McKim, Mead & White
McKim, Mead & White
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]
According to one scholar, "Running through the world of McKim, Mead & White was a sense of the exploration of life's pleasures. A circle of bisexual and homosexual entertainment can be traced within the office. The circle included Stanford White, [Augustus] Saint Gaudens, Joseph M. Wells, Frank Millet, Whitney Warren, Thomas Hastings and probably [William R.] Mead, and many others."[2]
The firm retained its name long after the deaths of founding partners White (1906), McKim (1909), and Mead (1928).[3]
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.[4]
Smith died in 1961, and the firm was soon renamed Steinmann, Cain and White. In 1971, it became Walker O. Cain and Associates.[5]
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 | 1894–98 | White marble Renaissance palazzo-style building. MMW took over the commission upon the death of Stephen D. Hatch in 1894.[6] |  |
| 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 | Verify Attribution |  |
| 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 |  |
| 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 | .jpg) | |
| 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 |  |
| 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 | [7] | |
| 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 condition in 2014. |  |
| Narragansett Pier Casino | Narragansett, Rhode Island | 1883 |  | |
| Salem School (Naugatuck, Connecticut) | Naugatuck, Connecticut | 1884 | [7] |  |
| 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[8] | |
| "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 | _-_IMG_8974.JPG) | |
| Fayerweather Hall, Amherst College | Amherst, Massachusetts | 1890 | ||
| Walker Art Building, Bowdoin College | Brunswick, Maine | 1894 | ||
| Whittemore Memorial Library | Naugatuck, Connecticut | 1894 | [7] | |
| Adams Power Plant Transformer House | Niagara Falls, New York | 1895 |  | |
| Boston Public Library | Boston | 1895 |  | |
| 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 | .jpg) | |
| 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 | _-_west_facade.JPG) |
| 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[9] | |
| 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 |  | |
| George Eastman House Museum National Historic Site | Rochester, New York | c.1903 | Mr. Eastman hired McKim, Mead & White to design the interior of his Georgian Colonial Revival Mansion which was nearly an exact, large scale duplicate of the Robert Root House that was built by the firm in Buffalo, New York c.1894 | [10] |
| 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[11] | 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[11] | |
| Park Lane Apartments | Mount Vernon, New York | 1929 | ||
| The Cedars/Lord's Castle Remodel | Piermont, New York | 1892 | "The original gable ends were stepped, the pointy "Gothick" windows were Edwardianized, the wooden porches reconstructed in stone, the tower on the west capped with a conical roof, the forest of delicate chimney pots combined and bulked up, and the reconfigured interior given heavy doses of classical columns, balusters, dadoes, fireplaces and moldings." [12][13] |
New Jersey
| Building | Location | Year | Features | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florham Campus [29] | 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[11] |  |
Washington, D.C.
| Building | Location | Year | Features | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White House, West Wing and East Wing | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. | 1903 | Renovation [30] |  |
| 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 [31] |  |
| Pedestal, Jeanne d'Arc[14] | Meridian Hill Park | 1922 | Measures about 10 feet long and 6 feet high |
Other U.S. locations
| Building | Location | Year | Features | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Methodist Episcopal Church, Lovely Lane United Methodist Church | Baltimore | 1884 | .jpg) | |
| Cramond | Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania | 1886 |  | |
| McKelvy House (formerly "Oakhurst"), Lafayette College, College Hill | Easton, Pennsylvania | 1888 | [15] | |
| 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 | ||
| 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)[16] |  |
| Girard Bank | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1908 |  | |
| Fayette National Bank Building | Lexington, Kentucky | 1914 | [17] |  |
| 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 | ||
| University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | 1929 | Expansion of campus [32] |
Other countries
Notable architects of McKim, Mead & White
Henry Bacon – worked at the firm from about 1886 through 1897; left with fellow employee James Brite to open their own office.
William A. Boring – worked at the firm in 1890 before forming a separate partnership with Edward Lippincott Tilton.
Charles Lewis Bowman – a draftsman at the firm until 1922, noted for his large number of private residences throughout Westchester County, New York including Bronxville, Pelham Manor, Mamaroneck and New Rochelle.
A. Page Brown - worked with the firm beginning in the 1880s; went to California, where he was known for the San Francisco Ferry Building.
Walker O. Cain – worked at the firm; he took it over in 1961 and renamed it several times.
J.E.R. Carpenter – worked at the firm for several years before designing much of upper Fifth and Park Avenues, including 907 Fifth Avenue, 825 Fifth Avenue, 625 Park Avenue, 550 Park Avenue and the Lincoln Building on 42nd Street.
John Merven Carrère (1858–1911) – worked with McKim, Mead & White from 1883 through 1885, then joined Thomas Hastings to form the firm Carrère and Hastings.
Thomas Harlan Ellett (1880–1951).
Cass Gilbert – worked with the firm until 1882, when he went to work with James Knox Taylor; later designed many notable structures, among them the George Washington Bridge and the Woolworth Building.
Arthur Loomis Harmon – later of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon.
Thomas Hastings (1860–1929) – of Carrère and Hastings, worked with McKim, Mead & White from 1883 through 1885.
John Galen Howard (1864-1931)
John Mead Howells (1868-1959)
William Mitchell Kendall (1856 – 1941), worked with the firm from 1882 until his death.
Harrie T. Lindeberg – started at the firm in 1895 as an assistant to Stanford White and remained with the firm until White's death in 1906.
Austin W. Lord – worked with the firm in 1890-94 on designs for Brooklyn Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Metropolitan Club, and buildings at Columbia University
Harold Van Buren Magonigle (1867-1935)
Albert Randolph Ross
Philip Sawyer (1868-1949)
James Kellum Smith (1893–1961) – a member of the firm from 1924 to 1961; full partner in 1929, and the last surviving partner of MM&W. He primarily designed academic buildings, but his last major work was the National Museum of American History.
Egerton Swartwout of Tracy and Swartwout – both Tracy and Swartwout worked together for the firm on multiple projects prior to starting their own practice.
Edward Lippincott Tilton – helped design the Boston Public Library in 1890 before leaving with Boring.
Robert von Ezdorf – took over much of the firm's business after White's death.
Joseph M. Wells (1853–1890) – worked as firm's first Chief Draftsman from 1879–90; often considered to be the firm's "fourth partner", and largely responsible for its Renaissance Revival designs in 1880s.
William M. Whidden – worked at the firm from at least 1882 until 1888; projects included the Tacoma and Portland hotels in Washington and Oregon, respectively; moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1888 to finish the hotel and established his own firm with Ion Lewis
York and Sawyer – Edward York (1863–1928) and Philip Sawyer (1868–1949) worked together for the firm before starting their own partnership in 1898.