New Early Women of Architecture in Maryland Exhibit in the Athenaeum

Research Unveils the Work and Lives of Early Women of Architecture in Maryland

A new exhibit featuring the Early Women of Architecture in Maryland has gone up Saturday, October 29th on the 4th Floor of the Athenaeum. The exhibit will run through November, and was curated by Jillian Storms, AIA Baltimore. 

Women have professionally contributed to the design of architecture in Maryland for the last 80 years. The Women in Architecture Committee of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Baltimore Chapter, in collaboration with the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, embarked on a project to assemble the stories of women pioneers in the profession. With research assistance from students at Morgan State University and a starter grant from the Maryland Humanities Council, they developed a travelling exhibit entitled: Early Women of Architecture in Maryland.

The exhibit showcases twelve extraordinary women, including the first women to receive architectural registration in the region: Rose Greely in Washington DC (1926) and Katherine Cutler Ficken in Maryland (1936). Many of the women practiced through the lean years of the Depression and World War II, designing buildings in Maryland and across the country. Some became leaders in their field, such as Chloethiel Woodard Smith, FAIA, who refused to be labeled a "woman architect" and became the 6th woman to be honored with AIA Fellowship in 1960. At the peak of her practice, Chloethiel led the largest woman-owned architecture firm in the country. Hildreth Meière, the only non-architect in exhibit, was a prolific designer, embellishing over 60 buildings across the United States with exquisite mosaics and architectural elements. In 1956, she was the first woman to win the National AIA's Fine Arts Medal.

Each woman's story is one of perseverance and determination and serves as inspiration today. 

For more information, contact Nathan Dennies at ndennies@aiabalt.com or 410.625.2585 x102.