Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect

March 21, 2023 - July 22, 2023

Harvey & Irwin Kroiz Gallery, Architectural Archives

Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

220 S. 34th Street, Philadelphia PA 19104

October 11 - October 31, 2023

Design Building Gallery

John W. Olver Design Building, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

551 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst MA 01002

The Architectural Archives at the Weitzman School of Design (University of Pennsylvania) presents Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect. The exhibition tells the story of Minerva Parker Nichols (1862-1949), the first woman in the country to practice architecture independently, with an office in Philadelphia and commissions nationwide. The exhibition reflects more than a decade of research by Penn graduate Molly Lester and recent work by Elizabeth Felicella, who is photographing surviving buildings by Minerva, thus creating an archive in the absence of one.

Working during the suffrage movement, Minerva had many clients who were women. Her commissions included dozens of private residences, large and small, the New Century Clubs of Philadelphia and Wilmington, as well as the unbuilt Queen Isabella Association Pavilion at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The opening of her Philadelphia office in 1888 drew the attention of the Philadelphia press, and her death in 1949 warranted a headlined obituary in The New York Times. She supervised all her own construction, declaring “I don’t mind walking over scaffolding, but I draw the line on ladders.”

And yet, despite this legacy, Minerva is rarely included in the story of Philadelphia’s built environment or broader historical assessments. Her archival record is even more elusive, as only a handful of her drawings survive, and a large body of her work remains unknown. Of her surviving commissions, most are private residences; one of her residential designs has been converted to a non-profit retreat center, and her only surviving women’s club is now a children’s theater in Wilmington, Delaware.

In addition to the exhibition, the project explores questions about collecting, preserving, and writing history against the backdrop of contemporary cultural change through a series of dynamic public programs.

A companion publication will be published in Fall 2023, with a foreword by Despina Stratigakos; essays by Heather Isbell Schumacher, Molly Lester, and Franca Trubiano (associate professor of architecture at Penn); a photographic portfolio by Elizabeth Felicella; and a catalogue raisoné by William Whitaker.

Project Team

The curatorial team is led by William Whitaker, curator and collections manager of the Architectural Archives. He has curated or co-curated exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art, the Vitra Design Museum, and the Kimbell Art Museum, and contributed to numerous publications on modern architecture.

Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect comes out of the decade of research undertaken by architectural historian and preservation planner Molly Lester, who serves as lead scholar and co-curator for the show. The recipient of multiple grants and awards for her work on Nichols, Lester earned her Master of Science in Historic Preservation degree from Penn in 2012 and has lectured widely.

Elizabeth Felicella, accomplished architectural photographer, specializes in the in-depth investigation and documentation of architecture and landscape with particular interests in public space and historic preservation.

Heather Isbell Schumacher, archivist at the Architectural Archives, brings over a decade of experience in stewarding archival collections and critically examining the gaps in the historical record.