It was founded in 1853, making it (along with SmithGroup) the oldest continually operating architecture firm in the United States that is not a wholly owned subsidiary.
The company is 100% employee-owned as of January 1, 2012[3] and concentrates on automotive, industrial, federal government, higher education, health and wellness, and corporate/commercial markets.
[5] He immigrated to the United States amidst famine and depression[6] with his wife Henrietta in January 1852 from Innis, Ireland after he was recommended to Isaiah Rogers (1800–1869), for his work on the County Clare Courthouse.
An 1893 publishing of The American Architect and Building News wrote of Whitestone, ...forty years ago, in the prime of life, he was in the active practice of his profession, erecting buildings in that perennial style of Italian Renaissance, of which he was a master, and from which he was never lured by passing fashion.
[10]He is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville Kentucky alongside his wife and two daughters (Section C, lot 39).
Murphy (1853–1933) was born in Louisville after his parents immigrated from Ireland, began working as a draftsman at age 16 for Henry Whitestone.
Their younger brother Peter C. Murphy subsequently joined[8] and together they designed many of Louisville's Catholic Churches, among many other notable buildings, for significantly reduced fees on the order of 1% of construction costs.
The firm's most famous work was that of the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs in 1895, designed by 24-year-old Joseph D. Baldez and constructed in time for the 21st Kentucky Derby.
[14] It was known for the grandstand (as well as the spires) of Churchill Downs, the Galt House Hotel and distillery buildings along what became Louisville's Whiskey Row, and numerous other office buildings, schools, hospitals, and churches, some of which survive and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) for their architecture.
In 2000 an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) was formed and by 2002, leadership was transferred to Ed Jerdonek, Belinda Gates, Gail Miller, and Rob Diamond.