Chip Chick
If you’re a fan of architecture, then you should know who the first woman in America to open her own architecture practice.
It was Minerva Parker Nichols, and she, unfortunately, did not receive as much recognition as she should’ve for her impressive work back in the 1880s and early 1900s.
Minerva was born in Illinois in 1862. She grew up on a farm and was raised by her aunt and grandparents after her father died when she was just a baby and her mother’s death when she was seven years old.
As she got older, Minerva began studying architectural drafting in the 1880s and earned a job as an apprentice for architect Edwin W. Thorne, who was known for developing railroad suburbs outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Around 1889, Edwin passed away, and Minerva took over his practice, making her the first woman to open a solo architecture practice in the United States.
Aside from working on projects at her office, Minerva also taught courses on architectural ornament at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women in the early 1890s. After marrying Rev. William Ichabod Nichols in 1891, she delayed their honeymoon to supervise one of her projects until it was finished!
In 1893, Minerva opened a home office so she could continue working on projects after giving birth to her daughter Adelaide in 1894.
When William got a job at the Brooklyn Bureau of Charities in 1896, Minerva and her family moved to New York City. She didn’t own her own practice there but took on commissioned architectural projects for charity, family, and friends.
Minerva was best known for her designs of different homes and buildings. She also designed a pavilion for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and Mill-Rae, a house owned by suffragist Rachel Foster Avery, which the National Park Service now protects. Minerva was also passionate about designing affordable housing in Philadelphia and New York.
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