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Helen Douglass French (1900–1994) was an American
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 ...
. She worked together and independently with her husband,
landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
Prentiss French.


Personal life and education

French was born Helen Douglass in
Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 census. History ...
in 1900.Sarah Allaback
''The first American women architects''
(2008) pp. 77-78, In 1921, she earned her graduate degree in architecture at the
Cambridge School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture The Cambridge School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture—previously known as the Cambridge School of Architectural and Landscape Design for Women and then as Cambridge School of Domestic and Landscape Architecture for Women—was an educat ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
.


Career

After graduating, French worked at various firms in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and eventually traveled to Europe, where she studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, returning to the United States in 1927. That year, she married Prentiss French and the couple operated a private practice in Boston and
Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is h ...
until 1932 when they relocated to
Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
. They worked with architect Clarence Martin for ten years while in Sarasota. The couple then moved to
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
when Prentiss was employed by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
during World War II. There, French received her California certification in 1946, and they worked primarily on residential projects. The couple worked in the same office in San Francisco until the 1960s, working together and independently on projects throughout Northern California. French was a member of the
American Institute of Architecture The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to sup ...
Northern California Chapter, the SPUR, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association, the Outdoor Arts Club of Mill Valley, the Marin Art and Garden Center, and the Women's League of San Francisco. She also served as secretary for the Mill Valley Parks and Recreation Commission. French passed away in 1994. The archives of the Prentiss' lie in the collection of the College of Environmental Design at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
.


See also

*
List of California women architects The following is a list of women architects in California by region – notable women who are well known for their work in the field of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and preservation. Northern California Northern Californ ...


References


External links


Helen French finding aid at the Online Archive of California
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Helen 1900 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American architects American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts American women architects Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Architects from San Francisco People from Arlington, Massachusetts 20th-century American women artists