Schulte began working for Werner and Adkins during the day while attending classes at the Art Academy at night, eventually becoming a valued member of the firm with a special skill for watercolor renderings of proposed projects for client presentations.
Kennedy was awarded the commission to design the Sheridan Square Theatre, an elegant new addition to the prominent Harris family of theaters in downtown Pittsburgh, and the project was eventually delegated to Schulte.
His inherent proficiency in this genre of building evidently foreshadowed what would become a staple of his approach to church architecture: that it must visually and acoustically magnify the theatric nature of divine liturgy.
It was during this time that Schulte attended a candlelit lecture by Ralph Adams Cram at the Hall of Architecture in the Carnegie Museum, inspiring him to focus on churches over the remainder of his career.
His complete overhaul of the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati (which effectively preserved only its corinthian portico and titanic spire)[5] rightfully elevates his cathedral count to a staggering six.