Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...

, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partnership

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

Life and career

McKim was born in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53 ...

. His parents were James Miller McKim, a Presbyterian minister, and Sarah Speakman McKim. They were active

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

and he was named after Charles Follen, another abolitionist and a Unitarian minister. After attending Harvard University, he studied architecture at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

before joining the office of

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

in 1870. McKim formed his own firm in partnership with William Rutherford Mead, joined in 1877 by fellow Richardson protégé

For ten years, the firm became primarily known for their open-plan informal summer houses. McKim became best known as an exponent of Beaux-Arts architecture in styles of the American Renaissance, exemplified by the

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonwea ...

(1888–95), and several works in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, including the Morningside Heights campus of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(1893), the University Club of New York clubhouse (1899), the

Pierpont Morgan Library The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th ...

(1903),

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...

(1904–10), and The

Butler Institute of American Art The Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum h ...

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

(1919). He designed the Howard Mansion (1896) at

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park (CDP), New York, Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland, New York, Haviland. ...

. McKim, with the aid of

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

, was instrumental in the formation of the American School of Architecture in Rome in 1894, which has become the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects, ...

, and designed the main campus buildings with his firm McKim, Mead, and White. McKim first married Annie Bigelow in 1874 and after divorcing Bigelow married Julia Amory Appleton in 1885. McKim died at age 62 in

St. James, New York St. James is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 13,487 at the 2020 census. St. James is part of the Town of Smithtown and is located on the North Shore of Long Is ...

on September 14, 1909.

Memberships

McKim was a member of the Congressional commission for the improvement of the Washington, D.C., park system, the New York Art Commission, the Accademia di San Luca (

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 1899), the

and the Architectural League. He was an honorary member and former president of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...

, and honorary member of the Society of Mural Painters. He became a

National Academician The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the ...

in 1907. He belonged to the University, Lambs, and Racquet and Tennis Clubs of New York, and to the St. Botolph and Somerset Clubs of Boston.

Awards and honors

McKim received numerous awards during his lifetime, including the Medaille d'Or at the

1900 Paris Exposition The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...

and a gold medal from

Edward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

. The royal gold medal from Edward VII was awarded for the restoration of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. In 1902 Congress appropriated $475,445 for this purpose to be spent at the discretion of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. He received honorary doctorates from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

and

, and the honorary degree of A.M. from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1890, and from Bowdoin in 1894. He was elected a Fellow of the

in 1877, and received the AIA Gold Medal, posthumously, in 1909.

References

External links

* *
The McKim Mead & White Architectural Records Collection at the New York Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKim, Charles Follen * American neoclassical architects Beaux Arts architects 1847 births 1909 deaths Architects from New York City American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts People from Chester County, Pennsylvania Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Presidents of the American Institute of Architects Harvard University alumni 19th-century American architects Architects of the Boston Public Library Recipients of the AIA Gold Medal