Skip to main content
Displaying 1 of 1
The first American women architects
2008
Availability
Author Notes
Sarah Allaback is a freelance writer and architectural historian. She is a former consultant for the National Historic Landmarks Program in Washington, D.C.
Trade Reviews
Library Journal Review
Though trim, this reference packs exceptional informational breadth and scholarly passion. Allaback (Mission 66 Visitor Centers) offers the first guide to 75 American Institute of Architects-registered female architects, born between 1850 and 1900, whose work has remained largely unrecognized. Organized alphabetically by name, each entry runs several pages and includes a brief biography, a chronological list of projects, a catalog of the subject's writings, and a bibliography. Highly recommended for all architecture and women's studies collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Allaback's overview of architecture as one of the frontiers of American feminism presents 76 entries on individuals of note. Preceding the text is an introduction to the topic of women's breakthroughs in architecture. Allaback supports her encyclopedic format with a series of drawings of house plans and inventions, photos of schools and hotels, portraits of architects in the field, magazine layouts, and bookplates attesting to excellence among female designers and authors of architectural histories. One photo pictures the K-brick, designed by inventor Anna Keichline, the creator of the portable partition. Integral to each biographic entry are lists of projects and their locations such as Henrietta Cuttino Dozier's Federal Reserve Bank, in Jacksonville, Florida, and Eleanor Raymon's Dover Solar House, in Dover, Massachusetts followed by a list of writings by the architects as well as secondary source materials and locations of collected papers; for example, Mercia Mead's drawings of homes in Washington, D.C., are shelved at the Library of Congress. One of the most impressive entries is the eight-page coverage of the projects of Lutah Maria Riggs, who built homes, barns, stables, and businesses throughout California from 1926 to 1980. Two appendixes list subjects' universities and degrees and membership in state architectural societies. Notes and an annotated bibliography precede a 13-page index. Most of the women covered here won't be found in general architecture dictionaries, and resources such as Dictionary of Women Artists (1997) often exclude architects. For those reasons, this volume is well worth the price for inclusion in academic and large public library architecture collections.--Snodgrass, Mary Ellen Copyright 2008 Booklist
Summary
By 1920, there were over two hundred women practicing architecture in the United States, actively working on major design and building projects before they were even given the right to vote. These women designed thousands of buildings nationwide: apartments in Kansas City, hotels in the nation's national parks, churches in Michigan, and mansions on the coast of California, to name a few. In The First American Women Architects, Sarah Allaback chronicles the lives and careers of more than seventy pioneering female architects practicing in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, nearly all of whom have been forgotten--until now.

Organized alphabetically as a reference guide, this volume provides a biographical sketch of each architect's life, education, and professional career, and a list of known works and sources for further research. Many of these remarkable women have never before appeared in any other history, making The First American Women Architects a unique and invaluable reference for students and scholars interested in women's history and architecture. As an instructive record of the legacy of women in architectural history, this book will also serve as a stimulating indicator of the broadening potential for women and other minorities within the field of architecture.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgmentsp. xiii
Introductionp. 1
Biographical Entries
Adams, Ruth Maxon (1883-1970)p. 41
Almy, Mary (1883-1967)p. 43
Barney, Nora Stanton Blatch (1883-1971)p. 44
Bethune, Jennie Louise Blanchard (1856-1913)p. 45
Bridgman, Lilian (1866-1948)p. 53
Brunson, Emma F. (1887-1980)p. 56
Budd, Katharine Cotheal (1860-1951)p. 57
Butterfield, Emily Helen (1884-1958)p. 58
Chapman, Josephine Wright (1867-1943)p. 60
Coit, Elisabeth (1892-1987)p. 62
Colter, Mary Jane Elizabeth (1869-1958)p. 64
Connor, Rose (1892-1970)p. 68
Craig, Mary (1889-1964)p. 70
Darling-Parlin, Maude (1885-1979)p. 72
Deakin, Edna (1871-1946)p. 74
Dozier, Henrietta Cuttino (1872-1947)p. 75
French, Helen Douglass (b. 1900)p. 77
Fritsch, Margaret Goodin (1899-1993)p. 78
Furman, Ethel Madison Bailey (1893-1976)p. 80
Gannon, Mary Nevan (b. 1867)p. 83
Greely, Rose Ishbel (1887-1969)p. 85
Griffin, Marion Mahony (1871-1961)p. 87
Hall, Leola (1881-1930)p. 91
Hands, Alice J.p. 92
Hayden, Florence Kenyon (1882-1973)p. 93
Hayden, Sophia Gregoria (1868-1953)p. 94
Henley, Frances Evelyn (d. 1955)p. 97
Hicks, Margaret (1858-83)p. 97
Hill, Esther Marjorie (1895-1985)p. 98
Holman, Emily Elizabeth (fl. 1892-1915)p. 100
Hook, Mary Rockwell (1877-1978)p. 101
Howe, Lois Lilley (1864-1964)p. 104
Irwin, Harriet Morrison (1828-97)p. 117
Johnson, Alice E. (1862-1936)p. 118
Keichline, Anna Wagner (1889-1943)p. 119
Kellogg, Fay (1871-1918)p. 121
Luscomb, Florence Hope (1887-1985)p. 123
Manley, Marion Isadore (1893-1984)p. 125
Manning, Eleanor (1884-1973)p. 130
Martini, Elisabeth A. (b. 1886)p. 132
McCain, Ida (b. 1884)p. 133
Mead, Marcia (1879-1967)p. 135
Mercur, Elise (1869-1947)p. 137
Moody, Harriet J. (1891-1966)p. 139
Morgan, Julia (1872-1957)p. 140
Morrow, Gertrude E. Comfort (ca. 1892-1987)p. 152
Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Sister of Providence (Esther Pariseau) (1823-1902)p. 153
Muir, Edla (1906-71)p. 156
Nedved, Elizabeth Kimball (1897-1969)p. 158
Nichols, Minerva Parker (1863-1949)p. 159
Northman, Edith Mortensen (b. 1893)p. 164
Parker, Marion Alice (1875?-1935)p. 165
Pattee, Elizabeth Greenleaf (b. 1893)p. 167
Peddle, Juliet (1899-1979)p. 168
Peters, Nelle Elizabeth Nichols (1884-1974)p. 172
Pfeiffer, Alberta Raffl (1899-1994)p. 174
Pierce, Marjorie (1900-1999)p. 175
Pope, Theodate (1867-1946)p. 177
Power, Ethel Brown (1881-1969)p. 182
Raymond, Eleanor (1888-1989)p. 183
Rice, Lilian Jeanette (1888-1938)p. 188
Riggs, Lutah Maria (1896-1984)p. 193
Roberts, Isabel (b. 1874)p. 204
Rockfellow, Anne Graham (1866-1954)p. 206
Rogers, Eliza Jacobus Newkirk (1877-1966)p. 209
Ryan, Ida Annah (1873-1950)p. 213
Salomonsky, Verna Cook (1890-1978)p. 214
Sawyer, Gertrude (1895-1996)p. 217
Schenck, Anna Pendleton (d. 1915)p. 219
Spencer, Margaret Fulton (1882-1966)p. 220
Steinmesch, Harriet Mae (1893-1979)p. 221
Waterman, Hazel Wood (1865-1948)p. 223
Whitman, Bertha Louise Yerex (b. 1892)p. 226
Wilburn, Leila Ross (1885-1967)p. 227
Williams, Emily (1869-1942)p. 229
Young, Helen Binkerd (1877-1959)p. 230
Appendix 1Female Graduates of Architecture Schools, 1878-1934p. 233
Appendix 2Female Members of the American Institute of Architects, 1857-1950p. 237
Notesp. 241
Annotated Bibliographyp. 249
Indexp. 253
Librarian's View
Displaying 1 of 1