Gertrude Sawyer, AIA
"...People who don't want a woman architect just don't come to you. But others see the advantage of your being able to interpret their individual needs because you are a woman..."
Gertrude Sawyer, The Sunday Star, March 25, 1956
Gertrude wanted to be an architect from a young age. She obtained her landscape architecture degree from the University of Illinois and was one of the first women to attend the Cambridge School. Women who attended the school created a network and collaborated on later projects. Fellow student Rose Greely was one of the women Sawyer worked with later in her career. Once her education was completed, she worked most notably for Horace Peaslee.
Work at Jefferson Patterson EstateIn 1932 Sawyer was hired to design the buildings at Point Farm (Jefferson Patterson Estate), where she established great ties with the family. She ended up designing 26 building on the property and was dubbed the “family’s architect”. She had a knack for detail which is obvious in her sections and rigorous note taking.
Lieutenant Commander Gertrude SawyerGertrude played an active role in the military from 1943 to 1945 as Lieutenant Commander for the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps also known as the Seabees. During her service she and Lt. Kathleen F. Lux designed housing to satisfy the needs of 14,000 people. Their employer, the Office of The Potomac River Naval Command, sought out women architects for their ability to understand the needs of the home. After the war she served as the only female reserve Seabee officer.
The Sunday Star applauds Gertrude's work and references her many accomplishments while in the Navy. "...People who don't want a woman architect just don't come to you. But others see the advantage of your being able to interpret their individual needs because you are a woman..." Gertrude in The Sunday Star's Woman Architect Came to Their Aid Timeline
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