Julia Morgan, Architect

Save A Tree - Buy Used at Second Sale Books

By Sara Holmes Boutelle

Truth be told, this is a coffee table book so a bit awkward to hold and read, but in order to tell the story of the woman who designed Hearst Castle, one must present big, beautiful photos of her many architectural wonders. If you can get beyond the awkwardness of the book and would like to read about a truly amazing, crazy talented, classy woman who designed epic buildings, I urge you to read this. All of you with daughters please introduce them to Julia, an inspiring role model for everyone but especially young girls. She was the first woman admitted to UC Berkeley’s School of Engineering as well as to the much more prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She missed the cut on the Ecole exam twice, but unlike too many today, Julia didn’t sue for “gender discrimination”, or claim she deserved special admit standards, or cry boohoo these fields are not “welcoming” to women, or scream about the need for quotas for “under-represented minority populations”; she simply said, “I don’t make the cut? Fine. Don’t lower the standards for me. I will come back and kick ass on this test!” Then she took it a third time after two years of intense study and placed 13th of 376 applicants. I love her!! As a fascinating aside, I learned that when she moved to Paris, she lived in the very same building, Reid Hall, where some 80 years later I spent many days and hours during my semester there. It thrilled me to know I walked the same halls and sat in the same library, lounge, and garden as the amazing Julia Morgan!

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