Bethune: Every Woman Her Own Architect
About the Zina Bethune collection on Louise Bethune
Like her great-grandmother, Louise Blanchard Bethune, Zina Bethune was a trailblazer who overcame adversity and followed her passions to chart her course as an actor, dancer, artist, and philanthropist. It was from her grandmother, Wilhelmina Bethune, that she learned of Louise’s career and legacy.
Kelly Hayes McAlonie successfully nominated Louise Bethune to the Western New York Women’s Hall of Fame in 2006. During this process, Hayes McAlonie met Zina and they began exchanging information about Louise. After Zina’s unexpected passing in 2012, her husband, Sean Feeley, generously donated the historic family records, photo albums, and other ephemera to the University at Buffalo University Archives so that both women’s legacies would be celebrated and preserved.
The Zina Bethune collection on Louise Bethune was a gift to the University Archives between 2017 and 2018. Amy Vilz, University Archivist (2013-2021), closely collaborated with Kelly Hayes McAlonie, Director, Campus Planning and Louise Blanchard Bethune scholar, to bring this collection to the University Archives. Recognizing the significance of Bethune’s work and legacy, Amy sought to preserve and promote the collection, honoring Louise Bethune’s distinctive role within the field of architecture and the city of Buffalo.
Additional information about Louise Bethune’s career, as well as city maps listing the buildings designed by Bethune, Bethune, & Fuchs, are located in this research guide: Louise Blanchard Bethune: Every Woman Her Own Architect, created by Rose Orcutt, Architecture and Planning Librarian, University at Buffalo.
University at Buffalo University Libraries would like to thank the following individuals, departments, and institutions that partnered on this exhibit: Kelly Hayes McAlonie FAIA, AUA, LEED AP, Director, Campus Planning, University at Buffalo; The Costume Shop, UB Department of Theatre and Dance; The Fabrication Workshop, UB School of Architecture and Planning; The Rare Book Room at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library; The FTT Historic Costume and Textile Collection at SUNY Buffalo State University; and the New York State Museum.
Louise Bethune at Work, circa 1880-1890. Courtesy of the University at Buffalo Libraries. Zina Bethune Collection on Louise Bethune (MS-0262).