âWomenâ and âarchitectureâ were once mutually exclusive terms. In an 1891 address, Louise Blanchard Bethune declared, âit is hardly safe to assertâ that a connection even exists between the two words. Some women didnât agree.
Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart (1823-1902) is credited with works built in the present states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and British Columbia. Born Esther Pariseau in Saint-ElzĂŠar, QuĂŠbec, the âMother with a hammerâ was honored by the State of Washington as one of two people to represent it in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C.
Louise Blanchard Bethune (1856-1913) designed and built works in the Buffalo, New York area, including the Lafayette Hotel, which was one of the eleven most luxurious hotels in the United States when it opened in 1904.
Mother Josephâs and Louise Bethuneâs signature buildings, Providence Academy, Vancouver, Washington, and the Lafayette Hotel, Buffalo, New York, are both listed on the United Statesâ National Register of Historic Places. Both buildings are cases of historic preservation and adaptive reuse.
Bridging disciplines from womenâs studies, architecture and architectural history to the fascinating past of the Pacific Northwest and Upstate New York, Storming the Old Boysâ Citadel sheds new light on North Americaâs common built environment and those who made it.
In this book, based on years of research and keen story-telling skills, Carla Blank and Tania Martin also breathe new life into the lives and works of two remarkable nineteenth-century women.