Starrett was educated in his mother's school before enrolling in the University of Michigan, graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1894.

In 1898 he left Chicago for New York, where he joined the office of George A. Fuller & Company as a superintendent and assistant manager.

Due to his architectural experience, during this period he designed several of the buildings built by the firm, including the Algonquin Hotel.

Ellis was the granite contractor for the Washington Union Station, designed by D. H. Burnham & Company and built by Thompson–Starrett.

Starrett died May 9, 1918, at home in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and van Vleck became the firm's senior partner.

[5] In 1919, van Vleck and Rice admitted Ernest Brooks, another Cornell graduate, into the partnership.

The firm's major designs include the New York City flagship stores of Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Abraham & Straus, and Alexander's.

The Lord & Taylor Building, located on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets, was completed in 1914 as Starrett & van Vleck's first major department store and is a New York City designated landmark.

In Pittsburgh, Starrett & van Vleck was responsible for the design of the downtown flagship of the Gimbels Department Store which was built in 1914 for Kaufmann & Baer.