CHARLES FCLLEN MCKIM A STUDY OF HIS LIFE AND WORK ALFRED HOYT GRANGER WITH ILLUSTRATIONS n n b b u n ook Perfectio i w atw er e dert . c BO ST O N AN D N E W YO RK H OUGHTON MI F FLIN COMPANY MD CCCCX I I I M l o , 1 9 1 SCHOOL OF ARCHITE:TURE HARVARD UNIVERSITY 334W! Y I GH T 1 1 BY AL F R E D H OYT G R AN GE R CO P R , 9 3, AL L RI GH TS R ESE R V E D Publisbed N ovember 1 91 3 TO WILLIAM RUTHERFORD MEAD TH E LAST OF A GREAT TRIUMVIRATE PREFACE The preparing of this short memoir has been ina spired by the desire to set before the younger members of the Architectural profession and particularly the o ffices r i draughtsmen in , something of the pe sonal ty i of a very great man . It must rema n for some other pen than mine to write a complete analytic life of F . McKim . i his Charles S nce death, new schools of i i Arch tecture have grown up which , nspired perhaps in by the restless spirit of the age which we live, seem i i r l ke the Athen ans of old, to be eagerly st iving after s i . i McKim ome new th ng W th this spirit , and the wonderful g ro u p of men with whom he both worked . H e and played, could have but little sympathy stood for a national architecture, inspired by beauty and i z built upon the solid foundat ons of law, order and tra i dit on . It is the abiding quality of the principles in accordance with which he lived and worked and died r . I that I have t ied to make plain In order to do this, r have had to call upon his f iends, his family and above all upon his only surviving partner for coo peration x and help . To them all I wish to e press here my deep Vll PREFACE far and heartfelt thanks . They have given me more than I have asked, and it is they alone who have made this little work possible . L R H OYT GRAN ER A F ED G . A A 1 1 IL L P I . PH DE H , 9 3 CONTENTS F OREWORD ANCE TRY T AI I A E ARLY WO K S , R N NG , ND R THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY DISCUSSION O F VARIOUS BUILDINGS ’ THE W O R L D S FAIR AT CHICAGO THE PAR K COMMISSION PLAN OF THE DISTRICT O F CO LUMBIA THE PENNSYLVANIA TERMINAL THE AM ERICAN ACADEMY AT ROME MCKI M THE MAN THE Two MEMORIAL ME E TINGS APPENDI X : THE PRESENTATION O F THE ROYAL GOLD MR M K B Y MEDAL TO . C IM THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHI T E CTS THE PRESIDENT’ S ADDRESS ’ MR McKI M s R S P S 1 . E ON E 4 1 ILLUSTRATIONS “CH E S OLL MCKI M F M ST T IT ARL F EN . RO A PA EL POR RA DV MI E MMET B Y TH E H CLU B SS , LOANED ARVARD OF N nw YORK (Pho to gravure) F ronti rpzece ! M S MILL MCKI M M T G P JA E ER . FRO A PHO O RA H LOANED B Y A CI G IS P o o ravure FR N S J . ARR ON ( h t g ) “S AL L I ON E McKI M F M I ARAH B . RO A PORTRA T LOANED B Y MR S C S D NORTON P o o ra ure . HARLE . ( h t g v ) ‘BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY F ROM COPL E Y S! UARE ‘ OF GRO UN D FLO OR BO STON UBLIC LI PLAN , P BRARY v PLAN O F R A I - ROOM LOO BO STON UBLIC E D NG F R , P LIBRARY ‘ A I E T C BO O UBLIC LIB A Y M N N RAN E , ST N P R R J MA I N ST I C S BO O UBLIC LI A R A E , ST N P BRARY ‘B T S H BO STON PU B L I C LI A E ALL , BRARY ‘ C U T R BO O UBLIC LI O R YA D , ST N P BRARY EX IO OF T H CLU B N YOR TER R HE ARVARD , EW K ‘ EX I O OF T C E NTU RY CLU B N YO R K TER R HE , EW DI I G—H H CLU B N Y K N N ALL , ARVARD , EW OR ‘ O O G T S H U I V I Y J HNST N A E , ARVARD N ERS T ‘ EX IO O F T U I V I Y CLU B N YO R TER R HE N ERS T , EW K T H E G T H U I V I Y CLU B REA ALL , N ERS T ILLUSTRATIONS J MAI N Dl N I NG— ROOM U I V I Y C U , N ERS T L B DETAIL OF TH E UNI VERSITY CLUB LIBRARY ! TH E G M BUIL I N YOR ORHA D NG , EW K 4 EX IO OF T E VI Ho u s e s N YOR TER R H LLARD , EW K 4 TH E LIB RARY OF COLUMBIA UNI VE RS I TY ! TH E W H ITE Ho u s e sno wm o ST E E ST WI , RE OR D A NG “ STATE D l N I N G- ROOM OF THE W H I T E Ho u se EX IO OF T B K o r T S'r M S TER R HE AN MON REAL , . JA E STR E E T “ I BA KI - ROOM B K o r T MA N N NG , AN MON REAL “I IO OF T N TI CI Y B K NE YOR NTER R HE A ONAL T AN , W K J E X T E R I O R o r T G LI NE W YORK HE MOR AN BRARY , ‘ VESTIBULE O F THE MORGAN LIBRARY J I NT E R I O R OF THE MORGAN LIBRARY ‘N E W MUNICI PAL BUILDING O F THE CITY O F N EW YO R K ’ J C U T O F H ON OR W ORLD AI C IC G O R , S F R , H A O ’ “AG IC U TU BUIL I W O RL D AI C IC G R L RA L D NG, S F R , H A O ’ ’ ‘ L E N F ANT S PLAN o r WASHINGTON ’ J PER SPE CTI VE VI EW o r TH E COMMISSION S PLAN o r T E WA I O H MALL , SH NGT N ‘ O F T UM T G WA I O PLAN HE MON EN ARDEN , SH NGT N ‘ MONUMENT TERRAC E Lo o km c TOWARD THE CAPITOL J MON UME NT GARDEN AND TERRAC E LOO K ING TOWARD THE WHITE H O U S E ILLUSTRATIONS ’ BULF I N CH S DESIGN F OR COM PLETION OF TH E WASH I N GTON MON UMENT OF T S I ST TI NE YOR PLAN HE PENN YLVAN A A ON , W K S T A E U E FA AD E E S I ST TI EVEN H V N g , P NN YLVAN A A ON ! E T C E T A C E E S I ST TI F M N RAN O R AD , P NN YLVAN A A ON , RO MAIN WAITING- ROOM ! I WAI I - ROOM E S I ST TI MA N T NG , P NN YLVAN A A ON ! TH E CONCOUR E E S I S A IO S , P NN YLVAN A T T N “R I C OF O H N I K E S I F . AVE ES DEN E J NNES ANE , ! , F TH NU E NE YOR , W K ! S F McKI M F M R C E CHARLE OLLEN . RO A E NT PHOTO GRA PH (Pho to gravure) CH AR LES FOLLEN MCKIM A STUDY OF H IS LIFE AND WORK CHARLES FOLLEN MCKIM CHAPTER I FOREWORD H E personality of Charles Follen McKim was most strongly marked a i in by two char cterist cs which, him, r i we e carried to an extreme po nt . One of these was modesty and a shrinking from everything in the nature of publicity i i or praise . It s th s characteristic above all others which makes it extremely difficu lt to write anything ' r r i r cKim s in the natu e of a full pe sonal b og aphy. M r his i i his wo k was l fe, and to th s work he gave whole i i r his si be ng without st nt of any sort . Th ough pas on fo r his work and everything connected with it was deve loped what I consider his o ther most strongly r e e ri i his n u i ma k d charact st c, and that was e th s asm fo r and interest in the younge r m e n who were coming in his r i r up p ofess on , and th ough whom he felt that the traditions which he and his two associates were u i i u u i b ld ng p , the fo ndat ons of which they had so ll s i o u .