Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison

Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison, Jr.
Born(1872-09-29)September 29, 1872
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 15, 1938(1938-12-15) (aged 66)
New York City, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
OccupationArchitect
Spouse
Aurelie de Mauriac
​
​
(m. 1902⁠–⁠1938)​
Children
  • Katherine Murchison Browning
  • Aurelie Murchison de Wardener
Parents
  • Kenneth M. Murchison Sr.
  • Catherine Elliott Williams

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.[1]

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;[2][3] the Lackawanna Terminal and the Lehigh Valley Terminal, both in Buffalo, New York; and Baltimore Pennsylvania Station.[4]

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.[1]

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:[1]

  • Katherine Murchison, who married Hays Browning.[1]
  • Aurelie Murchison, who married Edouard de Wardener.[1]

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.[1]

Buildings

Name Location Date Built for Current use Image
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station 1 Hudson Place, Hoboken, New Jersey 1907 Lackawanna Railroad Railroad station
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station 700 Lackawanna Ave at Jefferson Ave, Scranton, Pennsylvania 1908 Lackawanna Railroad Hotel
Beaux-Arts Apartments 307 and 310 E. 44th St., New York 1929–1930 Apartments
U.S. Marine Hospital Staten Island, New York
Havana Central railway station 401 Avenida de Bélgica, Havana, Cuba 1912 Congress of Cuba Railroad station

Pennsylvania Station 47 Walnut St, Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1916 Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Station[5] 1515 N Charles St, Baltimore, Maryland 1911 Pennsylvania Railroad
Union Station 1000 Water St at Park St, Jacksonville, Florida 1919 Florida East Coast Railway, et al. Convention center
Lincoln Baths[6] 65 S Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (SPA State Park) 1928 New York State Department of Public Works Museum and Office Space
Lincoln Bath exterior

He also designed:

References

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


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