McKim, Mead & White

Pennsylvania Station in New York City in 1911

McKim, Mead & White was a prominent American architectural firm that thrived at the turn of the twentieth century. The firm's founding partners were Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), William Rutherford Mead (1846–1928) and Stanford White (1853–1906). They hired many other architects, partners, associates, designers and draftsmen, who came to prominence during or after their time at the firm.

The firm's New York City buildings include Manhattan's former Pennsylvania Station, the Brooklyn Museum, and the main campus of Columbia University. Elsewhere in New York State and New England, the firm designed college, library, school and other buildings such as the Boston Public Library and Rhode Island State House. In Washington, D.C., the firm renovated the West and East Wings of the White House, and designed Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair and the National Museum of American History. Across the United States, the firm designed buildings in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. Other examples are in Canada, Cuba and Italy.

History

McKim and Mead joined forces in 1872. They were joined in 1879 by White, who, like McKim, had worked for architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Their work applied the principles of Beaux-Arts architecture, the adoption of the classical Greek and Roman stylistic vocabulary as filtered through the Parisian École des Beaux-Arts, and the related City Beautiful movement after 1893 or so. Its vision was to clean up the visual confusion of American cities and imbue them with a sense of order and formality during America's Gilded Age.[1]

The firm retained its name long after the deaths of founding partners White (1906), McKim (1909), and Mead (1928).[2]

Among the firm's final works under the name McKim, Mead & White was the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Designed primarily by partner James Kellum Smith, it opened in 1964.[3]

Smith died in 1961, and the firm was soon renamed Steinmann, Cain and White. In 1971, it became Walker O. Cain and Associates.[4]

Selected works

New York City

Building Location Year Features Image
Villard Houses 451 Madison Avenue, Manhattan 1884
Harvard Club of New York Manhattan 1894
169 West 83rd Street Manhattan 1885 for David H. King, Romanesque revival
Goelet Building 900 Broadway at East 20th Street, Manhattan 1897
Former New York Life Insurance Company Building Manhattan 1870 designed by Griffith Thomas, remodeled and expanded 1890s
Madison Square Garden II Madison Square, Manhattan 1890 second of four buildings known by this name; razed in 1925
Century Club New York City 1891
Cable Building 611 Broadway, New York City 1893
West End Collegiate Church West End Avenue, Manhattan 1892
Washington Arch Washington Square Park, New York City 1892
Metropolitan Club 1 East 60th St, NYC, New York 1893
Prospect Park Brooklyn, New York 1895–1900 Various features including Parade Place on Lookout Hill, Peristyle, Park Circle granite fixtures, Lullwater Bridge, 1895 Maryland Monument on Lookout Hill
Morningside Heights campus Columbia University 1893–1900 general design and individual buildings including Low Memorial Library, Philosophy Hall, John Jay Hall, Avery Hall, Hamilton Hall
University Heights campus, New York University Bronx 1891–1900 including Hall of Fame for Great Americans 1900, now site of Bronx Community College
Harmonie Club 4 East 60th Street, Manhattan 1905
New York Herald Building Manhattan 1895 razed in 1921
Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn 1895
University Club of New York New York City 1899
Morgan Library & Museum New York City 1903 expanded in 1928
New York Public Library branches New York City 1902-1914 designed 11 branches including Hamilton Grange Branch 1905–1906, 115th Street Branch 1907–1908 Exterior of Hamilton Grange Branch
IRT Powerhouse New York City 1904
Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Brooklyn, New York 1908
Knickerbocker Trust Building 60 Broadway, Manhattan 1909 now razed
The Manhattan Municipal Building 1 Centre Street, Manhattan 1909–1915
Pennsylvania Station Manhattan 1910 above-ground portion razed in 1963
998 Fifth Avenue Manhattan 1912
Bellevue Hospital Center Manhattan 1912
James Farley Post Office Manhattan 1913 often regarded as the architectural twin of New York City's Pennsylvania Station
Racquet and Tennis Club Manhattan 1916–1918
Hotel Pennsylvania Manhattan 1919
Town Hall 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan 1921
110 Livingston Street Brooklyn 1926 former Elks Lodge, former headquarters of New York City Department of Education
Savoy-Plaza Hotel Manhattan 1927 razed in 1965 the large building at center, to the right of the taller, narrow spire
Liggett Hall Governors Island, New York 1929
DeKalb Hall and Information Science Center Brooklyn 1955
North Hall at Pratt Institute Brooklyn 1957

New England and New York State

Building Location Year Features Image
Newport Casino Newport, Rhode Island 1880
John Howard Whittemore House Naugatuck, Connecticut 1880s [5]
Isaac Bell House Newport, Rhode Island 1881–1883
Cyrus McCormick summer estate, shingle-style Richfield Springs, New York 1882 razed 1957
Emdalar Castle - Tickner Estate South Kingstown, Rhode Island 1883 Restored to its original glory in 2014 this is a true MMW masterpiece
Narragansett Pier Casino Narragansett, Rhode Island 1883
Salem School (Naugatuck, Connecticut) Naugatuck, Connecticut 1884 [5] about 1905
Wolf's Head Society, "Old Hall" New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University 1884
Charles J. Osborn Residence Mamaroneck, NY 1885 Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club since 1952[6]
"Four Chimneys" Mansion New Rochelle, New York ?
John F. Andrew Mansion, 32 Hereford Street Boston, Massachusetts 1886
William G. Low House Bristol, Rhode Island 1887 epitome of Shingle Style architecture; razed 1962
Algonquin Club Boston 1888
Johnston Gate, Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 1889
Fayerweather Hall, Amherst College Amherst, Massachusetts 1890
Walker Art Building, Bowdoin College Brunswick, Maine 1894
Whittemore Memorial Library Naugatuck, Connecticut 1894 [5]
Adams Power Plant Transformer House Niagara Falls, New York 1895
Boston Public Library Boston 1895 Interior of Bates Hall
Dudley Pickman House, 303 Commonwealth Avenue (Bay Bay) Boston 1895
Reid Hall, Manhattanville College Purchase, New York 1895
Rhode Island State House Providence, Rhode Island 1895–1904
Garden City Hotel Garden City, New York 1895 burned 1899
House for Frederick Vanderbilt, "Hyde Park" Hyde Park 1895–1898
Woodlea Briarcliff Manor, New York 1895 now Sleepy Hollow Country Club
James L. Breese House "The Orchard" Southampton, New York 1897-1906
Rosecliff Newport, Rhode Island 1898–1902
Harbor Hill Long Island, New York 1899–1902 razed 1947
Symphony Hall Boston, Massachusetts 1900
Hill-Stead Museum Farmington, Connecticut 1901 estate of Alfred Atmore Pope, designed with Theodate Pope Riddle
Astor Courts Rhinebeck, New York 1902–1904 estate of John Jacob Astor
Rockefeller Hall, Brown University Providence, Rhode Island 1904 now Faunce House
Naugatuck High School Naugatuck, Connecticut 1904 Hillside Middle School since 1959
Waterbury Union Station 389 Meadow Street, Waterbury, Connecticut 1909 Renaissance Revival style featuring a clock tower modeled on the Torre del Mangia in Siena, Italy[7]
Plymouth Rock portico Plymouth, Massachusetts 1920
Foster Hall, University at Buffalo South Campus Buffalo, New York 1921
Harvard Business School Boston, Massachusetts 1925
Ira Allen Chapel, University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont 1925
Olin Memorial Library, Wesleyan University Middletown, Connecticut 1925
Memorial Chapel, Union College Schenectady, New York 1925
Lincoln Alliance Building Rochester, New York 1926
Rochester Savings Bank Rochester, New York 1927
Burlington City Hall Burlington, Vermont 1928
Levermore Hall, Blodgett Hall, and Woodruff Hall, Adelphi University Garden City, New York 1929
Schenectady City Hall Schenectady, New York 1931–1933
The Little Red Schoolhouse, Amherst College Amherst, Massachusetts 1937
Housatonic Railroad Station[8] U.S. Route 7, Stockbridge, Massachusetts 1893 English Gothic Revival style, stone
New York Central Railroad Station Ardsley Avenue and Hudson Road, Ardsley-on-Hudson 1895 Shingle Style with Tudor and Romanesque Revival elements[8]

New Jersey

Building Location Year Features Image
Florham Campus Fairleigh Dickinson University 1897 originally "Florham," the estate of Hamilton Twombly and Florence Vanderbilt, one of many Vanderbilt houses
Orange Public Library Orange, New Jersey 1901
St. Peter's Episcopal Church Morristown, New Jersey 1889-1913 English-medieval style parish church.
FitzRandolph Gate Princeton, New Jersey 1905 The official entrance of Princeton University
University Cottage Club Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 1906 One of the Eating clubs at Princeton University
Pennsylvania Station Raymond Plaza West at Market Street, Newark, New Jersey 1935 Art Deco style[8]

Washington, D.C.

Building Location Year Features Image
White House, West Wing and East Wing 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 1903 Renovation West wing c. 1909
Roosevelt Hall, National War College Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 1903–1907
National Museum of American History Washington, D.C. 1964
Patterson Mansion 15 Dupont Circle NW 1903
St. John's Church, Lafayette Square 1525 H St NW, Washington, DC 20005 1919 Renovation

Other U.S. locations

Building Location Year Features Image
First Methodist Episcopal Church, Lovely Lane United Methodist Church Baltimore 1884
Cramond Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania 1886
McKelvy House (formerly "Oakhurst"), Lafayette College, College Hill Easton, Pennsylvania 1888 [9]
New York Life Insurance Building Kansas City, Missouri 1890
Open Gates, George Sealy Mansion Galveston, Texas 1891
Germantown Cricket Club Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1891
The Agricultural Building at the World Columbian Exposition Chicago, Illinois 1893
Agricultural Building — Official Views Of The World's Columbian Exposition — 18
Old Cabell Hall, Cocke Hall, and Rouss Hall, University of Virginia Charlottesville 1898 approx
Savoyard Centre Detroit, Michigan 1900 originally State Savings Bank; National Register of Historic Places 1982
Protection of the Flag Monument Athens, Pennsylvania 1900–1902
English Building, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, Illinois 1905
Carr's Hill, or University of Virginia President's House Charlottesville, Virginia 1906
Omaha National Bank Building Omaha, Nebraska 1906 originally the New York Life Building, 1889)[10]
Girard Bank Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1908
Fayette National Bank Building Lexington, Kentucky 1914 [11]
Minneapolis Institute of Arts Minneapolis, Minnesota 1915
Peabody Demonstration School Nashville, Tennessee 1915 now University School of Nashville
National McKinley Birthplace Memorial Library and Museum Niles, Ohio 1915
Butler Institute of American Art Youngstown, Ohio 1919 listed on National Register of Historic Places
Cohen Memorial Hall (Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery), Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee 1928 approx
Milwaukee County Courthouse Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1931
Chittenden Hall, University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont 1947
Dietrich Hall, now Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 1952

Other countries

Building Location Year Features Image
Bank of Montreal Head Office Montreal 1901–1905 additions
Bank of Montreal Building Winnipeg, Manitoba 1913
American Academy in Rome Main Building Rome, Italy 1914
Hotel Nacional de Cuba Havana, Cuba 1930

Notable architects of McKim, Mead & White

References

Notes

  1. Broderick, Mosette (2010), Triumvirate: McKim, Mead & White: Art, Architecture, Scandal, and Class in America's Gilded Age
  2. "[Mead's] widow receives all the estate of about $250,000"], New York Times (November 27, 1928); "Mrs. Olga Kilenyi Mead, widow,... bequeathed her entire estate to the trustees of Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts" in New York Times (April 23, 1936). The money was used to build the Mead Art Building, which was designed by James Kellum Smith of McKim, Mead and White.
  3. "NMAH Mission & History". National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  4. Patricia McGraw Anderson (1988). The Architecture of Bowdoin College. Brunswick, Maine: Bowdoin College Museum of Art. http://library.bowdoin.edu/arch/images/lunagallery/libraryluna.shtml
  5. 1 2 3 Blackwell, D. and The Naugatuck Historical Society 1996 "Images of Naugatuck". Arcadia Publishing
  6. Charles J. Osborn Residence
  7. Potter, Janet Greenstein (1996), Great American Railroad Stations
  8. 1 2 3 Potter, Janet Greenstein (1996). Great American Railroad Stations. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 94, 154, 164. ISBN 978-0471143895.
  9. "McKelvy House" on the Council of Independent Colleges Historic Campus Architecture Project website
  10. Bluffton University Digital Imagine Project
  11. http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/80001513.pdf

Bibliography


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