stewardson, and Horace Trumbauer.

Klauder teamed with the English-born Day to design some of the nation's most influential and distinguished campus buildings during the heyday of university expansion in the early 20th century.

Their early work at Princeton and Cornell universities set the standard for dormitory and classroom designs in the Ivy League.

The Cathedral of Learning, upon its completion, was the tallest educational building in the world, and today it ranks behind only a tower at Moscow University.

The Commons Room is a fifteenth-century English perpendicular Gothic-style hall that covers half an acre (2,000 m2) and extends upwards four stories, reaching 52 feet (16 m) tall.