John W. McKecknie (1862–1934) was an American architect working in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, who applied the principles of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

in the construction of commercial structures clad in a repertory of classical motifs. He produced designs for some 120 commercial buildings, residences and apartment blocks, establishing the monumental character of West Armour Boulevard with more than a dozen colonnaded apartment blocks. Several of his structures are now registered in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, and others contribute to their Historic District designations. Born in

Clarksville, Ohio Clarksville is a village in Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 534 at the 2020 census. It is served by the Clinton Massie branch of the Wilmington Public Library of Clinton County. History Clarksville was laid out in 1816. ...

, McKechnie studied for two years at Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio, (1880–82) before entering

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

(AB, 1886), which he followed with two years at the

Columbia School of Mines The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (popularly known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; previously known as Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University. It was founded as t ...

, New York City. He worked in New York for Cady, Berg & See, architects of the original Metropolitan Opera House and the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

. McKechnie taught evening courses in architecture at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, predecessor of the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

, and installed full-scale sections of the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

and other structures at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, New York. In 1895 he toured Italy, documenting and drawing architecture. The results, supporting Prof. William H. Goodyear's theory that mathematical regularity in ancient buildings was the exception rather than the rule, was published in the ''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...

'', 1896–97. In 1897/98 McKechnie moved to the booming city of Kansas City, Missouri, to work at first as architect for the builders Hucke & Sexton. By 1900 he had opened his own practice; in 1914 he was joined by his long-term employee Frank Trask as partner.

Selected works

All in Kansas City, Missouri *Gumbel Building, 801 Walnut Street (1904); one of the earliest examples of reinforced concrete construction in the country, faced with

architectural terracotta Architectural terracotta refers to a fired mixture of clay and water that can be used in a non-structural, semi-structural, or structural capacity on the exterior or interior of a building. Terracotta pottery, as earthenware is called when not us ...

tiling *Gloyd Building, 921 Walnut Street (1909); the first reinforced concrete skyscraper in Kansas City and the first clear-span construction skyscraper in the Midwest *Montgomery Ward and Company General Merchandise Warehouse, 819 East 19th Street (1908, mirror addition constructed 1910); a reinforced concrete structure with traditional façade of red brick and classical details, recognized for its architectural and cultural significance *Dr. Herbert Tureman residence, 5235 Oak Street (1911); much modified, today it is owned by

University of Missouri-Kansas City A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and houses the

National Toy and Miniature Museum The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, formerly known as the Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum,Schultz, EricToy and Miniature Museum adds 'National' to its Name KSHB 41 Action News, published 7 May 2013, accessed 6 June 2013. is located on ...

*Grand Avenue Temple and office building, 205 East 9th Street and 903 Grand Avenue (1911); a reinforced concrete and masonry church in Greek Revival style with associated 12-story steel frame neo-classical office building *Stine and McClure Undertaking Company Building, 924 Oak Street (1912); built with a neo-Egyptian r_ r_Egyptian_Revival">Egyptian_Revival.html"_;"title="r_Egyptian_Revival">r_Egyptian_Revivalexterior,_ahead_of_the_Egyptianizing_trend_of_the_1920s_ *Kansas_City_Southern_Railway_Building_(Kansas_City,_Missouri).html" ;"title="Egyptian_Revival.html" ;"title="Egyptian_Revival.html" ;"title="r Egyptian Revival">r Egyptian Revival">Egyptian_Revival.html" ;"title="r Egyptian Revival">r Egyptian Revivalexterior, ahead of the Egyptianizing trend of the 1920s *Kansas City Southern Railway Building (Kansas City, Missouri)">Kansas City Southern Railway Building, 114 West 11th Street (1914); this headquarters was built to house business operations (ticket sales, accounting, land acquisition, executive offices, etc.) of the rapidly-growing private corporation with a strengthened foundation and walls to accommodate future vertical expansion *Montgomery Ward Distribution Warehouse, 6200 East Saint John Avenue (1914) *University Club Building, 918 Baltimore Avenue (1923); the reinforced concrete and masonry neoclassical structure was built from the McKecknie-Trask partnership for a men's social organization, housed the Kansas City Club from 2001-2015, and now operates as a special events venue

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKecknie, John 1862 births 1934 deaths American architects People from Kansas City, Missouri Columbia School of Mines alumni Princeton University alumni Wilmington College (Ohio) alumni People from Clinton County, Ohio