Mary Almy

Mary Almy (1883–1967) was an American architect, and a partner at Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc., one of the first architecture firms founded by women in the United States and specializing in domestic architecture.[1] She studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1917 to 1919.

Mary Almy
Born1883
Beverly Farms, Beverly, Massachusetts, United States
Died(1967-07-29)July 29, 1967
Boston, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Alma materRadcliffe College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationArchitect
Parent(s)Helen Jackson Cabot Almy and Judge Charles Almy
PracticeHowe, Manning & Almy, Inc.

Early life and education

Almy grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She had polio as a child and walked with crutches throughout her life. In 1905 she graduated from Radcliffe College. She worked as a teacher before developing an interest in architecture. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1919 after three years of study. Due to academic policies in place at the time, female students were not accepted into the four-year program in Architecture, but limited to the two-year degree program in architectural drafting at MIT.[2] Prior to her education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Almy designed a summer home for her family on Cape Cod.[3]

Career

Almy worked as a drafter at a London based architectural firm called Collcut and Hamp, for two years. In the 1920s, she became a drafter for the Boston firm owned by Lois Lilley Howe and Eleanor Manning, who had also attended MIT. In 1926, she became a member of the American Institute of Architects and a partner at Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc.[4] Upon becoming partner at the firm, she took over the position of chief draftsman.[2] Despite surviving the Great Depression, the firm closed in 1937 after Howe retired. Manning and Almy continued in private practice. Almy also worked with landscape architect Henrietta Pope.[3]

Works
Commission Number Building Name Year Location Other Information Reference
652 Fitchburg Art Museum 1926 185 Elm St, Fitchburg, Massachusetts 01420 [5]
660 Cape Cod Competition 1926 Unbuilt [5]
684 The College Club of Boston 1926 44 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02116 [5]
686 Pine Manor College 1926 400 Heath St, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467 [5]
724 Radcliffe College 1928 Cambridge, MassachusettsUnited States [5]
831 Fleur-de-Lis Camp 1931 120 Howeville Rd, Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire 03447 [5]
834 Stevens Institute of Technology 1932 1 Castle Point Terrace, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 [5]
835 Winship - Boston Public Schools 1932 54 Dighton Street, Brighton, MA 02135 [5]
866 Subsistence Homesteads Division 1933-34 United States Department of the Interior [5]
867 Lynn Boy Scout Camp 1934 Lynn, Massachusetts [5]
873 Paine Webber 1934 48 Congress Street, Boston, MA [5]
878 Lynn Bank Block 1934 21–29 Exchange Street Lynn, MA 01901 [5]
890 Cambridge Social Union 1935 Cambridge, Massachusetts [5]
944 Garland Junior College 1937 Chestnut Street Beacon Hill, Boston [5]

Legacy

Mary Almy's papers reside in the collection for Howe, Manning and Almy at MIT.[5] The Almy family papers are located at the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College.[3][6] Howe, Manning, and Almy were the subject of a dissertation defended in 1976 at Boston University by Gail Morse.[2]

References
  1. Cole, Doris and Keren Cord Taylor (1990). The Lady Architects: Lois Lilley Howe, Eleonor Manning and Mary Almy, 1893-1937. New York: Midmarch Arts Press, NYC. ISBN 1-877675-01-6.
  2. Morse, Gail (1976). "The Firm A Study of the First Women's Architectural Firm in Boston: Howe, Manning, and Almy" (PDF). Open BU. hdl:2144/6073. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  3. Sarah Allaback (23 May 2008). The first American women architects. University of Illinois Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-252-03321-6. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  4. "Featured Special Collection: Howe, Manning & Almy papers | MIT Libraries News". Libraries.mit.edu. 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  5. "Guide to the Records of Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc. and the Papers of Lois Lilley Howe, Eleanor Manning O'Connor, and Mary Almy MC.0009". Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute Archives and Special Collections. Archived from the original on 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  6. "Almy family. Papers of the Almy family, 1649-1967 (inclusive), 1835-1967 (bulk): A Finding Aid". Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
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