Episode 73: Emily Helen Butterfield
Emily Helen Butterfield was born on August 4, 1884 in Algonac, Michigan. Her father was an architect, and the family moved to Detroit in 1890. Emily was very interested in painting and sketching growing up. She graduated from Central High School in 1903. Emily went to Syracuse University to study at the School of Architecture. While there, she co-founded the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority on campus. Emily graduated in 1907 with her degree in architecture. She returned to Detroit after school and started working at her dad’s firm. In 1912, Emily and a few other women founded the Detroit Business Woman’s Club, a luncheon club for women in business. Emily was the club’s first president and the club went on to be the model for future professional women’s clubs around the world. Emily got her architectural license which made her the first female licensed architect in Michigan. In 1915 she became a partner in her father’s firm and it was renamed Butterfield & Butterfield. Their firm worked on a variety of project types: schools, homes, stores, factories, and churches. They became well known for their church designs such as the First United Methodist Church in Farmington, Michigan. She also designed the Syracuse University Alpha Gamma Delta chapter house and an Alpha Gamma Delta summer camp in Jackson, Michigan. Another well known project that she and her father worked on was the Oaklands Subdivision in Farmington Hills, Michigan. They each designed 7 houses for the subdivision. In 1926, her father retired from architecture and Emily took over the firm. When the Great Depression hit, Emily couldn’t keep the firm going, so she retired from architecture in 1930. In her retirement she wrote and painted. She wrote many articles for various publications and published two books. She taught painting classes and also had her own work shown in several art shows. In 1940, Emily moved back to Algonac where she continued to teach painting classes and write. She would spend summers at her cottage on Neebish Island in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Emily passed away at her home in Algonac on March 22, 1958 at 73 years old.
Caryatid: Beverly Hannah Jones
Beverly is from Detroit and went to Detroit Public Schools like Emily. She originally went to Michigan State University as a pre-med student but after taking a few elective drafting courses realized she wanted to pursue architecture instead. She decided to transfer to Lawrence Tech University in their professional practice architectural program to learn business skills as well as architectural skills. She got her Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1985 and her Bachelor of Architecture in 1986. After school she went to work at Albert Kahn Associates, a well known firm in Detroit and worked towards her architectural license which she received in 1991. After working at a few other firms, she decided to open her own firm in 1993 called Hannah & Associates, Inc. Her firm was the first African-American licensed woman-owned firm in the state of Michigan. It is still one of only 12 firms in the US that is owned and operated by a black licensed female architect. Her firm provides architectural, inferior design, and construction related services. They have a wide range of project types: commercial, educational, governmental, healthcare, and even animal shelters. In 2013, her firm decided to partner with Neumann/Smith Architecture and are now called Hannah-Neumann/Smith. She is the managing partner.
References
“About Us.” Hannah-Neumann/Smith, hannahneumannsmith.com/about-us.
Blake, Kathy. “Lawrence Tech Names Architect, Entrepreneur to Board of Trustees.” The Oakland Press, 17 Mar. 2022, www.theoaklandpress.com/2022/03/17/lawrence-tech-names-architect-entrepreneur-to-board-of-trustees.
Cottage, Oakewood. “Oakewood Cottage - 1925.” Oakewood Cottage - 1925, oakewoodcottage.com/emily.
Hoffmeyer, Jessica. Emily Helen Butterfield. Wayne State University, 2019.
Michigan Women Forward. “Emily Butterfield.” Michigan Women Forward, 25 July 2019, miwf.org/timeline/emily-butterfield.
Pacheco, Antonio. “Emily Helen Butterfield, Michigan’s First Female Architect.” Archinect, 19 Aug. 2019, archinect.com/news/article/150149779/emily-helen-butterfield-michigan-s-first-female-architect.
Raj, Roop. “Trailblazing Black Architect at Helm of New $5M Shelter for Detroit Animal Care.” FOX 2 Detroit, 11 Nov. 2021, www.fox2detroit.com/news/trailblazing-black-architect-at-helm-of-new-5m-shelter-for-detroit-animal-care.
