Mary Rockwell Hook
Encyclopedia
Mary Rockwell Hook was an American
architect
and a pioneer for women in architecture
. She designed throughout the United States.
According to the International Archive of Women in Architecture
, "Mary Rockwell Hook will be remembered, not because she was a woman working in a 'man's field,' but because she was a successful designer who made her mark in the field of architecture."
, Kansas
, Mary was the daughter of Bertrand Rockwell, a successful grain merchant and banker. In 1906, the Rockwell family moved to Kansas City
. Mary Rockwell married Inghram Hook, an attorney, in 1921.
. In 1905, Hook went to Paris
to study under Marcel Auburtin at the École des Beaux-Arts
.
According to Hook's autobiography
, she decided to become an architect after a 1902 family trip abroad:
. In 1906, during her final examinations at a studio of École des Beaux-Arts
, French male students flung buckets of water at her as she fled through the courtyard.
The Kansas City Star
later wrote that the era was one "when male architects were openly antagonistic to women joining the profession."
Discrimination did not end with her degree. The American Institute of Architects
denied Hook admission because of her sex. Upon her 100th birthday in 1977, however, the professional organization presented her with a plaque for distinguished service. Kansas City residents further celebrated the occasion by touring famous homes that she had designed locally.
and Ethel de Long Zande were preparing for the foundation of Pine Mountain Settlement School
, Ethel de Long Zande wrote Mary Rockwell Hook asking her to plan its campus. Hook later described Pine Mountain
as "an 18th century world" where "there is no village to mar the peaceful landscape, where trains, motors, and chewing gum have not penetrated."
After studying the area, the three agreed that lower lands should be used for farming to feed the school while steeper lands whould be used for construction. Public buildings would be central, and cottages would line the edges of the valley.
Hook's first project for the campus construction was the renovation of a dilapidated log cabin
called Old Log House. She next designed a log house for Pettit. Hook worked with local resources in her designs, including chestnut
, poplar, oak
, and boulder
s. Even though a mill was installed on campus, it took more than a year to cut and dry lumber for Laurel House, the school's dining building.
Hook remained involved with the school as a member of the Board of Trustees
until she was over 90 years old. Pine Mountain Settlement School is now a National Historic Landmark.
.
and East Asia
. Hook's Italianate architecture
was evidenced by her synthesis of brick, stone, and antique materials with tiles, frescoes, and leaded panes. Hook's own home, which she designed in 1925, is one example of an Italianate residence. Nine of Hook's works in Kansas City were studied in a National Register of Historic Places "Thematic Resources" study, and were listed on the National Register.
-front property on Siesta Key
, Florida
, Hook developed part of the area with her designs, such as an outdoor chapel for St. Boniface Church. She designed Whispering Sands to be a sanctuary for writers and artists, and she designed houses for Sandy Hook, an architecturally creative resident area. Hook designed her octagon-shaped home for Sandy Hook.
, local newspaper Sarasota Herald-Tribune
described Hook as "bringing the outdoors in, and many of the homes she designed on Siesta Key reflected the trend long before it became popular."
as early as 1937.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and a pioneer for women in architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. She designed throughout the United States.
According to the International Archive of Women in Architecture
International Archive of Women in Architecture
The International Archive of Women in Architecture was established in 1985 as a joint program of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the University Libraries at Virginia Tech....
, "Mary Rockwell Hook will be remembered, not because she was a woman working in a 'man's field,' but because she was a successful designer who made her mark in the field of architecture."
Personal life
Born in Junction CityJunction City, Kansas
Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 23,353. Fort Riley, a major U.S. Army post, is nearby...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Mary was the daughter of Bertrand Rockwell, a successful grain merchant and banker. In 1906, the Rockwell family moved to Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. Mary Rockwell married Inghram Hook, an attorney, in 1921.
Education
Mary Rockwell Hook graduated from Wellesley College in 1900. In 1903, she enrolled as the only woman in her class in the architecture department at the Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
. In 1905, Hook went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study under Marcel Auburtin at the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
.
According to Hook's autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, she decided to become an architect after a 1902 family trip abroad:
"It was during this trip home from the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
that I decided someone needed to improve the design of the buildings used by our government abroad. I made up my mind to go home and study architecture."
Sexual discrimination
As a female student in a predominantly male school, Hook faced sexual discriminationSexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
. In 1906, during her final examinations at a studio of École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
, French male students flung buckets of water at her as she fled through the courtyard.
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
later wrote that the era was one "when male architects were openly antagonistic to women joining the profession."
Discrimination did not end with her degree. The American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects 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 support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
denied Hook admission because of her sex. Upon her 100th birthday in 1977, however, the professional organization presented her with a plaque for distinguished service. Kansas City residents further celebrated the occasion by touring famous homes that she had designed locally.
Pine Mountain Settlement School
Around 1913, when Katherine PettitKatherine Pettit
Katherine Rebecca Pettit was an American educator from Kentucky who contributed to the settlement school movement of the early 20th century.-Background:...
and Ethel de Long Zande were preparing for the foundation of Pine Mountain Settlement School
Pine Mountain Settlement School
Pine Mountain Settlement School is located on Pine Mountain in Harlan County, Kentucky. The settlement school focuses on Appalachian and environmental education.-Founding:...
, Ethel de Long Zande wrote Mary Rockwell Hook asking her to plan its campus. Hook later described Pine Mountain
Pine Mountain (ridge)
Pine Mountain is a ridge in the Appalachian Mountains running through Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. It extends about 125 miles from near Jellico, Tennessee, to a location near Elkhorn City, Kentucky. The highest point is 3,273 feet above sea level, east of Whitesburg, Kentucky...
as "an 18th century world" where "there is no village to mar the peaceful landscape, where trains, motors, and chewing gum have not penetrated."
After studying the area, the three agreed that lower lands should be used for farming to feed the school while steeper lands whould be used for construction. Public buildings would be central, and cottages would line the edges of the valley.
Hook's first project for the campus construction was the renovation of a dilapidated log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
called Old Log House. She next designed a log house for Pettit. Hook worked with local resources in her designs, including chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
, poplar, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, and boulder
Boulder
In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....
s. Even though a mill was installed on campus, it took more than a year to cut and dry lumber for Laurel House, the school's dining building.
Hook remained involved with the school as a member of the Board of Trustees
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
until she was over 90 years old. Pine Mountain Settlement School is now a National Historic Landmark.
Hook and Remington
In 1923, Hook returned to Kansas City and started the Hook and Remington architectural firm with partner Eric Douglas Macwilliam Remington.White House
Despite blindness in her later years, Hook imagined designs and offered ideas to modify the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
Kansas City
Mary Rockwell Hook's Kansas City designs date from as early as 1908, with her most eminent work completed during the 1920s and 1930s in the Sunset Hills area. Many of her designs in Sunset Hills pay tribute to the architectural styles she witnessed during childhood trips to EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
. Hook's Italianate architecture
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
was evidenced by her synthesis of brick, stone, and antique materials with tiles, frescoes, and leaded panes. Hook's own home, which she designed in 1925, is one example of an Italianate residence. Nine of Hook's works in Kansas City were studied in a National Register of Historic Places "Thematic Resources" study, and were listed on the National Register.
Siesta Key
After purchasing 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) of GulfGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
-front property on Siesta Key
Siesta Key, Florida
Siesta Key is a barrier island off the central western coast of Florida in the United States of America. It is situated between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. A portion of it lies within the city boundary of Sarasota, but the majority of the key is a census-designated place in Sarasota County...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Hook developed part of the area with her designs, such as an outdoor chapel for St. Boniface Church. She designed Whispering Sands to be a sanctuary for writers and artists, and she designed houses for Sandy Hook, an architecturally creative resident area. Hook designed her octagon-shaped home for Sandy Hook.
Employing natural terrain
Mary Rockwell Hook was the first Kansas City architect to incorporate natural formations in her designs. When she continued this style on Siesta KeySiesta Key, Florida
Siesta Key is a barrier island off the central western coast of Florida in the United States of America. It is situated between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. A portion of it lies within the city boundary of Sarasota, but the majority of the key is a census-designated place in Sarasota County...
, local newspaper Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a daily newspaper located in Sarasota, Florida.It is owned by The New York Times Company, who purchased it in 1982, and part of its regional news group. Along with Comcast, the newspaper operates a local 24-hour...
described Hook as "bringing the outdoors in, and many of the homes she designed on Siesta Key reflected the trend long before it became popular."
Solar energy
In Siesta Key, Hook used solar power to heat water for a resortResort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
as early as 1937.