Chloethiel Woodard Smith
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| Chloethiel Woodard Smith | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Chloethiel Woodard Smith |
| Nationality |  American |
| Birth date | 1910 |
| Birth place | Peoria, Illinois |
| Date of death | December 30, 1992 |
| Place of death | Washington, D.C. |
| Work | |
| Significant buildings | |
| Significant projects | Reston, Virginia |
Chloethiel Woodard Smith (1910 – December 30, 1992) was an American architect and urban planner whose career was centered in Washington, D.C.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Smith was responsible for significant project commissions and was selected to serve on various committees that influenced the shaping of post-World War II Washington, D.C. She designed Harbour Square in Southwest Washington, the National Airport Metro station and the Waterview Townhouses in Reston, Virginia, some of which have spiral steps that descend into a lake. At a key intersection in downtown Washington - the corner of Connecticut Avenue and I Street NW - Smith designed three of the four office buildings there; architects and critics have referred to the intersection as "Chloethiel's Corner."
Smith was influential in proposing a national museum celebrating buildings and architecture and successfully proposed the renovation of the Pension Building to serve as home to the National Building Museum.
By 1967, Smith ran the largest female-run architectural firm in the United States. At the end of her career in the late 1980s, nearly 30% of architects working in Washington, D.C. had come through her office. The percentage would be much higher if the firms that she was a partner in are included. Notable architects Arthur Cotton Moore and Hugh Newell Jacobsen worked for her.
[edit] Death and Legacy
Chloethiel Woodard Smith died of cancer on December 30, 1992 at The Georgetown, a residential facility for senior citizens where she lived. She was 82.[1]
Smith was offended all of her life by the term "woman architect." She felt it demeaned her work and ability as an architect. She fortunately lived long enough to see the term fall into disuse. Through it all she stubbornly refused to be a part of any women's group. Her rise to the upper echelon of the profession had preceded the Women's Rights Movement. Her name is not as well-known by the general public as those of her contemporaries, yet she is considered to be a master whose successful career spanned five decades.
[edit] Awards
In 1960, Chloethiel Woodard Smith was inducted as a Fellow into the American Institute of Architects, the sixth woman so honored.
In 1989, the Washington chapter of the American Institute of Architects awarded her its Centennial Award for "continuous service to the chapter, the community and the profession."
[edit] Selected works
- American Embassy, chancery and residence, Asuncion, Paraguay, 1955-59
- Chestnut Lodge Mental Hospital and Research Institute, Rockville, MD, 1955-75
- Capitol Park Apartments and Townhouses, Southwest, Washington, D.C., 1958-68
- Washington Channel Waterfront Master Plan, Washington, D.C., 1960-62
- Brook House, Brookline, MA, 1961-62
- Harcourt, Brace, and World, Inc., bookstore and executive offices, New York, NY, 1962-68
- E Street Expressway, 23rd to 19th Avenues, Washington, D.C., 1962
- Crown Tower, New Haven, CT, 1962
- La Clede Town, St. Louis, MO, 1962-65
- Waterview Townhouses, Reston, VA, 1962-65
- Onondaga Lake Master Plan, Onondaga County, NY, 1964
- Shaw School, Washington, D.C., 1964
- 1100 Connecticut Avenue, office building, Washington, D.C., 1964-66
- Blake Building, 1025 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, D.C., 1964-66
- Waterside – Town Center, Washington, D.C., 1964-71
- Washington Channel Bridge (Ponte Vecchio), shopping bridge, Washington, D.C., 1965-68
- Skyline Study, Washington, D.C., 1965
- St. Andrews Episcopal Church, College Park, MD, 1965
- Mississippi Delta Feasibility Study, 1965
- F Street Plaza, Washington, D.C., 1965-66
- Harbour Square Apartments and Townhouses, Washington, D.C., 1965-67
- Pension Building, New Use Study, Washington, D.C., 1966
- Spa Creek, Townhouse group, Annapolis, MD, 1966
- Averne, Master Plan for Seven Towns on the Oceanfront, Borough of Queens, NY, 1967
- Wilde Lake High Rise, Columbia, MD, 1969
- Consolidated Federal Law Enforcement Training, Beltsville, MD, 1969-70
- Universalist Church, Rochester, NY, 1970
- Intown, Rochester, NY, 1970-71
- National Airport Metro station, Arlington County, VA, 1971
- D.C. Association for Retarded Children, Occupational Training Center, Washington, D.C., 1973
- Washington Square, Washington, D.C., 1987-88
[edit] References
- ^ "Chloethiel Woodard Smith, Architect and Planner, Dies", The Washington Post, January 1, 1993.
[edit] Selected Articles
- "She Makes the City a Place for Living." Business Week, 3 June 1967, 76-80.
- McLendon, Winzola. "Architect Designs No Ivory Towers." The Washington Post, 30 July 1967, E1, E5.
- Bailey, Anthony. "Profiles: Through the Great City III." The New Yorker, August 1967, 59-63.
- Von Eckardt, Wolf. "That Exceptional One." The Washingtonian, September 1988, 79-80.
- Forgey, Benjamin. "On Chloethiel's Corner." The Washington Post, 1 January 1993, D1, D8.
- Willis, Beverly, FAIA. "Tribute." National Building Museum Blueprints, no. XI (Spring 1993): 15.
