Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-25
AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE
Growth Of American Schools and De
ve1opment Of Taste,

From the New York Evening Post
The following extracts from the address
delivered by Charles Follen McKim when
he was honored with the royal gold medal
| by the Royal Institute of British Architects
| are taken from the British Architect:
| LAS bearer Of many messages from
| across the seas, cannot let such an occa-
sion as this pass by without at least briefly
adverting to the ties which have united nc
in the past and which must render the de-
| velopment of our future of something more
| than passing interest to you. l will add
| also word concerning recent events on
| our side of the water. The early buildings
of the New England coast, dating back to
| the eighteenth century and more rarely
| to the seventeenth. from the once vice
| s. c., have happily descended to u.s. de-
| spite political revolutions. Notwithstand-
| Ing their simpler forms. both of construc-
| ton and design, made necessary by slender
| plantation, they still reflect the mother
| country In their excellence Of construction,
| as well as sound and correct taste. Pre-
| cisely the most interesting, and in their
| sphere the most admirable architectural
monuments of my native land private
dwellings and public buildings alike, are
those that most strongly recall their Eng
| lish prototypes. Our obligations, for in
stance, to Sir Christopher Wren are very
imperfectly understood even at home yet
| the cities Of the Atlantic seaboard, espe-
Chilly III NEW bISldnQ, ABOUND In exam
pies showing the influence of his school,
The struggle of these landmarks for ex-
| istence in the advancing tide of CONNER
cial prosperity before which they are grad
ually being swept away is melancholy
daily spectacle. Not alone deplorable in
the loss of historic monuments but for the
lessons they invariably teach Of sound pro-
portion, simplicity and good manners
Happily some of the best examples re-
main to us. At the seat Of government. for
instance, our Capitol and the home of the
President, the White House, are both sin
gularly animated by pure taste and de-
voted love of beauty, not to mention the
city hall and the old department buildings
of the city of Washington. OF these, for
let us gratefully acknowledge that the
Capitol, though enlarged and changed
since, was originally designed by one Will
liam Thornton. the White House by GER
tain James Hoban, while the city hall and
old department buildings were the crea-
ton of q man of the name of Hadf1eld-all
Englishmen! I can we'll remember the
thrill of surprise and pleasure which ex-
perienced on my first visit to England,
more than thirty years ago, in the discov-
cry of a strange familiarity in the appear
ance of things. and in the sense Of not
Though 1 did not understand it then the
reason, as has been shown, was not far to
seek.
building of the era which we call early
and you ingloriously late, albeit of the Pc
Rod of Adam-the Octagon. Our institute
which has urged upon governments-na-
tional. state and municipal-the duty Of
preserving historic monuments, has itself
recently secured possession Of one of the
historic houses of America, known from It's
shape as the Octagon and designed by the
same William Thornton, architect Of the
Capitol. Here in the early days was dis
pensed liberal hospitality by President
Madison, whose home 1t was Under its
roof. too, the treaty of Client was signed
The house was finished in a manner bef1t-
ting its Importance, and today is in an
excellent state of preservation. Thus the
expressed desire and often recurring eff
permanent home has been accomplished
after nearly half a century Of existence
May 1t typify to those who assemble in 1t,
as well as to the people of the city OF
Washington. the spirit of public service"