Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison explained

Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison, Jr.
Birth Date:29 September 1872
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality:American

Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison, Jr. (September 29, 1872 – December 15, 1938) was a prominent American Beaux-Arts and Gothic Revival architect.

Early life

He was born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1872. Murchison graduated from Columbia University in 1894 and from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France, in 1900.

Career

Two years after graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts, he opened an office in New York where his first major commissions were for railroad stations for the Pennsylvania Railroad company. Among the stations he designed are Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey;[1] [2] the Lackawanna Terminal and the Lehigh Valley Terminal, both in Buffalo, New York; and Baltimore Pennsylvania Station.[3]

In New York, he was well known as one of the founders of the Beaux Arts Balls, elaborate costume parties benefiting architects who had fallen on hard times. He also was a founder of the Mendelsohn Glee Club. At the time of his death, he had started work on a new Dunes Club to replace the one destroyed a few months earlier.

Personal life

On April 5, 1902, Murchison married Aurelie de Mauriac. They lived in the Beaux-Arts Apartments, which he designed, at 310 E. 44th St. They were the parents of two daughters:

Murchison died suddenly, at 11:45 p.m. on December 15, 1938, while at the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's Grand Central–42nd Street station, as The New York Times reported.[4]

Buildings

Name Location Date Built for Current use Image
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station1 Hudson Place, Hoboken, New Jersey1907Lackawanna RailroadRailroad station
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station700 Lackawanna Ave at Jefferson Ave, Scranton, Pennsylvania1908Lackawanna RailroadHotel
Beaux-Arts Apartments307 and 310 E. 44th St., New York1929–1930Apartments
U.S. Marine HospitalStaten Island, New York
Havana Central railway station401 Avenida de Bélgica, Havana, Cuba1912Congress of CubaRailroad station
Pennsylvania Station47 Walnut St, Johnstown, Pennsylvania1916Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Station[5] 1515 N Charles St, Baltimore, Maryland1911Pennsylvania Railroad
Union Station1000 Water St at Park St, Jacksonville, Florida1919Florida East Coast Railway, et al.Convention center
Lincoln Baths[6] 65 S Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (SPA State Park)1928New York State Department of Public WorksMuseum and Office Space

He also designed:

Notes and References

  1. Book: Railroad Gazette. 1905-01-01. Railroad gazette.. en.
  2. News: Barron. James. James Barron (journalist). Hoboken Terminal, With Flair and Grandeur, Is a Survivor. The New York Times. September 30, 2016.
  3. Dorsey, John and James D Dilts, ‘’A Guide to Baltimore Architecture’’, Tidewater Publishers, Centerville, Maryland, 1981 p 281-282
  4. Web site: Penn Station's architect designed terminals in Hoboken, Scranton. 25 September 2011 .
  5. Dorsey, John and James D Dilts, ‘’A Guide to Baltimore Architecture’’, Tidewater Publishers, Centerville, Maryland, 1981 p 178-179
  6. Book: Kettlewell, James K.. Saratoga Springs: An Architectural History 1790-1990. Lyrical Ballad Book Store. 1991.
  7. Web site: Queens Ledger - The architect behind the Forest Hills stadium.