Leola Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leola Hall
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| Born | June 8, 1881 San Leandro, California
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| Died | September 22, 1930 (aged 49) |
| Resting place | Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, CA |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Leola Hall Coggins |
| Occupation | architect |
| Years active | ca. 1906–ca. 1915 |
| Known for | American Craftsman buildings |
| Spouse(s) | Herbert L. Coggins |
Leola Hall (1881–1930) was an amazing American architect and builder. She was also known as Leola Hall Coggins. She built many homes in the American Craftsman style. For many years, she was the only female architect working in Berkeley, California. She was like the Julia Morgan of the East Bay area. After the big 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Leola Hall built many houses in Berkeley. These homes helped create the special "Berkeley Craftsman style" that people still admire today.
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Leola Hall's Early Life and Learning
Leola Hall was born in San Leandro, California, on June 18, 1881. Her father was a miner who often worked in Arizona. Sometimes, her family joined him there. During these times, Leola learned how to ride horses and gather cattle.
After her father passed away, her mother married a building contractor. When she was young, Leola wanted to be a musician or an artist. People said she could play many musical instruments by ear! She also studied painting with famous artists like William Keith and Raymond Dabb Yelland. Later in life, she painted landscapes and portraits of important people.
When Leola was recovering from an illness, she started making things to sell. She designed pillows and made decorative items using a technique called pyrography, which is burning designs into wood. Her pillows sold very well! She even got copyrights for her designs. She saved her money because she wanted to become an architect.
In her early 20s, Leola started going with a relative, John Marshall, to his building sites. He was a contractor. Soon, she became his assistant. She learned a lot about the building business. After that, she bought her very first piece of land.
Building a Career: Leola Hall as an Architect
Leola Hall became an architect at a time when very few women were in that job. During her busiest years, she was the only female architect in Berkeley, California. Her buildings were sometimes even mistaken for those by the more famous Julia Morgan in San Francisco.
Leola didn't go to a special school to become an architect. She became a builder because she wanted to create homes that people could afford. John Marshall helped her with her first building project. But she quickly started working on her own. She managed almost everything herself! This included designing the buildings, buying the land, overseeing the construction, handling the money, and selling the finished houses.
She kept costs low by fitting more buildings onto her land and by using standard designs. But she still built very high-quality homes. Many of her houses are still standing today. People value them for their elegant and comfortable designs.
Hall's Unique Building Style
Leola Hall's first buildings were two-story Neoclassical style homes. But by her late twenties, she was building in the American Craftsman style. Hall's houses have some special features:
- Small kitchens and bedrooms.
- Large living areas.
- More closets and storage space than usual.
- Bay windows and oriel windows (windows that stick out from the wall).
- Stair railings with square balusters (the small posts that support the handrail).
- Pocket doors (doors that slide into the wall).
- Fireplaces made of rough clinker brick, often with cozy seating areas.
- Wooden wainscoting (wood panels on the lower part of walls).
- Built-in china cabinets.
- The front door often placed on the side of the house.
Leola was especially good at adding features that made life easier for women. For example, she included pass-throughs between kitchens and dining rooms. This made serving meals much simpler!
Building After the 1906 Earthquake
After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many people moved out of the city. This created a huge need for new homes in the East Bay. Leola Hall started building many homes there. Between 1906 and 1912, she focused on the Elmwood district of Berkeley. This area was just starting to be developed.
Leola built many homes along College Avenue and nearby streets. These homes are now often seen as Berkeley's special style. They are one- or two-story buildings with brown shingles, wide roof edges, and exposed wooden beams.
We don't know the exact number of buildings Leola Hall built. But it was probably between 40 and 100. What's amazing is that most of them were finished before she turned 35! In 1907, a newspaper interviewer was very impressed. They said, "I've known women to try all kinds of men's work, but a girl who selects prospective bargains in real estate, who plans and builds her own houses and who sells them as quickly as you do, is really unique."
One of her last and best homes is the 1912 "Honeymoon House" on Piedmont Avenue. She built this house for herself and her new husband, Herbert L. "Curly" Coggins. He was a writer and speaker who studied birds.
Later Life and Activism
After they got married, Leola and Herbert ran several businesses together. This included a concrete company they took over from Leola's stepfather. They also owned some auto parts stores. Leola spent less time on architecture and more time on painting, especially landscapes. She signed her paintings with her married name, Leola Hall Coggins.
Leola was also very active in politics. She was a member of the College Equal Suffrage League, which worked to get women the right to vote. One time, she was arrested for speeding while driving another suffragist, Margaret Haley, to a rally. Leola and Margaret thought the arrest might have been for political reasons. So, they encouraged women to protest. About 200 women showed up at the court hearing in Oakland, waving "Votes for Women" banners! Margaret Haley said the car was not going more than 8 miles per hour. The charges against Leola were eventually dropped.
Leola was also a socialist and supported Progressive politics. She served as vice-president of the local Roosevelt Club during one of Theodore Roosevelt's campaigns for president.
Leola Hall passed away at home on September 22, 1930. She had suffered from heart problems for many years. She died not long before her 50th birthday. Her husband lived for another four decades, passing away in late 1974.
Known Leola Hall Houses in Berkeley
Here are some of the houses Leola Hall built in Berkeley that we know about:
1906-1907
- 3004, 3006, 3008, 3012, 3026, 3030, 3032, 3036, 3040, 3042, 3046, 3048 College Ave.
1908
- 2618, 2620, 2624, 2628, 2634 College Ave.
1909
- 2730, 2732, 2747, 2804, 2806 Stuart St.
- 2800 Kelsey St.
- 2752, 2754, 2758, 2800 Piedmont Ave.
- 2709 Parker St.
1912
- 2806, 2808 Ashby Ave.
- 2929 Piedmont Ave. ("Honeymoon House")
1915
- 2848 Russell St.
- 2904, 2906 Pine Ave.
See also
In Spanish: Leola Hall para niños
