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 A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while th ...

Early life

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in 1868, the youngest of the three sons of Charles Burtis Keen and Harriet Emily Ide. He studied architecture at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, graduating in 1889. Upon returning from a sojourn to Europe, he worked for a year as a

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for m ...

for Theophilus P. Chandler, the founder of UPenn's school of architecture, before working for his cousin

Frank Miles Day Frank Miles Day (April 5, 1861 – June 15, 1918) was a Philadelphia-based architect who specialized in residences and academic buildings. Career In 1883, he graduated from the Towne School of the University of Pennsylvania, and traveled to Europe ...

, one of the three founders of '' House and Garden''. Keen also studied at the

Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (PMSIA), also referred to as the School of Applied Art, was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 26, 1876, as both a museum and teaching institution. This was in response to t ...

between 1890 and 1892. One of his classmates was Frank E. Mead, whom Keen later worked with prior to Mead's departure for California. His protégé in the early 20th century was

William Roy Wallace William Roy DeWitt Wallace; (November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher. Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922. Lif ...

Career

Keen designed suburban residences and country estates for over thirty-five years, mostly along the

Philadelphia Main Line The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's once prestigious Main Line, it runs no ...

. He became the architect of choice among the wealthy, including

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

tobacco magnate

R. J. Reynolds Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The son of a tobacco farmer, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry College from 1868 to 1870 ...

. For Reynolds, he designed his

Reynolda House The Reynolda House Museum of American Art displays a premiere collection of United States, American art ranging from the colonial period to the present. Built in 1917 by Katharine Smith Reynolds and her husband R. J. Reynolds, founder of the R. J ...

residence, now a museum, in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. He partnered with landscape architect

Thomas Sears Thomas Warren Sears (December 15, 1880 – June 1966) was a noted American landscape architect. Sears was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to Alexander Pomeroy and Elizabeth Prescott (Jones) Sears. He received his A.B. in 1903 from Harvard Co ...

on several projects.

Selected works

Reynolda House circa 1915 Winston Salem North Carolina

Keen was responsible for the following buildings: * Swarthmore Lodge,

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania Swarthmore ( , ) is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Swarthmore was originally named "Westdale" in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to "Swarthmore" after the es ...

* Lasater House, Winston-Salem, North Carolina * Lucy Henry Harrison House, Brookneal, Virginia (1911) *

, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (1912–1917) * Alexander Worth McAllister House,

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

(1918–1919) *

Richard J. Reynolds High School Richard J. Reynolds High School now the Richard J. Reynolds Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts (often simply R. J. Reynolds High School or Reynolds) is a high school in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools located in Winston ...

, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Personal life

Keen was an accomplished golfer. As a member of

Pine Valley Golf Club Pine Valley Golf Club is a golf course in Pine Valley, Camden County, in southern New Jersey. It was ranked the number one course in ''Golf Magazines 100 Top Courses in the U.S. and the World in 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2020. It is a private cl ...

, he won his division at the 1920 winter tournament at

Pinehurst, North Carolina Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 13,124. It is home of the historic Pinehurst Resort, a Golf resort, which has hosted multiple United States Open Champion ...

. 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. He returned north the following year, however, with Wallace joining him as partner. Keen was a fellow of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

Death

Keen died of a stroke on February 12, 1931, while in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Bermuda. He was 62, and had been ill since April 1929. He was interred in

Woodlands Cemetery The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark District on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It includes a Federal-style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed into a ...

in Philadelphia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keen, Charles Barton 1868 births 1931 deaths Architects from Philadelphia 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects University of Pennsylvania people Fellows of the American Institute of Architects