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Maginnis & Walsh

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Maginnis & Walsh, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 24 July 2025
Maginnis & Walsh
Company typeArchitectural firm
IndustryArchitecture
Founded1905
FounderCharles Donagh Maginnis, Timothy Francis Walsh
Headquarters
Boston
,
United States
ProductsChurch architecture, Collegiate Gothic architecture

Maginnis & Walsh was an architectural firm based in Boston, established in 1905 by Charles Donagh Maginnis and Timothy Francis Walsh. The firm gained recognition for its pioneering church architecture during the early 1900s in Boston.

Partners

Charles Donagh Maginnis, born in 1867 in Derry, Ireland, moved to Boston at age 18 and trained under architect Edmund M. Wheelwright. Inspired by Ralph Adams Cram, he emerged as a prominent Gothic architect and a notable advocate for architecture’s impact on society. Maginnis received the AIA Gold Medal in 1948 and passed away in 1955 in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Timothy Francis Walsh was born in 1868 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After studying and working locally, he joined forces with Maginnis and Matthew Sullivan in 1898. Walsh died in 1934 in North Scituate, Massachusetts.

Matthew Sullivan, who apprenticed with Wheelwright and served as Boston City Architect from 1895 to 1901, became a junior partner with Maginnis and Walsh until 1906. Between 1898 and Walsh’s death in 1934, the firm completed more than 115 church projects. Their records from 1913 to 1952 are preserved at the Boston Public Library.

Eugene F. Kennedy Jr., born in Brooklyn in 1904 and relocated to Boston by 1910, joined the firm in 1926 after earning the Rotch Traveling Scholarship for international architectural study. He advanced to senior partner in 1941, steering the firm under the name Maginnis and Walsh and Kennedy until his death in Jamaica Plain, Boston, in 1986.

Maginnis, Walsh and Sullivan (1898–1905)

  • St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, part of the Diocese of Worcester (1898). This was Maginnis' inaugural church design, influential enough to be referred to as the 'Concord Bridge' of Catholic ecclesiastical architecture.
  • St. John the Evangelist Church (1904), constructed predominantly by Irish immigrant laborers. Among its notable parishioners was House Speaker Tip O'Neill. The church’s design is inspired by a Lombardo-Romanesque basilica from the 12th century and earned one of four gold medals from the American Institute of Architects awarded to the firm; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
  • St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Los Angeles (1904). Executed in Mission Revival style, it received acclaim from the Los Angeles Times for its architectural tribute to early Franciscan missionaries.

Brighton, Massachusetts

Once a farming area that evolved into a neighborhood of Boston featuring estates and religious institutions, Brighton hosted several commissions by Maginnis, Walsh and Sullivan.

Significant projects include:

  • St. John's Seminary Chapel (1898), designed in Romanesque Revival style and constructed in 1899 using distinctive Brighton puddingstone combined with limestone.
  • Our Lady of the Presentation Catholic Church (1913–1921) located in Oak Square; this building was converted into St. John's Seminary Lecture Hall and Library in 2013.
  • The Sisters of the Cenacle Convent (1911), now repurposed as the EF Language Institute.
  • St. Gabriel's Monastery and Parish Church: Following acquisition of the David Nevins Estate in 1908 by the Passionist Fathers, M&W were commissioned in 1927 to design a Renaissance Revival church featuring buff brick walls and a red tile roof. The monastery ceased operations in 1978, with parish closure occurring in 2006. In 2017, approval was granted for redevelopment into mixed-use housing aimed at graduate students—including affordable units—while preserving St. Gabriel’s Church for community use through renovation.

Maginnis and Walsh (1906–1940)

Within the Boston region, Maginnis & Walsh were responsible for several distinguished commissions, including St. Catherine of Genoa Church in Somerville, finished in 1921 and currently incorporated into Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin Parish. Their portfolio also includes St. Mary's School in Taunton (1907), a three-story brick structure designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, as well as the Girls' Latin School building on Huntington Avenue (1907), developed in partnership with Peabody & Stearns and Coolidge & Carlson.

In 1914, the firm created the administration building for Emmanuel College located in Boston’s Fens neighborhood. Established by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Emmanuel was New England’s inaugural Catholic women’s college, and this building remained its exclusive campus facility for thirty years.

Maginnis & Walsh also designed St. Edward's Church in Brockton, Massachusetts (1914), which was established in 1915 and later combined with St. Nicholas Church in Abington in 2003 to form the St. Edith Stein parish. This church bears a strong resemblance to the Ascension of Our Lord Church in Westmount, Montreal—a significant project completed between 1927 and 1928 for Montreal’s English-speaking Catholic population. Collaborating with local associate Edward J. Turcotte, Maginnis & Walsh created this monumental Gothic structure using modern steel-frame techniques, clad with limestone and sandstone detailing. The church’s Latin cross configuration is highlighted by a commanding bell tower and a gabled façade facing Sherbrooke Street.

In 1929, the firm extended its influence beyond New England by designing Our Lady of Sorrows Church in South Orange, New Jersey, replacing an earlier St. Mary’s with a French Gothic style edifice.

These commissions illustrate Maginnis & Walsh’s deliberate emphasis on ecclesiastical architecture across prominent locations in New England and Canada, solidifying their reputation as leading specialists in Catholic church design during this era.

Boston College, Chestnut Hill

Maginnis & Walsh earned the commission to create Boston College’s new campus situated in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Completed in 1908, this campus stands as a hallmark of Collegiate Gothic architecture, merging Gothic Revival elements with Beaux-Arts principles of planning. Maginnis envisioned an expansive academic complex arranged in a cruciform pattern, evoking an outdoor cathedral where the main quadrangle serves as the "apse" and secondary quadrangles function as "transepts."

Moving away from conventional Oxbridge-inspired layouts, Maginnis positioned the university’s principal building at the "crossing," atop the highest elevation of Chestnut Hill. Crafted from locally sourced stone, Gasson Hall features an impressive 200-foot bell tower designed as a central campanile symbolizing the institution's stature. Opened in 1913, Gasson Tower set a precedent that influenced later collegiate Gothic towers at Princeton, Yale, and Duke universities.

Though plans for the complete campus were curtailed by the economic downturn following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, key structures—Gasson Hall (1913), St. Mary's Hall and Chapel (1917), Devlin Hall (1924), and Bapst Library (1928)—continue to anchor Boston College’s campus and are regarded as architectural landmarks. Devlin Hall received the 1926 Harleston Parker Medal recognizing Boston’s most beautiful building. Additional campus buildings designed by Maginnis & Walsh include Fulton Hall (1948), Lyons Hall (1951), and Campion Hall (1955).

Outside of Boston College, Maginnis contributed significant religious and commemorative works such as the chancel at Trinity Church in Copley Square, the high altar at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, and the Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower atop Mount Greylock. The firm also constructed St. Aidan's Church in Brookline (1911), where founder Maginnis was an active parishioner and where President John F. Kennedy received baptism; this church has since been repurposed into residential housing.

Maginnis and Walsh and Kennedy (1941–1956)

Maginnis was responsible for creating the bronze doors at St. Patrick's Cathedral, which replaced the initial wooden doors. Each door measures 16½ feet in height and 5½ feet in width, weighs approximately 9,200 pounds, and is adorned with saintly figures sculpted by John Angel. These doors were blessed by Cardinal Spellman and first opened just before Christmas in 1949. They underwent significant restoration work in 2013.

The firm initially crafted St. Julia Church located in Weston, Massachusetts in 1919 and revisited the project in 1961 to design an expansion that increased its seating capacity.

Archdiocese of Boston

Diocese of Worcester

Diocese of Fall River

Diocese of Springfield

Diocese of Providence

Diocese of Burlington, Vermont

Diocese of Portland, Maine

Archdiocese of Hartford

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

  • St. Louis Church, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • St. Joseph and Holy Angels Churches, Dayton

Archdiocese of New York

  • St. Andrew Church (collaboration with Robert J. Reilly), Manhattan
  • Regis High School
  • St. Patrick's Cathedral (new Lady Chapel altar, high altar, and Baldachino)
  • Maryknoll Seminary Building, Ossining

Diocese of Brooklyn

Diocese of Albany

  • St. James Church (currently known as St. Francis of Assisi Church), Albany, New York

Diocese of Ogdensburg

Diocese of Marquette (Michigan)

Archdiocese of Newark

Archdiocese of Baltimore

Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Diocese of Scranton

Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

  • Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
  • Sacred Heart Church (architects Murphy & Olmsted; associate architects Maginnis and Walsh), Washington, D.C.
  • Trinity College Chapel, Washington, D.C.
  • St. Gabriel Church, Washington, D.C.
  • New Apostolic Mission House, Washington, D.C.

Diocese of Gary, Indiana

Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Archdiocese of San Francisco

Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Archdiocese of Dubuque

Diocese of Des Moines

  • All Saints Church, located in Stuart, Iowa
  • St. Anthony Church in Des Moines, Iowa
  • St. Augustin Church, situated in Des Moines
  • Basilica of St. John, Des Moines

Diocese of Cheyenne

Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

  • Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (construction began in 1919 and completed in 1959), recognized as the largest Catholic church across North America; features a Romanesque exterior combined with a Byzantine interior design

Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda, Maryland

  • Our Lady of the Lourdes Chapel

College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts

  • Dinand Library – established 1927
  • Saint Joseph Memorial Chapel – built 1922

Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary, Minnesota

  • Nazareth Hall – erected 1923
  • Nazareth Hall Chapel – constructed 1923
  • Island Chapel and Peninsula – completed 1925

Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart

  • Chapel and adjoining four-story wing

Saint Gregory Seminary (currently Mount Saint Mary of the West - the Athenaeum of Ohio), Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Southeast wing – completed 1929
  • Northwest wing – added 1961
  • Chapel of Saint Gregory the Great – built 1961

Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, Connecticut

  • McDonough and Mercy Halls – established 1935

St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Main Administration Building – constructed 1929 in Beaux Arts Classical Revival architectural style

Trinity Washington University (formerly Trinity College), Washington, D.C.

  • Notre Dame Chapel – built 1924
  • Alumnae Hall – completed 1929

University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana

  • Biolchini Hall of Law – opened 1930
  • Alumni Hall – established 1931
  • Dillon Hall – constructed 1931
  • Knights of Columbus (previously Old Post Office) – converted 1934
  • Student Health Center (now St. Liam's Hall) – built 1934
  • Cavanaugh Hall – completed 1936
  • Haggar Hall (formerly Biology Building) – opened 1937
  • Zahm Hall – built 1937
  • Breen-Phillips Hall – established 1939
  • Facilities Building (formerly Ave Maria Press) – constructed 1940
  • Hessert Laboratory for Aerospace Research – opened 1941
  • Farley Hall – completed 1947
  • Nieuwland Science Hall – built 1952

Boston Children's Hospital

Mentions of "Children's Hospital" appear in early twentieth-century Boston City Auditor documents; it remains uncertain whether this institution was part of the Boston Consumptives Hospital complex or operated independently.

Boston Consumptives Hospital (Boston Sanatorium)

A tuberculosis treatment facility situated on a 52-acre site in Dorchester, Massachusetts, comprising eighteen structures including:

  • Administration (Foley) Building (constructed between 1910 and 1930), the largest structure on the grounds
  • Four residences for physicians and dormitories (circa 1910), currently vacant and in poor condition
  • Power House (erected in 1903)

International Locations

  • Ascension of Our Lord Church, Westmount, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Holy Redeemer Cathedral, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada
  • Our Lady of the Snows Church, Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada
  • St. Patrick Church, Mexico City, Mexico

See also

References

Related profiles

BBarnett, Haynes & Barnett
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