Chloethiel Woodard Smith, FAIA (1910-1992)

Facts About Chloethiel Woodard Smith, FAIA "In the past, everything took time. A place was a matter of slow accretion, and accumulation of what all sorts of people did and said over the years. Now in order to oppose the fast accretion that's happening all up and down the coast, we're going to have to build whole cities from scratch…It frightens me. It's like screwing in a whole set of new light bulbs at once-they're all liable to go out at once, too…We have to plan this sort of thing." Quote by Chloethiel Woodard Smith, published in the article, "Profiles: Through the Great City III," by Anthony Bailey, New Yorker, August 1967, page 60. List of Accomplishments 1932 Bachelor of Architecture, University of Oregon 1933 Masters of Architecture in City Planning, Washington University 1940 City for Living Exhibit, Montreal Canada 1944 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship 1951 German Building Exposition, Hanover, Germany 1954-55 Activities Building, Chestnut Lodge, Rockville, MD 1960 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Fellow 1960 Award of Merit, AIA 1963 President's Advisory Council on Pennsylvania Avenue 1965 First Lady's Committee for Beautification of the Nations Capital 1965 AIA Pan American Congress Committee Chairman 1967-68 President's National Committee on Urban Problems 1967-76 National Commission of Fine Arts, Washington, DC Architects Advisory Committee, National Capital Downtown Commission, Inc. Design Review Panel, Boston Redevelopment Agency Jury Member, House Awards AIA National Association Home Builders Trustee Fred L. Lavanburg Foundation American Institute of Planners American Planners and Civic Association, Member Committee of 100 on the Federal City Washington Building Congress, Planning and Housing Association In 1960, Chloethiel Woodard Smith was inducted as a Fellow into the American Institute of Architects, the sixth woman so honored. Founding Trustee of the National Building Museum. Smith was influential in proposing a national museum celebrating buildings and architecture and successfully proposed the renovation of the Pension Building to serve as home to the National Building Museum. By 1967, Chloethiel Woodard Smith ran the largest female-run architectural firm in the United States. At the end of her career in the late 1980s, nearly 30% of architects working in Washington, DC had come through her office. The percentage would be much higher if the firms that she was a partner in are included. Notable architects Arthur Cotton Moore and Hugh Newell Jacobsen worked for her. Career spanned five decades from mid 1930s to 1980s. She was also an author of note. Her writings about urban planning were published in professional journals.

Photo courtesy Helen Kasper

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Endangered! 1955-75 CHESTNUT LODGE MENTAL HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Rockville, MD (See our RPPN Chestnut Lodge page for photographs and more details on this structure)

References:Smith's architecture was featured in Trade journals, The AIA guide to Washington, DC Architecture and popular press, including Business Week, Fortune, and daily newspapers.

A select bibliography of articles written about Smith include:

"She Makes the City a place for living." Business Week, 3 June 1967, 76-80

Von Eckardt, Wolf. "That Exceptional One." The Washingtonian, September 1988, 79-80

Willis, Beverly, FAIA. "Tribute." National Building Museum Blueprints XI, no. (Spring 1993): 15

McLendon, Winzola. "Architect Designs No Ivory Towers." The Washington Post, 30 July 1967, E1, E5

Forgey, Benjamin. "On Chloethiel's Corner." Washington Post, 1 January 1993, D1, D8

Bailey, Anthony. "Profiles: through the Great City III." New Yorker, August 1967, 59-63

Abbreviated List of Projects:

Partial List of Projects (dates known)
1955-59 AMERICAN EMBASSY, Asuncion, Paraguay, Chancery and residence
1955-75 CHESTNUT LODGE MENTAL HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Rockville, MD
(See our RPPN Chestnut Lodge page for photographs and more details on this structure)
1958-68 CAPITOL PARK APARTMENTS AND TOWNHOUSES, Southwest, Washington, DC
1960-62 WASHINGTON CHANNEL WATERFONT MASTER PLAN, Washington, DC
1961-62 BROOK HOUSE, Brookline, MA
1962-68 HARCOURT, BRACE, AND WORLD, INC., New York, NY, Bookstore and Executive Offices
1962 E STREET EXPRESSWAY, 23rd to 19th Avenues, Washington, DC
1962 CROWN TOWER, New Haven, CT
1962-65 LA CLEDE TOWN, St. Louis, MO
1962-65 WATERVIEW TOWNHOUSES, Reston, VA
1964 ONONDAGA LAKE MASTER PLAN, Onondaga County, New York
1964 SHAW SCHOOL, Washington, DC
1964-66 1100 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, Washington, DC Office Building
1964-66 BLAKE BUILDING, 1025 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, DC
1964-71 WATERSIDE-TOWN CENTER, Washington, DC
1965-66 WASHINGTON CHANNEL BRIDGE (PONTE VECCHIO), Washington, DC, Shopping Bridge
1965 SKYLINE STUDY, Washington, DC
1965 ST. ANDREWS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, College Park, MD
1965 MISSISSIPPI DELTA FEASIBILITY STUDY
1965-66 F STREET PLAZA, Washington, DC
1965-67 HARBOUR SQUARE APARTMENTS AND TOWNHOUSES, Washington, DC
1966 PENSION BUILDING, Washington, DC, New Use Study
1966 SPA CREEK, Annapolis, MD Townhouse group
1967 AVERNE, Borough of Queens, NY, Master Plan for Seven Towns on the Oceafront
1969 WILDE LAKE HIGH RISE, Columbia, MD
1969-70 CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING, Beltsville, MD
1970 UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, Rochester, NY
1970-71 INTOWN, Rochester, NY
1971 NATIONAL AIRPORT METRO STATION, Arlington County, VA
1973 DC ASSOCIATION FOR RETARDED CHILDREN, OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING CENTER, Washington, DC
1987-88 WASHINGTON SQUARE, Washington, DC

Partial List of Projects (dates unknown)
CROOKED LAKE, Tully, NY, Residential Community Master Plan
CROSSROADS SOUTH GARAGE, Rochester, NY
FALLS HILL, Columbia, MD
FLETCHER-JOHNSON SCHOOL, Washington, DC
FORT WASHINGTON MARINA FEASIBILITY STUDY, Prince Georges County, MD
FRIENDSHIP TERRACE, Washington, DC Elderly Housing
GALLAUDET COLLEGE STUDENT UNION AND ELY HALL RENOVATION, Washington, DC
INTERNATIONAL CENTER, Washington, DC, Chancery Complex
MAINE AVENUE APARTMENTS, Washington, DC
MARSHALL HALL MASTER PLAN, Charles County, MD Proposed New Town
RESIDENCE AND STABLE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD for Mr. & Mrs. Willmott Lewis, Sr.
SOUTHEAST LOOP MASTER PLAN, Rochester, NY
SOUTHWEST FREEWAY (I-395)
TOWN SQUARE, Washington, DC, Urban Commercial Complex
TOWNSEND TOWER, Syracuse, NY
WEEKEND HOUSE, Fairfax, VA, for Col. & Mrs. Julius Wadsworth
WEEKEND RESIDENCE, Winchester, MD, for Dr. & Mrs. Dexter Bullard

Do you have photos or information on a project by Chloethiel Woodard Smith?
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