Timothy Ludwig Pflueger was the second of seven sons born to German immigrants living on Potrero Hill in San Francisco. He attended San Francisco public schools, and while working as a draftsman for the architectural firm Miller and Colmesnil, he attended Mission High Evening School. In 1911, he joined the San Francisco Architectural Club an organization that trained budding architects.

In 1912, at the age of twenty, Pflueger designed his first building, Our Lady of the Wayside Church (California Historical Landmark 909).

All his adult life, Pflueger maintained his residence at his childhood home on Guerrero Street. He drove a green Cadillac convertible and was often seen with his steady lady friend on his arm.

Together with James R. Miller, Pflueger designed some of the leading skyscrapers and movie theaters in San Francisco in the 1920s.

Pflueger died at the age of 54 on November 20, 1946 of a heart attack on Post Street outside of the Olympic Club after taking his usual evening swim. He never married and left no children.