Elisabeth Martini facts for kids

Elisabeth A. Martini (1886–1984) was an American architect. She was one of the first women architects in Chicago. Elisabeth Martini was also the first woman to own her own architecture company in Chicago. She started the Chicago Drafting Club, which was an early group for women architects.

Early Life and Learning

Elisabeth Martini was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1886. She went to high school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. She studied architecture at the Pratt Institute in 1908. She also took classes at Columbia University. After traveling in Europe, she moved to Chicago in 1909.

Becoming an Architect

When Elisabeth Martini first looked for a job, about 90 companies said no. Some firms did not want women working in their drafting rooms. So, she changed her plan. She went to business school and got a secretarial job at an architecture firm. From there, she was able to move into drafting.

She worked as a drafter for several architects in Chicago. One of them was John B. Sutcliffe, who designed churches. In 1913, Elisabeth took her licensing exam in Illinois. She was the only woman out of 86 people to pass it. For several years, she was the only woman architect with a private license in Illinois. This was after Marion Mahony Griffin left in 1914.

Opening Her Own Firm

In 1914, Elisabeth Martini opened her own architecture office. This made her the first woman to be the only owner of an architecture company in Chicago. Most of her work was designing homes. She also helped other local architects with quick projects.

Her biggest project was a church complex in 1928. It was St. Luke's Lutheran in Park Ridge, Illinois. She designed it in the style of English Gothic architecture. Instead of a single payment, she received $60 each month for the rest of her life.

Starting a Club for Women Architects

In 1921, Elisabeth Martini put an ad in a newspaper. It said: "Only girl architect lonely. Wanted—to meet all the women architects in Chicago to form a club." From this idea, the Chicago Drafting Club was formed.

This club later joined with the Women's Architectural Club. That group then joined with Chicago Women in Architecture. This organization still exists today.

In 1934, Martini moved her architecture business to Bangor, Michigan. She became a member of the American Institute of Architects. Elisabeth Martini passed away in Pleasant Hill, Tennessee, when she was 98 years old.

See also

In Spanish: Elisabeth Martini para niños