ABSTRACT
Julia Morgan (1872-1957), our most prolific pioneer woman architect, emerged on the American scene at the turn of the century. She designed more than 800
buildings in a career that spanned half a century. A native of San Francisco, but longtime Oakland resident, she was accepted
into the rigorous Engineering School at the University of California at Berkeley,
the only woman student at the time. She received an engineering degree in 1894. During her 4-year study she attended informal discussion seminars on architecture at the home of Bernard Maybeck. With his encouragement and that of her familyespecially her architect-cousin Pierre Lebrun of New York-she firmly resolved to
pursue an architectural career. After a year’s work experience building with Maybeck, Morgan decided to
further her training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, then the center of
architectural education. Women, however, were not eligible for entrance into the school. Nevertheless, Morgan set out for Paris and the atelier of Marcel de Monclos,1
where she endured 2 years of grueling tests and competition before being accepted
at the École, the first woman in the world to study there. For the next 4 years she studied at the Atelier Chaussemiche, where she won many awards and medals. In 1902 she received her Certificat d’Étude.2
