Title:

Louise Bethune

Description:

Louise Bethune, F.A.I.A. First Woman Architect elected to the A.I.A. 1856 - 1913.

Jennie Louise Blanchard apprenticed in two Buffalo architectural offices, opening her own practice in 1881.

After she married, her office, known as Bethune & Bethune, was responsible for the design of buildings including the Offerman Baseball Stadium, the 74th Regiment Armory (later converted into the Elmwood Music Hall), the first transformer building bringing electricity from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, and the Lafayette Hotel. In addition, her firm was responsible for numerous residences and industrial buildings as well as eighteen school buildings.

She is recognized as a prominent organizer of the Buffalo Society of Architects, which eventually became the local chapter of the A.I.A. In 1888 she was the first woman architect to be elected to the American Institute of Architects, and in 1889 she was the first woman elevated into the College of Fellows.

Louise Bethune's ashes are buried in the grave of her husband, Robert A. Bethune.

Erected by:

This marker was erected by the A.I.A. Buffalo/WNY chapter with a grant from the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows on the occasion of the A.I.A. New York State convention held in September 2001.

Location:

Forest Lawn Cemetery.