Schrade was born in Mehrstetten, a small village approximately 65 km (40 miles) to the south-east of Stuttgart.

His teachers at Stuttgart included Gustav Halmhuber, the man who designed the (locally) iconic Friedrichsplatz Water Tower in Mannheim.

In 1903 Schrade relocated back from Essen, taking a job as assistant to the Stuttgart church architect Theophil Frey.

For the Trinity Church an uncompromisingly "contemporary" proposal from Helmut Striffler [de] was preferred over Schrode's "Baroque revivalist" vision.

One of his last projects involved the restoration/rebuild of the Arcade Apartments ( Arkadenhäuser) in Mannheim, across the Friedrichsplatz from the Water Tower designed by his early mentor, Gustav Halmhuber.