Charles Follen McKim (
August 24, 1847–September 14, 1909) was one of the most prominent American
Beaux-Arts architects of the late nineteenth century. Along with
Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partnership
McKim, Mead, and White (
q.v. for list of works). He was named after
Charles Follen, noted
abolitionist and
Unitarian minister.
McKim studied architecture at the
École des Beaux-Arts in
Paris before joining the office of
Henry Hobson Richardson in
1870. McKim formed his own firm in partnership with
William Rutherford Mead, joined in
1877 by fellow Richardson protegé
Stanford White. For ten years, the firm was primarily known for their open-plan informal summer houses. McKim became best known, however, as an exponent of Beaux-Arts architecture in styles that exemplified the
American Renaissance, exemplified by the
Boston Public Library (1887), and several works in
New York City: the Morningside Heights campus of
Columbia University (1893), the
University Club of New York (1899), the
Pierpont Morgan Library (1903),
New York Penn Station (1904–10), and The
Butler Institute of American Art in
Youngstown, Ohio (1919).
McKim received numerous awards during his lifetime, including the Medaille d'Or at the
1900 Paris Exposition, a gold medal from
Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and honorary doctorates from the
University of Pennsylvania and
Columbia University. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Institute of Architects in 1877, and received the AIA's gold medal, posthumously, in 1909.