The Search for a Forgotten Architect
Minerva Parker Nichols (1862–1949) was the first woman in the US to
practice architecture independently, with press coverage and commissions
nationwide. Yet only a handful of her drawings survives, and she is
rarely included in the story of Philadelphia’s built environment or
broader historical assessments. Capping off a decade’s research by
architectural historian and preservation planner Molly Lester (MSHP’12),
Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect features
a new series of documentary photographs by Elizabeth Felicella
documenting over 30 of the architect’s extant buildings and raising
timely questions about who, in the history of the built environment, is
remembered, who is forgotten, and why.
The exhibition was co-curated by Lester, Felicella, curator William
Whitaker and archivist Heather Isbell Schumacher of the Architectural
Archives at Penn.
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission
to the exhibition is free and open to the public. Information at
215.898.8323.
Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect is supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
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