Henrietta May Steinmesch (1893 – 1979)Allaback provides her name as Mae, while the archive spells it May. Many sources use May Steinmesch was an American architect most notable as a founding member and later the first national president of the Association of Women Architects.

Early life and education

Henrietta May Steinmesch was born in

University City, Philadelphia University City is the easternmost portion of West Philadelphia, encompassing several Philadelphia universities. It is situated directly across the Schuylkill River from Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. The University of Pennsylvania was ...

, Pennsylvania to a poultry and feed merchant. At least one source says she was born May 9, 1893, in St. Louis. Steinmesch obtained a bachelor of architecture from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

in 1915. She was known as May, and used H. May Steinmesch as her professional name.

Association of Women in Architecture

In her last year at university, she was one of four founding members of the Association of Women in Architecture (AWA). One of their first activities was "La Confrerie Alonginv" (vignola backwards), in 1921, they sent letters to other schools and chapters were started in the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, and

University of California Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley ...

. The association aimed to encourage contact among women architects at other universities; its Greek name Alpha Alpha Gamma derives from the phrase "advancement of architecture among women". From 1928 until 1930 she was the first president of the national organization. In 1930, she saw the need to create a public archive for the association's collection. The national organization dissolved in 1964, with local chapters such as the one in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

remaining. The AWA has been known under several names: in 1975, the Association for Women in Architecture, 1948, The Association of Women in Architecture and Allied Arts, and 2012, Association for Women in Architecture + Design (AWA+D). In 1999 the organization became nonprofit, providing scholarships for female students.

Career

Initially, Steinmesch worked on government projects for the City Plan Commission, U.S. Engineers, and U.S. Airforce's Aeronautical Chart Plant in St. Louis. In

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, she worked for the Western Division of USO Building Services in as Associate Building Director during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Later she worked on residential projects for

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

architect Henry Higby Gutterson (1884-1954), San Francisco's Redevelopment Agency, and established her own

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

office in 1953. Steinmesch continued her studies with university extension courses and by teaching. She worked into her 60s. Some of Steinmesch's papers are located in the "Association of Women in Architecture Papers, 1928-1992" held by the

International Archive of Women in Architecture The International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) was established in 1985 as a joint program of the Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies, College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the University Libraries at Virginia ...

at the University libraries of

Virginia Polytechnic Institute The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

and State College in

Blacksburg, Virginia Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg and the surrounding county is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia T ...

. Other papers may be located at the AWA in Los Angeles.

Works

*1964 Junior College (proposal), California *c1930 Facilities at Scott Air Force Base

Early life and education

Association of Women in Architecture

Career

Works

Notes

References

Further reading