He studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later in Europe, after which he worked in the offices of Peabody and Stearns and of firms in New York and Albany.

[1] Wheelwright's design was inspired in part by an old church in Jamestown, Virginia,[2] and by the Flemish Renaissance details of Auburn Street buildings in its vicinity.

Wheelwright was nominated for the office of City Architect on March 30, 1891, by mayor Nathan Matthews Jr., the same day he fired the incumbent, Harrison H.

[4] Nonetheless Wheelwright believed that the city should be free to choose architects on a project-by-project basis, and after the election of Edwin Upton Curtis to succeed Matthews, advised him to abolish the office.

Since Wheelwright wanted the building to stand out, it was modeled after the 14th century Torre del Mangia in Siena, Italy, and made of brick like the Italian original.