Rooms are available at low market rates and the building is entirely original- preserved, including many of the furnishings she chose for it. I strongly suggest you spend a weekend at her Berkeley City Club (the Little Castle). Her contributions, some with John Galen Howard for the UC Berkeley campus, are known by many. She was not an “artist” architect that created her own idiosyncratic and egocentric vision. She was what I consider an Artisan Architect in that her work was commissioned by and proposed to satisfy the desires and aesthetics of her clients. She completed over 700 buildings, thus making her one of the most prolific architects ever, and exceeding the finished work of Frank Lloyd Wright to whom is attributed 500 completed works. Julia was a very hard working woman, a perfectionist and a workaholic. She was the first Independent American woman architect and a founding member of the First Bay Region Tradition. She was the first woman admitted in the Ecole Des Beaux-Arts.Īfter being rejected three tries she shamed the all male panel eventually into accepting her by placing in the top 3% of applicants. She studied architecture first in the home of Bernard Maybeck who continued to be a lifelong supporter, mentor and friend. There had been a few others before and a few later, and many more long after thanks to her leadership and accomplishments. She was the only woman in her class at U.C. Julia Morgan was a native of the bay area, growing up in Oakland at the corner of 14th and Bush Streets.
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Some basic facts on Miss Morgan (1872-1957). She utilized her own group of artisans in most of her projects and the sheer artistry of her buildings is readily apparent. They are simply extremely well engineered, detailed and constructed, and lovingly maintained and preserved by their owners, often in original condition. Her buildings show little affects of earthquakes, time or decay. Morgan’s work stands the unforgiving and exacting test of time. It’s been my opinion we will only know the enduring value of our works of architecture 50 years after we are gone. Her buildings are preserved, land-marked, and honored as historical and cultural resources. Julia Morgan is perhaps one of the most accomplished American architects and has, as most traditional architects, received little recognition from the profession often out and out rejection, yet her buildings are loved, admired and cherished by the public for what they are- the works of a premier master. She was an “Architect of Beauty” and the public loves beautiful buildings. Julia Morgan’s career, work and growing fame are a testament to that. In my opinion the interest in the architectural profession is directly proportional to the interest the profession shows in the values, priorities and desires of the public it serves.
#Julia morgan architect full#
I did not notice any other local architects in attendance at the presentation by Author Mark Anthony Wilson on her work at the Petaluma Rail Station in May 2013, but the room was full of an enthusiastic public.
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This in no small way displays the continuing interest in the architecture of this amazing American architect. The second edition of “Julia Morgan, Architect of Beauty” was recently available at Costco.