Marjorie Pierce

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Marjorie Pierce (1900 – December 7, 1999)[1] was an American architect whose practice centered in Massachusetts.

Biography[]

Marjorie Pierce was born in Malden, Massachusetts. She received both her bachelor's degree (1922) and master's degree (1923) in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1][2] In her final undergraduate year, she won the Special Prize for Water Colors.[3] She went on to study art and architecture abroad on a fellowship from the Boston Society of Architecture.[4][5]

In a career spanning nearly 70 years, Pierce worked mainly in Massachusetts, designing hundreds of residences and commercial buildings out of an office in Weston.[1][4] She donated 80 rolls of her architectural drawings to the MIT Museum.[4]

Pierce strongly supported architectural education at her alma mater, serving as president of the MIT Women's Association (1940–44) and endowing the Ellen Swallow Richards Professorship and the William Emerson Fellowship for graduate students.[1][4]

When she died in late 1999, she was MIT's oldest living alumna.[1] An MIT student residence was named the Marjorie Pierce House in her honor.[5]

Old Hardy County Courthouse

Selected buildings[]

  • Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, Massachusetts — headquarters (1953)[4]
  • 42 Summer St., Weston, Massachusetts — addition to Colonial Revival house originally designed by Ida Annah Ryan (1961)[6]
  • Old Hardy County Courthouse, Moorefield, West Virginia — remodel (1972)[7]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Architect Marjorie Pierce, Oldest Alumna, Dies at Age 99". Tech Talk, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dec. 15, 1999.
  2. ^ Littel, Dorothy. "Campus Life: M.I.T.; Salute to Women At a School Once 99.6% Male". New York Times, April 7, 1991.
  3. ^ "Department of Architecture". Bulletin of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: President's Report. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1922, p. 57.
  4. ^ a b c d e Allaback, Sarah (2008). The First American Women Architects. University of Illinois Press. pp. 175–76.
  5. ^ a b Long, Tom. "Marjorie Pierce, at 99; Architect Who Championed Women's Issues". The Boston Globe, Jan. 12, 2000.
  6. ^ LaMond, Carole. "Home of the Week: A Historic House in Weston". MetroWest Daily News, June 9, 2013.
  7. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form: Old Hardy County Courthouse". United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, May 9, 1974.
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