Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Summary:
Biographical material, correspondence, subject files, drawings, photographs, and printed material concern Maginnis' architectural projects.
Reel 1451: Biographical material consists of 4 brief biographical accounts, an interview transcript (1952-1953), and certificates. Correspondence (1909-1978), primarily about architectural projects, includes letters from John Angel, Giovanni Castano, Charles Connick, Walter Gropius, and Aimée Lamb. Two photographs show Maginnis (ca. 1936). Two subject files (1945-1948) contain letters, announcements, proposals, and lecture notes concerning work on St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, and construction at Boston College. Art works consist of 10 drawings (1913-1929) and a heliotype print of a landscape by Maginnis, and 2 drawings by Bertram Goodhue. Printed material includes booklets on Catholic architecture (1900) and Maginnis (1956), 2 clippings (1955), invitations and a program.
Reel 3134: A 2-page biographical sketch contains comments about American architecture. Two letters concern a speech Maginnis gave at the Eire Society of Boston (1941, 1980). Photographs show Maginnis at the construction site of the Lenox Street Housing Project, Boston, and with Joseph Leland. Four clippings date from 1941 to 1978.
Reel 4314: A photograph of R. Clipston Sturgis is autographed "To Robert Walsh from his friend R. Clipston Sturgis". A clipping concerns Boston College's architecture (1963).
Citation:
Charles Donagh Maginnis papers, 1900-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Microfilm reels 1451, 3134, and 4314 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Location of Originals:
Originals returned to the lender, Alice Maginnis Walsh, after microfilming.
Related Materials:
Business records of the firm Maginnis & Walsh located at Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
Biography Note:
Architect. Born in Londonderry, Ireland, Maginnis was educated at Cusack's Academy in Dublin. In 1885, he settled in Toronto, Canada, moving to Boston, Massachusetts three years later. In 1890, Maginnis began working for Edmund M. Wheelwright, becoming head draftsman in 1891. In 1898, Maginnis joined Timothy Walsh of Peabody and Stearns and Matthew Sullivan of Wheelwright's company to form their own company. In 1905, Maginnis, Walsh, and Sullivan became Maginnis and Walsh. Maginnis married Amy Brooks in 1908. He was the author of a book, PEN DRAWING, and served as chairman of the Boston Art Commission, president of the American Institute of Architects, and trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among other activities.
Provenance:
The lender and donor, Alice Maginnis Walsh, is Charles Donagh Maginnis' daughter and the wife of his junior partner, Robert Walsh.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
