Anna Keichline

Anna Wagner Keichline (1889 – 1943) was an American architect and inventor from Pennsylvania. She was the first registered female architect in Pennsylvania.[1]

Early life

Keichline in 1903

Keichline was the youngest of four children,[2] born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania to attorney John Keichline. Her parents gave her a workshop and carpentry tools, which she used to create furniture. She won a prize for a table and chest she made at a county fair in 1903, when she was 14, and her work was praised as comparing "favorably with the work of a skilled mechanic". She told a newspaper reporter that she expected to devote her life to industrial design.[3] She graduated from Bellefonte High School in 1906. She went to Pennsylvania State College to study mechanical engineering but transferred after a year to Cornell University to study architecture.

Inventions

She became noted for working on "time- and motion-saving"[4] design of kitchens and interiors. She owned seven patents.[5] She had several inventions concerning home use, but her most noted invention was the "K Brick" in 1927. This type of hollow clay brick was less heavy and expensive than previous iterations and was an early form of the concrete block used in construction decades later.[6] This led to her receiving honors from the American Ceramic Society in 1931.[7]

Her first patent combined a sink and a washtub. She wanted to save space in kitchens and make them more comfortable to use. In 1924 she received a patent on one of her kitchen designs. The design was focused on "comfort and convenience, efficiency, and conservation of space."[2] This kitchen featured sloped countertops and cabinets with glass doors. In 1929 she received a patent on an apartment bed design. It could be flipped into the wall to save space.

Architecture

Keichline's designs can still be seen Bellefonte. She designed the Plaza Theatre, the Cadillac Garage and Apartments, the Harvey Apartments, as well as multiple residences.[2]

Personal life

Keichline had her own automobile, which was unusual for women at the time. She was also involved in World War I efforts, serving as a "special agent with military intelligence."[2] She got involved with politics, helping with President Hoover's Better Housing Conference. She also marched in the women's suffrage movement.

References

  1. ↑ Internet Archive of Women in Architecture
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 http://www.centrecountyhistory.org/history/keichline.html
  3. ↑ Howard, Ella; Setliff, Eric. "In "A Man's World": Women Industrial Designers". In Kirkham, Pat. Women Designers in the USA, 1900–2000. p. 270.
  4. ↑ Jolly, Bob. "Streetcar Windshield Wipers and Swinging Streetcleaning Carts." Tradeswomen Apr 30 1997: 20-. GenderWatch. Web. 31 May 2012
  5. ↑ Hengstler, Laura. "Trading on Tradition." Creative Woman Dec 31 1993: 10-. GenderWatch. Web. 31 May 2012.
  6. ↑ http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blKeichline.htm
  7. ↑ Lemelson-MIT "Inventor of the Week"