Innovation in Practice (1890-1900)

By the late 1880s, Louise and Robert Bethune’s firm had expanded beyond residential work to include educational and commercial projects. Their longtime protégé and employee, William Fuchs, became the firm’s third partner in 1891. By 1900, the firm was winning multiple significant commissions and growing its portfolio to include multi-family residences and schools, factories, offices, and commercial buildings in the Flemish, Italian, and French Renaissance Revival styles.

This period was a time of seismic shifts in most aspects of American society and Louise was part of a movement of inventors and entrepreneurs who recognized new opportunities in emerging fields. Women continued to pursue careers in architecture and each decade of the twentieth century saw women make significant contributions to the built environment. 

Momentum continues to build today for women architects to attain a footing in the profession equal to their male counterparts. In 2018, 25 percent of all licensed architects were women. As Louise Bethune noted in 1891: “The future of woman in the architectural profession is what she herself sees fit to make it.”