Alfred Morton Githens

Alfred Morton Githens (1876–1973) was an American architect particularly known for his work designing library buildings.

Early life and education Githens was born on August 25, 1876, in Philadelphia to William H.H. Githens, a doctor, and Frances Adelle Stotesbury Githens. He attended Episcopal Boys Academy and the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1896 with a B.S. in Architecture. He also co-authored The American Public Library Building in 1941 with Dr. J. L. Wheeler, librarian of the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore. Mary A. Brown, director of the Mount Vernon Public Library, said of the book: "This book was then and remains in its later edition, the major textbook for library administration, which is used in library schools all over the country." The book was published for the Carnegie Foundation.

Githens taught architecture for a time at Columbia University, and was the visiting critic of design at Princeton University Graduate School of Architecture. Central Library, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Maryland, 1931–1933 United States Post Office, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1932 Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1933 Girard College library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1933 Mount Vernon Public Library (expansion), Mount Vernon, New York, 1938 Concord Public Library, Concord, New Hampshire, 1940 Library and Supreme Court building (consulting), Richmond, Virginia, 1940 Peabody Library, George Peabody College for Teachers (now part of Vanderbilt University), Nashville, Tennessee,

Personal life Githens married Charlotte Sandys Foulke Sands on June 20, 1906. The couple had 3 children: Alfred, Elizabeth, and Frances. He is buried at the Bard College Cemetery in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

Gallery