Ruth Maxon Adams (1883–1970) 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 ...

Biography

Adams grew up in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, the only child of

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

professor

George Burton Adams George Burton Adams (June 3, 1851 in VermontAdams, George Burton
in ''

. As a child, she visited England with her father, where she was first exposed to

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

and the Arts and Crafts movement. She graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in 1904, with no intention of practicing architecture. Six years later, she enrolled in the

New York School of Applied Design for Women The New York School of Applied Design for Women, established in 1892, was an early design school for women in New York City. The New York School of Applied Design building was built in 1908 and is now a landmarked building. The school became the ...

to study

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

. Adams received commissions from Vassar to remodel several campus buildings in 1914. The following year she decided to open her own interior design firm in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. During that first year, she received a commission to design a house for two Vassar professors, Edith Fahnestock and Rose Peebles. Adams would go on to design at least six Vassar residences over the course of forty years. Their architectural styles varied, including

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

, Tudor, and

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

. She also served as a design consultant for Vassar until 1942. In this position she compiled annual inventories of all of the buildings owned by the college. In 1921, Adams became the architect for Yelping Hill in

West Cornwall, Connecticut West Cornwall is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Cornwall, Connecticut, Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is on the west side of the town, on the e ...

. Yelping Hill is a private community started by

Henry Seidel Canby Henry Seidel Canby (September 6, 1878 – April 5, 1961) was a critic, editor, and Yale University professor. A scion of a Quaker family that arrived in Wilmington, Delaware, around 1740 and grew to regional prominence through milling and bu ...

Lee Wilson Dodd Lee Wilson Dodd (July 11, 1879 - May 16, 1933) was a playwright, poet, and novelist. Several of his plays were made into films. He also wrote short stories and poems as well as review and he was also a professor. Dodd was born in Franklin, Penn ...

, Beverly Waugh Kunkel,

Henry Noble MacCracken Henry Noble MacCracken (November 19, 1880 – May 7, 1970) was an American academic administrator who was the fifth president of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, serving from 1915 to 1946 as the first secular president of the college. Ma ...

, David Stanley Smith, and Mason Trowbridge with their wives and children, and served as a summer community in the spirit of the Quaker camps in the Poconos. Adams designed all the residences, co-planned the community, and served as a

construction foreman A construction foreman, construction forewoman, or construction foreperson is the worker or skilled tradesperson who is in charge of a construction crew. This role is generally assumed by a senior worker. Duties and functions Normally the forema ...

. The houses had no kitchens, as all dining took place in a communal dining room. Childcare was also a community task. These concepts and executions by Adams are considered by architecture historians to be an expression of Adams'

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

ideals. Despite focusing on architecture, Adams described herself as a "designer," rather than an architect.

Legacy

Adams' achievements are located in the collection of the

archives. The records pertaining to her work with Yelping Hill are held by the Yelping Hill Association Archives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Ruth Maxon 1883 births 1970 deaths 20th-century American architects American interior designers Architects from New Haven, Connecticut Architects from New York City Berkshires People from Cornwall, Connecticut Artists from New Haven, Connecticut American women architects Vassar College alumni Vassar College faculty American women interior designers New York School of Applied Design for Women alumni 20th-century American women American women academics