The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society presents “Buffalo's Bethune: America's First Professional Woman Architect,” focusing on the life of Louise Blanchard Bethune. Bethune's most famous building is the Lafayette Hotel, which now undergoing restoration.
The exhibit was created with the assistance of guest curator Kelly Hayes McAlonie, American Institute of Architects (AIA), LEED® AP, interim assistant vice president of the Capital Planning Group at UB, and president-elect of AIANYS; her husband, Brian McAlonie, vice president of account services at Thinking Outside The Square, a design firm; and illustrator/designer Michael Gelen,of Inkwell Studios.
Along with the museum’s staff, this team has created a series of wall-mounted panels, including ephemera and artifacts. Each panel addresses a major theme from Bethune’s life and career: apprenticeship, design work, professional recognition, masterpiece, hobbies, and legacy.
In 1881, Bethune, 25, a drafting apprentice for Buffalo architect Richard Waite, opened her own office; the first woman in the United States to do so. Shortly thereafter, she married fellow architect Robert Bethune, who joined the firm. Two years later, the Bethunes added William Fuchs (rhymes with “books”) to the practice; it became known as Bethune, Bethune & Fuchs.
Bethune’s additional distinctions include:
First woman to be admitted to the American Institute of Architects(AIA)
First woman to be named a Fellow of the AIA, its highest honor
She founded the Buffalo Society of Architects, which eventually became the AIA Buffalo/WNY chapter.
We have architecture books relating to this exhibit available for purchase here.
This exhibit is made possible with the generous support of
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