McKim, Charles Follen
(24 August 1847–14 September 1909)
- Richard Guy Wilson
Extract
McKim, Charles Follen (24 August 1847–14 September 1909), architect, was born in Isabella Furnace, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the son of James Miller McKim, an abolitionist, and Sarah Allibone Speakman, a Quaker. The radical politics of his parents appear to have had little impact on McKim, who grew up to become the senior member of the prestigious McKim, Mead & White partnership and was known for his promotion of classicism as the basis for American architecture. However, McKim’s devotion to the civic nature of architecture and to developing an art suitable for the United States, combined with his tenacious willpower, undoubtedly owed a debt to his upbringing....
