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Charles Barton Keen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Barton Keen
Keen pictured in 1928
BornDecember 5, 1868
DiedFebruary 12, 1931(1931-02-12) (aged 62)
Hamilton, Bermuda
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect

Charles Barton Keen (December 5, 1868 – February 12, 1931) was an American architect, prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was known for designing residences and country estates.[1]

Early life

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Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1868,[2] the youngest of the three sons of Charles Burtis Keen and Harriet Emily Ide.[1]

He studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), graduating in 1889. Upon returning from a sojourn to Europe, he worked for a year as a draftsman for Theophilus P. Chandler, the founder of UPenn's school of architecture, before working for his cousin Frank Miles Day, one of the three founders of House and Garden.[1]

Keen also studied at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art between 1890 and 1892.[1] One of his classmates was Frank E. Mead, whom Keen later worked with prior to Mead's departure for California.[1]

His protégé in the early 20th century was William Roy Wallace.[1]

Career

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Keen designed suburban residences and country estates for over thirty-five years, mostly along the Philadelphia Main Line.[1] He became the architect of choice among the wealthy, including North Carolina tobacco magnate R. J. Reynolds.[1] For Reynolds, he designed his Reynolda House residence, now a museum, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[3] He partnered with landscape architect Thomas Sears on several projects.[1]

Selected works

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Reynolda House, c. 1915, during its construction

Keen was responsible for the following buildings:[1]

Personal life

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Keen was an accomplished golfer. As a member of Pine Valley Golf Club, he won his division at the 1920 winter tournament at Pinehurst, North Carolina.[1]

In May 1923, at the request of Katharine Reynolds Johnston, Keen relocated his family from Pennsylvania to Winston-Salem. His business was based at the Wachovia Building.[5] He returned north the following year, however, with Wallace joining him as partner.[1]

Keen was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.[6]

Death

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Keen died of a stroke on February 12, 1931, while in Hamilton, Bermuda. He was 62, and had been ill since April 1929.[6] He was interred in Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Keen, Charles Barton (1868-1931)". ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  2. ^ Biographical Catalogue of the Matriculates of the College Together with Lists of the Members of the College Faculty and the Trustees, Officers and Recipients of Honorary Degrees, 1749-1893. University of Pennsylvania. 1894. p. 452.
  3. ^ "Charles Barton Keen and the Philadelphia School". www.classicist.org. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  4. ^ Hill, Patrick Henry's Red. "Red Hill". Patrick Henry's Red Hill. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Keen, Charles Barton (1868-1931) data from the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings (PAB) project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia
  6. ^ a b "Obituary 10 -- No Title". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2023.