Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc.

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Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc. was an American architectural firm in Boston, Massachusetts that was formed in 1926 by three women, all graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] It was one of the first architectural firms founded by women in the United States. Lois Lilley Howe began her own firm in 1900. She partnered with another MIT alum, Eleanor Manning O'Connor, in 1913, creating the firm of Lois Lilley, Howe & Manning. Mary Almy joined the firm in 1926 and the name became Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc. In 1937 the firm dissolved after Howe retired, and Manning and Almy began their own practices.[2]

Though the firm designed some commercial and government projects, it specialized in domestic architecture.[3] This is in line with early twentieth century beliefs that women were best suited for domestic projects due to their sex.[4][5] Howe, Manning, and Almy were Revivalists and their designs often mimicked Tudor, Georgian, and American Colonial styles. When designing a project, they considered how the plan would affect the daily life of its inhabitants and were unafraid to break from stylistic conventions to make a plan more simple and comfortable. Their plans were logical and designed to blend in with the surrounding buildings and utilized traditional materials such as wood, brick, and stucco. Howe, Manning, and Almy preferred to reuse materials from other projects, or renovate a home rather than designing a new one in order to reduce costs.[3]

Works[]

Commission no. Building name Year constructed Location Still standing? Reference
226 Business Women’s Club 1912 Boston
334 Louis C. Cornish House 1916 15 Fayerweather St., Cambridge, MA [6]
Elinor Prudden Home 1830, 1925 restoration 36 Cove Street, Duxbury, MA Yes [7]
Old Harbor Village (now called the Mary Ellen McCormack housing project) 1937 South Boston Yes [8]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "That Exceptional One": Women in American Architecture, 1888-1988 (PDF). The American Architectural Foundation. 1988. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  2. ^ McCavitt, Mary Jane. "Guide to the Records of Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc. and the Papers of Lois Lilley Howe, Eleanor Manning O'Connor, and Mary Almy" (PDF). Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Cole, Doris; Taylor, Karen Cord (1990). The lady architects: Lois Lilley Howe, Eleanor Manning, and Mary Almy: 1893-1937. New York City: Midmarch Arts Press. ISBN 1-877675-01-6.
  4. ^ Cole, Doris (1973). From Tipi to Skyscraper: A History of Women in Architecture. i press incorporated.
  5. ^ Stratigakos, Despina (2016). Where Are the Women Architects?. Princeton University Press.
  6. ^ Reinhardt, Elizabeth W. "Lois Lilley Howe, F.A.I.A. 1864-1964". The Cambridge Historical Society. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  7. ^ The House Beautiful magazine. April 1925.
  8. ^ Torre, Susan (1977). Women in American Architecture: A Historic and Contemporary Perspective. Watson-Guptill Publications.


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