He was an 1895 graduate of the engineering program at the University of California, Berkeley and then was educated at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he was registered as a student on August 18, 1896,[1] by teacher Godefroy-Freynet.

The tower, "with its prominent position and slight setbacks in buff, white and black brick, marked his début as an influential skyscraper designer.

[10][11] In 1922, Corbett commissioned delineator and architect Hugh Ferriss to draw a series of four step-by-step perspectives demonstrating the architectural consequences of New York's City's zoning law, which he saw as a "setback."

Harvey Corbett defended the benefits of tall buildings against skyscraper detractors in articles published in The New York Times Magazine and National Municipal Journal in 1927.

[3] One month before his death, the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects granted him their annual award for career achievement.