A comprehensive look into the life, work, and achievements of America’s first woman architect — Winner of the 2023 Arline Custer Memorial Award presented by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference!!!

Due to scant information about her life and her firm, Bethune, Bethune & Fuchs, scholars have struggled to provide a complete picture of this trailblazer. Using a newly discovered archival source of photographs, architectural drawings, and personal documents, Kelly Hayes McAlonie paints a picture of Bethune never before seen.

A comprehensive biography of the first professional woman architect in the United States, who was also the first woman to be admitted to the American Institute of Architects, this book serves as an important addition to New York and architectural history.

About the Author
Kelly Hayes McAlonie is Director of Campus Planning at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

Product Details
Publisher: ‎Excelsior Editions/State University of New York Press (March 1, 2023)
Language: ‎English
Paperback: ‎330 pages
ISBN-10: ‎143849288X
ISBN-13: ‎978-1438492889
Item Weight: ‎8 ounces
Dimensions: ‎6x1x9 inches

Lori A. Brown FAIA, School of Architecture, Syracuse University

“Kelly Hayes McAlonie has written a vital work of recovery to change the historical record about the life and career of Louise Blanchard Bethune.”

Gabrielle Esperdy Interim Dean and Professor of Architecture, Hillier College of Architecture and Design, New Jersey Institute of Technology

“McAlonie has written a lively and much needed account of the first woman recognized as a professional architect in the United States. The book provides a well-researched overview of Louise Bethune's personal and professional life, and discusses a range of projects from residences and schools to Bethune's best-known building, the Hotel Lafayette. But McAlonie’s key contribution is placing Bethune firmly into the cultural milieu of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era when women were challenging social norms and questioning their traditional roles. McAlonie allows us to see how this trailblazing designer helped shape New York's Western metropolis.”