Charles Donagh Maginnis, FAIA

Year Awarded: 1948
Born: January 07, 1867; Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Died: 1955; Brookline,Massachusetts,USA

Quote
What is utility but an end that can be seen by the short-sighted?


Projects
• 1914: Emmanuel College in the Fens
• 1909: new campus of Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
• 1908: Gasson Tower, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
• Church of St. Catherine of Genoa, Somerville, Mass.
• St. Aidan's Church, Brookline, Mass.
• Chancel at Trinity Church, Boston
• High Altar at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City
• National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.,
• Carmelite Convent, Santa Clara, Calif.


Biography
A native of Northern Ireland, Charles Maginnis emigrated to the United States in 1885, when he was 18 years old. He apprenticed for Edmund Wheelwright in Boston as a draftsman.

He partnered with Timothy Walsh to form the firm Maginnis & Walsh. In 1900 he joined the Boston Society of Architects, where from 1924 to 1926 he served as its president. Maginnis & Walsh won the commission for Boston College’s new campus in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The American Architect magazine named it the most beautiful campus in America. Following that accolade, Maginnis & Walsh designed buildings for more than 25 schools across the country.

Maginnis served as president of the American Institute of Architects from 1937 to 1939. In 1945 he became the first recipient of the Eire Society Gold Medal, given annually by the Eire Society of Boston for significant contributions to Irish achievements. He received honorary degrees from Boston College, Harvard, the College of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, and Tufts University.

Considered the father of American Gothic architecture, Maginnis designed buildings in every major city in America, and his works are considered important landmarks. He also wrote and spoke on the role of architecture in society.

Two of Maginnis's best-known works are the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception (1922-1955) in Washington, D.C., and the Carmelite Convent (1922) in Santa Clara, Calif.