Preserving Minerva: America’s first female solo architect

Minerva Parker Nichols (1862-1949) was the first woman in the United States to practice architecture independently. Renowned (and prolifically productive) in her day, Minerva has been largely forgotten in the decades since her death. The archive of her work is fragmentary and incomplete, shining a light on the ways in which women’s contributions to the built environment remain under-documented in architectural histories.

The exhibition Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect explores her life and work, featuring a series of documentary photographs by Elizabeth Felicella. Molly Lester, the exhibit’s co-curator, visits some of Minerva’s still existing buildings around Philadelphia, unveiling architectural details and trademarks of Minerva’s designs.

The exhibition is on view until July 22, 2023 at the Harvey & Irwin Kroiz Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives, 220 South 34th Street, Philadelphia.

Links:

https://www.minervaparkernichols.com/

https://www.design.upenn.edu/architectural-archives/home

IG:

@weitzman_school

@uofpenn

Credits:

Produced and directed by Monica Rogozinski

Edited by Pete Scaffidi

Filmed by Theron Louis, Eli LaBan and Kyle Bressler.

Audio by Dan Rosenthal

Images Courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Library of Congress, University of Washington Libraries, Bryn Mawr College Special Collections, PhillyHistory.org, Carrie Baker, Free Library of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Sutro Library at the San Francisco State University, Athenaeum of Philadelphia