Women Architects
in Northern California
Research and Book by Inge S. Horton
Names of Women in Architecture
I compiled the following list of northern California women in architecture, based on the
availability of biographical information and records of their work. However, not all women were included in the book.
I welcome information about these and any other historic women in architecture in Northern California who started their practice before 1950. If you have historical information or photos to share, please contact me.
—Inge Horton
Many of these women studied architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. Others chose alternative paths to become architects, residential designers, or to venture into related fields such as city planning, teaching, or modelmaking. The lifestyle and employment opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area also attracted women architects from other parts of the country and even Europe.
Note: Married, widowed, and divorced women are listed by married names first and include maiden names and names from previous marriages. In a few cases, when a woman mainly used her maiden name, the married name is added in parentheses. Nicknames are indicated by quotation marks.
Austin, Elizabeth
Bassett, Helen Rearwin
Benbow, Helen
Bird, Grace
Born, Esther Baum
Boyter, Elizabeth "Bess"
Bridgman, Lillie Belle or Lilian
Brown, Phoebe Hearst
Bruckman, Bettina (Cohen)
Buckingham, Adah Dibble
Chadeayne, Olive
Clever, Louise Harriet Russell
Coblentz, Dorothy Wormser
Deakin, Edna
Diment, Constance Shirley
Dodge, Ola Mae Putnam
Ehrenfels, Camille Johnston
Eller, Armena Morse
Emmons, Audrey
Fawcett, Marguerite
Findlay, Helen (Aycrigg)
Fowler, Matilda Newsom
French, Helen Douglass
Fricke, Geraldine Colby
Gannon, Mary
Gauen, Eileen Claudia Watkins
Hall, Leola (Coggins)
Hands, Alice
Hass, Myrtle Henrici
Hufbauer, Arabelle "Trixie" McKee
Jackson, Minnie
Jewett, Grace
Jory, Grace Weeks
Karp, Eleanor
Kartwold, Lois Goetz
Kavin, Eda please see http://edakavin.com/
Knapp, Charlotte
Kosmak, Evelyn Hall Gilcrest
Langhorst, Lois
Lindheim, Roslyn
Luis, Rose or Rosanna
Magee, Louisabelle Whyte
McAfee, Lucy Page Brown
McCain, Ida F
McKinnon, Mary Kilgore
Mesic, Julian C
Meyers, Mildred
Morgan, Julia
Morrow, Gertrude Comfort
Nevins, Kate Lockwood French Squire
Nichols, Minerva Parker
Northman, Edith Mortensen
Parug, Jane Moorhead
Reiss, Hilde (Friedman)
Rowe, Ruth
Russ, Helen Cummings
Sanford, Florence "Sanchia" Hincks
Steinmesch, Henrietta May
Sutherland, Helen
Stan, Sara "Sally" Waldner Bould
Watkin, Rebecca Wood Esherick
Wells, Mary Frances Knee
Witkin, Elizabeth "Betty" Hillier (Tarris)
Younger, Margaret Chase