Charles Draper Faulkner
Charles Draper Faulkner (March 11, 1890 – December 31, 1979) was a Chicago-based American architect renowned for the churches and other buildings that he designed in the United States and Japan. He designed over 33 Christian Science church buildings and wrote a book called Christian Science Church Edifices.
Also recorded as Charles Draper Faulkner Sr.
Charles Draper Faulkner
Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Charles Draper Faulkner
- Born
- 11 March 1890
- Birthplace
- San Francisco, California
- Died
- 31 December 1979
- Place of death
- Downers Grove, Illinois
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- architect
- Education
- Illinois Institute of Technology
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Documentary summary
Charles Draper Faulkner (March 11, 1890 – December 31, 1979) was a Chicago-based American architect renowned for the churches and other buildings that he designed in the United States and Japan. He designed over 33 Christian Science church buildings and wrote a book called Christian Science Church Edifices.
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Charles Draper Faulkner (1890–1979) was an architect, of American nationality. The architect was born in San Francisco and died in Downers Grove. Charles Draper Faulkner was educated at Illinois Institute of Technology.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Charles Draper Faulkner • Born — 11 March 1890 • Birthplace — San Francisco, California • Died — 31 December 1979 • Place of death — Downers Grove, Illinois
Early life and education
Early life and education
Charles Draper Faulkner was born in San Francisco, California, After graduating from Calumet High School in Chicago, he went to Armour Institute of Technology, now Illinois Institute of Technology and in 1913 received a B.S. in Architecture. Most of his senior year at A.I.T. was spent on a traveling scholarship in Canada and six countries in Europe.
Career history
Career history
From 1913 to 1917 he worked as chief designer for renowned Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman. In 1919 he opened his own firm in Chicago. From 1935-1937 he also did work for the U.S. government. After his son, Charles Draper Faulkner, Jr., joined him in the practice, he changed his firm name to Faulkner, Faulkner & Associates. He was a member of the Chicago chapter of the A.I.A. and held various offices from 1946 to 1954. He worked with architect Charles Sumner Duke on multiple occasions, notably on the construction of three Christian Science churches and a nursing home. Faulkner, and later his son, where among the most prolific 20th century architects of Christian Science branch churches, designing over 160 churches during 75 years. He wrote a book in 1946, Christian Science Church Edifices, describing the importance of church architecture and how it speaks for the religion itself. The book contains many illustrations of churches, and is seen as an important book on the topic of church architecture, especially related to the Christian Science movement.
Style
Style
Faulkner opposed excessive ornamentation and believed there was "no such thing" in a single style of Christian Science architecture; but eventually settled on the Colonial style as the most appropriate for its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and American roots. Some of the other building styles he utilized include Romanesque, Georgian, and Renaissance-revival.
Works
Works
• Illustration — First Church of Christ, Scientist, Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania • Illustration — First Church of Christ, Scientist, Fairmont, Minnesota • Illustration — First Church of Christ, Scientist, Valparaiso, Indiana
Christian Science churches
Christian Science churches
• Note: all Churches of Christ, Scientist, are numbered: First, Second, Third, etc.
Japan
Japan
• First, Tokyo
United States
United States
• *Illinois ** Fifteenth, Chicago (interior) ** Eighteenth, Chicago *Indiana ** First, Valparaiso *Kentucky ** First, Lexington *Michigan ** First, Albion ** First, Dearborn — *Minnesota **First, Fairmont *Missouri ** Seventh, St. Louis (interior) *New Jersey ** First, Montclair *New York ** Eighth, New York *North Carolina ** First, Charlotte *Ohio ** First, Lakewood ** First, Marion — *Pennsylvania ** First, Mt. Lebanon ** Wheatland Presbyterian Church (First Church of Christ Scientist), Lancaster, PA *Texas ** First, Baytown *Virginia ** First, Williamsburg *Wisconsin ** First, Wauwatosa ** Fourth, Milwaukee
Chicago
Chicago
• Beverly Unitarian Church, school building, 1959, Chicago • Oakhaven Old People's Home, 1922, with Charles Sumner Duke • 6737 S Bennett Avenue, 1927 • 6835 S Bennett Avenue, 1925 • 6907 S Bennett Avenue, 1926 • 6921 S Bennett Avenue, 1910s • 6841 S Constance Avenue, 1920s • 6845 S Constance Avenue, 1925 • 6757 S Cregier Avenue, 1920s • 2666 E 73rd Street, 1928 • 2309 E 71st Street, 1920s • 635 E. 79th St., Chicago, Illinois • 8030 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago, Illinois Other buildings include some of those found in the South Shore, Morgan Park, and the Jackson Park Highlands Chicago Landmark District.
Elsewhere
Elsewhere
• Good Shepherd United Protestant Church, 1957, Park Forest • Trinity Episcopal Church, 1958, Wheaton, Illinois • Nippersink Resort buildings, Genoa City, WI • The Shinner Memorial Playground Clubhouse, 1932
Death
Death
In 1979, Charles Draper Faulkner died a resident of Downers Grove, Illinois. Daystar Foundation in Oklahoma City houses a collection of Faulkner and his son's architectural drawings, photos, slides, documents, and other historical items.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1890
Charles Draper Faulkner born at San Francisco.
1979
Charles Draper Faulkner died at Downers Grove.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
San Francisco.
Birth place
Downers Grove.
Death place
Published works
• Christian Science Church Edifices. 1946.

A photograph of the front portico of the Chinese Christian Church building on E Kenwood Boulevard in Milwaukee
Oldwomanjosiah
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Historic Designation study report.
- 2.Wilson, Dreck Spurlock. African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. 173. 2004. 978-1-135-95629-5.
- 3.Faulkner Christian Science Church Architecture Collection Comes to Daystar. Daystar Foundation & Library. 4 June 2024.
- 4."Structures of Truth and Love: Artifacts from Christian Science Branch Church History". Daystar Foundation. April 6, 2021.
- 5.Burr, Nelson. A Critical Bibliography Of Religion In America. Princeton University Press. 789. 1961.
- 6.Hautzinger, Daniel. The Varied Lives and Architecture of Chicago's Christian Science Churches. WTTW Chicago. 11 May 2021.
- 7.Stern, Robert A. M. New York 1930 : architecture and urbanism between the two world wars. Rizzoli. 164. 1987. 978-0-8478-0618-8.
- 8.Harris, Neil. Chicago apartments: a century of lakefront luxury. Acanthus Press. 2004. 978-0-926494-25-1.
- 9.Faulkner, Charles Draper. Christian Science Church Edifices. Faulkner. 20. 1946.
- 10.Faulkner, Charles Draper. Christian Science Church Edifices. Faulkner. 21. 1946.
- 11.Beverly Unitarian Church history.
- 12.From the architect's drawings
- 13.City of Chicago Landmark Designation Reports. 2007.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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