Mary Almy (1883–1967) 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 ...

, and a partner at Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc., one of the first architecture firms founded by women in the United States and specializing in domestic architecture. She studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

from 1917 to 1919.

Early life and education

Almy grew up in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. She had

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

as a child and walked with

crutches A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the legs to the upper body. It is often used by people who cannot use their legs to support their weight, for reasons ranging from short-term injuries to lifelong disabilities. History Crutc ...

throughout her life. In 1905 she graduated from Radcliffe College. She worked as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

before developing an interest in architecture. She earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in architecture at the

in 1919 after three years of study. Due to academic policies in place at the time, female students were not accepted into the four-year program in Architecture, but limited to the two-year degree program in architectural drafting at MIT. Prior to her education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Almy designed a summer home for her family on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

Career

Almy worked as a

drafter A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...

at a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

based architectural firm called Collcut and Hamp, for two years. In the 1920s she became a drafter for the

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 ...

firm owned by

Lois Lilley Howe Lois Lilley Howe (September 25, 1864 – September 13, 1964) was an American architect and founder of the first all female architecture firm in Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Howe was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Howe studied at the ...

and Eleanor Manning, who had also attended MIT. In 1926 she became a member of the

American Institute of Architects 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 su ...

and a partner at Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc. Upon becoming partner at the firm, she took over the position of chief draftsman. Despite surviving the Great Depression, the firm closed in 1937 after Howe retired. Manning and Almy continued in private practice. Almy also worked with landscape architect Henrietta Pope.

Works

Legacy

Mary Almy's papers reside in the collection for Howe, Manning and Almy at MIT. The Almy family papers are located at the

Schlesinger Library The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F. Cott, the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director ...

at Radcliffe College. Howe, Manning, and Almy were the subject of a dissertation defended in 1976 at Boston University by Gail Morse.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almy, Mary 1883 births 1967 deaths MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni Architects from Cambridge, Massachusetts Architects from Boston People with polio Radcliffe College alumni American women architects 20th-century American architects Museum designers Quaker Philanthropy Colonial Revival architecture