Christopher Adam Boehme was born on January 16, 1865 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was a builder and contractor and completed the special course in architecture offered by the University of Minnesota, the only available architectural training in the area before the establishment of the School of Architecture at the University in 1916. For 14 years, Boehme worked with architect Warren Dunnell. Christopher Boehme died on November 24, 1916.

Victor Cordella was born on January 1, 1872 in Krakow, Poland. He came to the United States in 1893 and worked under architects in Minneapolis and St. Paul, including Cass Gilbert, Warren Dunnell and Charles Aldrich. Victor Cordella died on April 12, 1937.

In 1903, Boehme and Cordella formed the Boehme & Cordella architectural firm. The partnership lasted eight years and was noted for producing a number of notable church designs, including St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Browerville) and Our Lady of Lourdes (Little Falls). The most well known structure designed during their partnership was the Swan Turnblad residence, now the American Swedish Institute (1903-1907).