Exhibit sheds light on first female architect in Illinois

To say Marion Mahony Griffin was a pioneer in the field of architecture is a bit of an understatement.

Terms like "force of nature" or "trailblazer" are more fitting to describe the first registered female architect in Illinois and the second woman to earn an architecture degree from MIT. She stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her male peers in the vaunted Prairie School of Architecture, a design movement led by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Though Wright and her husband, Walter Burley Griffin, are better known, it is the often unheralded design work by Mahony Griffin that became the distinct hallmark of the Prairie School as seen in the detailed renderings of such masterpieces as Unity Temple in Oak Park and the Plan for Canberra in Australia. Mahony Griffin was one of Wright's first employees in the legendary Oak Park studio, and she proved to be ahead of her time in her ideas and innovative drawing style that integrated the natural environment into the design process.

For many years, Mahony Griffin's story went untold as the spotlight shone on men like Wright and Louis Sullivan. Her story is being brought to the fore in an exhibit titled "In Her Own Right: Marion Mahony Griffin" at the Elmhurst History Museum, 120 E. Park Ave., Elmhurst. Opening Friday, Oct. 7, and running through March 12, the exhibit brings Mahony Griffin's story to light and shows her to be a brilliant architect, talented artist, avid environmentalist and social activist.

"In Her Own Right" traces Mahony Griffin's early life, her personal and professional partnership with her husband on three continents, her final years in Chicago where she died in obscurity and penniless - and considers the legacy of a Chicagoan of often overlooked importance.

Telling Marion's story

The Griffins are perhaps better known in Australia than they are in the U.S. due to the years they spent there working on the elaborate Plan for Canberra. Their international contest-winning design - created for the country's capital city and the town of Castlecrag, an idyllic community near Sydney - assimilated architecture into the natural landscape.

So it is fitting that the Elmhurst History Museum turned to Anna Rubbo - an Australian native and an adjunct senior scholar at the Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia University and a former associate professor of architecture, design and planning at the University of Sydney - for development of the exhibit content. Rubbo has researched, published and lectured extensively on Marion Mahony Griffin, a woman she feels has not been given the credit she deserves in architecture history.

"Anna Rubbo brings a special perspective to this story as a scholar, an architect, and an Australian, and she was very enthusiastic about partnering with us on this project," museum curator Lance Tawzer said.

"We were drawn to doing this exhibit because it seemed unfair that Marion's story had not yet been told without being put in a box with Walter Burley Griffin and Frank Lloyd Wright. When we started to pursue this story a few years ago, it was because of Walter's relationship to Elmhurst where his parents lived and he designed three homes and the Elmhurst Golf Club's clubhouse. But as we dug further, we realized the unique story here was Marion's and we felt it was time to give her the accolades she deserves. With Anna Rubbo's scholarship and research, I believe we are able to tell a compelling story that people need to know more about."

Tawzer continued, "What I hope people take away from this exhibit is an understanding that this is a woman who has earned a place in history, a woman with vision and talent who dared to have a career in a field dominated by men. Mahony Griffin is certainly a role model for all of us today to look up to, and I believe by experiencing this exhibit our visitors will have a greater respect for her importance in history."

In the exhibit, Rubbo tells Mahony Griffin's story through a number of themes including early childhood life and influences, her years at MIT, her early professional career in Wright's Oak Park studio, her personal and professional partnership with Walter, their years abroad in Australia and India, and her return to the U.S. and late career.

The Elmhurst History Museum staff brings these details to life through a number of loaned photos and materials including: two of Mahony Griffin's "Forest Portraits" from a private collector; illustrations from the Mary and Leigh Block Museum in Evanston; rare photographs from the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, National Library of Australia, Walter Burley Griffin Society, Oak Park Public Library, and others; and a model of Mahony Griffin's first major commission, All Soul's Church in Evanston, loaned by Griffin scholar Paul Kruty.

Exhibit-related programs

To expand the learning experience of "In Her Own Right," the Elmhurst History Museum has planned a full schedule of exhibit-related programs with visiting scholars, authors and tours to learn more about Marion Mahony Griffin. They include:

• Opening Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Elmhurst History Museum Education Center. Rubbo will discuss Mahony Griffin's life and legacy. Cost: Free for members, $10 for others.

• "Graceland Cemetery Tour: Women of Influence" from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, beginning and ending at the Elmhurst History Museum. The Chicago Architecture Foundation leads the tour of Chicago's North Side cemetery where Mahony Griffin and other notable Chicago women are buried. Cost: $30 for members, $35 for others.

• "Marion Mahony Griffin: A Force of Nature" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, at the Elmhurst History Museum Education Center. Noted Griffin historian Christopher Vernon presents an illustrated lecture on Mahony Griffin's little-known practice as a landscape architect, her work on the Plan for Canberra, and her legacy to the world. Cost: Free for members, $5 for others.

• "Women of Steel and Stone: Inspirational Architects, Engineers and Landscape Designers" at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Elmhurst History Museum Education Center. Author Anna M. Lewis shares stories of female architects, engineers and landscape designers from the 1800s to today. Free.

Reservations are required for all programs, and can be made by emailing EHMprograms@elmhurst.org or online at elmhursthistory.org (in the Adult Programs section). Additional programs will be added throughout the exhibit's run.

Exhibit hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. General admission is free, and limited free parking is available. For information, call (630) 833-1457.

If you go

What: "In Her Own Right: Marion Mahony Griffin"

When: 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 7 through March 12

Where: Elmhurst History Museum, 120 E. Park Ave., Elmhurst

Admission: Free

Info: (630) 833-1457 or elmhursthistory.org