Elizabeth Ayer (October 13, 1897 – August 4, 1987) is recognized as a pioneering

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, whose professional activities stretched over more than five decades. She was the first woman to graduate from the professional architecture program at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and was the first woman to be registered as an architect in Washington State. Ayer was born in

Thurston County, Washington Thurston County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 294,793. The county seat and largest city is Olympia, Washingto ...

, in October 1897. She enrolled at the University of Washington in 1916, graduating in 1921 with her

B.Arch. The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world. Australia Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...

degree. In 1919, while still a student, she was hired by Andrew Willatsen. The next year she began her long association with Seattle architect Edwin Ivey. From 1922 to 1923, she worked in

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, but after a year returned to Seattle, again working with Ivey. By the late 1920s, Ayer was identified as Ivey's "Associate." During the 1920s and 1930s, Ayer played key roles in design and supervision of the Ivey's residential commissions. About 1930, Ayer became registered as an architect in Washington State. In 1940, Ivey was killed in an automobile accident. Ayer took over the firm and with another employee, Rolland Lamping, continued the practice. In 1942, they suspended the practice—for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Ayer worked as an architect in the U.S. Engineers Office. She restarted the practice after 1945. Some time during the 1950s, the firm name was changed to Ayer & Lamping. Ayer retired in 1970, after a 50-year professional career. She moved to

Lacey, Washington Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Olympia with a population of 53,526 at the 2020 census. Lacey is located along Interstate 5 between Olympia and the Nisqually River, which marks the border with ...

, where she served on the Planning Commission through 1980. She died in Lacey in 1987.

References

External links

HistoryLink essay about Ayer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayer, Elizabeth 1897 births 1987 deaths People from Lacey, Washington 20th-century American architects Architects from Seattle American women architects University of Washington College of Built Environments alumni 20th-century American women artists

References

Further reading

External links