Fay Kellogg
Encyclopedia
Fay Kellogg was described as "the foremost woman architect
in the United States" in the early years of the 20th century. She specialized in steel construction.
and originally intending to become a doctor, Kellogg began studies at Columbian University, now George Washington University
, in Washington, D.C.
and switched to architecture at her father's urging. She said she had always been handy with tools, and had wanted to build a home for herself, a goal which she eventually realized. She began studying with a German tutor for two years, from whom she learned drawing and mathematics, and then studied for a year at the Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn.
She obtained employment with R. L. Davis, where she worked on projects such as the Thirteenth Regiment Armory and the Monastery of the Precious Blood
. She then worked at the architectural firm
of Carrere and Hastings
for one year, after which she went to Paris
to study at the atelier of Marcel de Monclos. At the time, women were not admitted to the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and Kellogg vigorously fought for the admission of women to that school during her two years in Paris. She was ultimately successful but too late to avail herself of the opportunity to attend.
, where she helped design or prepare plans for the Hall of Records
. She designed the prominent double staircase in that building's atrium and she said it was her idea to place statues of early Dutch governors like Peter Stuyvesant on the building so that they would look out over the modern city. After Thomas's death in 1901, Kellogg set up business for herself, establishing her own office in 1903.
One of her first commissions was the renovation and construction of seven buildings on Park Place in Manhattan
for the American News Company
. She was soon in charge of all their building and renovation work in the United States. For jobs within 200 miles of New York City, Kellogg would supervise directly. For projects further afield, she would draw plans.
Kellogg also helped design the Woman's Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn, and hundreds of other buildings and cottages. She designed suburban railway stations, and was the architect for a real estate developer on Long Island
. She erected a skyscraper in San Francisco.
During World War I
, Kellogg built YWCA National War Council "hostess houses" at military camps in Greenville, South Carolina
; Charlotte, North Carolina
; Chattanooga, Tennessee
; and a YWCA building at the Charleston Navy Yard.
Kellogg said her relationships with male architects were good: "I do not permit sentiment to enter into it whatever. I meet them on equal lines". She said women were well suited to be architects, and "as is the case with all pioneers, the women who have gone into architecture are intensely in earnest". She said she refused concessions from male colleagues when offered: "I want to be treated neither as a superior nor as an inferior, but as an equal".
Kellogg was also a supporter of women's suffrage
. During an address by the English suffragist Mrs. Pankhurst
at Carnegie Hall
in 1909, Kellogg was the only architect among dozens of professional women seated on the stage.
, where she spent six months of the year, and from which she sold eggs year round. She was reclaiming the "waste land" with the intent of eventually retiring there. Kellogg was athletic, participating in fencing
, boxing
, wrestling
and equestrian activities
, as well as playing basketball
and golf
.
in the spring of 1918 while supervising construction of YWCA hostess houses at Camp Gordon, and died in July 1918 at her home in Brooklyn
, aged 47.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
in the United States" in the early years of the 20th century. She specialized in steel construction.
Education and early career
Born in Milton, PennsylvaniaMilton, Pennsylvania
Milton is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River, north of Harrisburg. Settled in 1770, it was incorporated in 1817, and is governed by a charter that was revised in 1890...
and originally intending to become a doctor, Kellogg began studies at Columbian University, now George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and switched to architecture at her father's urging. She said she had always been handy with tools, and had wanted to build a home for herself, a goal which she eventually realized. She began studying with a German tutor for two years, from whom she learned drawing and mathematics, and then studied for a year at the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
in Brooklyn.
She obtained employment with R. L. Davis, where she worked on projects such as the Thirteenth Regiment Armory and the Monastery of the Precious Blood
Monastery of the Precious Blood
The Monastery of the Precious Blood is a building in southeast Portland, Oregon, USA, listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
. She then worked at the architectural firm
Architectural firm
An architectural firm is a company which employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture.- History :Architects have existed since early in recorded history. The earliest recorded architects include Imhotep and Senemut . No writings exist to describe how these...
of Carrere and Hastings
Carrère and Hastings
Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings , located in New York City, was one of the outstanding Beaux-Arts architecture firms in the United States. The partnership operated from 1885 until 1911, when Carrère was killed in an automobile accident...
for one year, after which she went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study at the atelier of Marcel de Monclos. At the time, women were not admitted to the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and Kellogg vigorously fought for the admission of women to that school during her two years in Paris. She was ultimately successful but too late to avail herself of the opportunity to attend.
Independent professional
Upon returning to the United States in 1900, she found work with the established New York architect John R. ThomasJohn Rochester Thomas
John Rochester Thomas was an American architect credited in his time with being the nation's most prolific designer of public and semi-public buildings....
, where she helped design or prepare plans for the Hall of Records
Surrogate's Courthouse
The Surrogate's Courthouse, also known as the Hall of Records, is a Beaux Arts municipal building in lower Manhattan in New York City....
. She designed the prominent double staircase in that building's atrium and she said it was her idea to place statues of early Dutch governors like Peter Stuyvesant on the building so that they would look out over the modern city. After Thomas's death in 1901, Kellogg set up business for herself, establishing her own office in 1903.
One of her first commissions was the renovation and construction of seven buildings on Park Place in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
for the American News Company
American News Company
American News Company was a magazine distribution company founded in 1864 by Sinclair Tousey, which dominated the distribution market in the 1940s and 1950s...
. She was soon in charge of all their building and renovation work in the United States. For jobs within 200 miles of New York City, Kellogg would supervise directly. For projects further afield, she would draw plans.
Kellogg also helped design the Woman's Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn, and hundreds of other buildings and cottages. She designed suburban railway stations, and was the architect for a real estate developer on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. She erected a skyscraper in San Francisco.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Kellogg built YWCA National War Council "hostess houses" at military camps in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
; Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
; Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
; and a YWCA building at the Charleston Navy Yard.
Opposing sexism
Kellogg played a role in opening the architecture profession to women. Unable to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts because of her sex, she advocated admission of women to the prestigious academy during her residence in Paris. In part due to her efforts, the French government passed a bill to allow women to study there, although it came too late for Kellogg herself to attend.Kellogg said her relationships with male architects were good: "I do not permit sentiment to enter into it whatever. I meet them on equal lines". She said women were well suited to be architects, and "as is the case with all pioneers, the women who have gone into architecture are intensely in earnest". She said she refused concessions from male colleagues when offered: "I want to be treated neither as a superior nor as an inferior, but as an equal".
Kellogg was also a supporter of women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
. During an address by the English suffragist Mrs. Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote...
at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1909, Kellogg was the only architect among dozens of professional women seated on the stage.
Personal life
Kellogg owned a 15 acres (6.1 ha) farm on Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where she spent six months of the year, and from which she sold eggs year round. She was reclaiming the "waste land" with the intent of eventually retiring there. Kellogg was athletic, participating in fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
and equestrian activities
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, as well as playing basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
.
Death
Kellogg suffered a breakdown in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
in the spring of 1918 while supervising construction of YWCA hostess houses at Camp Gordon, and died in July 1918 at her home in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, aged 47.