Episode 103: Gertrude Comfort Morrow
Gertrude Elizabeth Comfort was born on February 13, 1888 in San Francisco, CA. She attended Alameda High School and then enrolled at UC Berkeley in 1909 to study architecture. She was very involved in extracurriculars in college including with her sorority Gamma Phi Beta. In 1913 she graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture and then stayed on to finish a Masters in Architecture in 1914. She was the second woman to receive this degree from Cal. After school she worked for Henry Gutternson in San Francisco while working on getting her license which she received in 1916 making her the 7th woman to be licensed in California. After getting her license she opened up her own firm in San Francisco. She worked on many residential projects and during WWI was made the supervising architect for the St. Francis Wood neighborhood, a new planned development in the city. She designed several houses in the neighborhood as well. In 1920, Gertrude married Irving Morrow, a fellow architect and UC Berkeley grad. In 1922, they had a daughter and Gertrude focused a bit more on raising their daughter. Then in 1925, Irving and Gertrude opened a firm together called Morrow and Morrow. They had many residential projects and then were recommended to be the architects on the Golden Gate Bridge in 1930. They designed the art deco detailing, the toll plaza, railings, and other decorative elements on the bridge. They also are credited with picking the iconic International Orange color of the bridge. Another prominent Morrow and Morrow project was the Cowell House in San Francisco. It was built for the mother of the composer Henry Cowell. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘first modern house in San Francisco’. After WWII their workload dwindled and in 1952 Irving died of a heart attack. In 1955, Gertrude closed their firm and retired. She eventually moved to Tucson, Arizona to be near her daughter and stayed there until her death in 1983 at 95 years old.
Caryatid: Anne Fougeron
Anne grew up between Europe and the US. She went to undergrad at Wellesley College in Massachusetts to study art history, but took some architecture courses at MIT while she was there. She then went to UC Berkeley for a Masters in Architecture. A few years after school she opened up her own firm Fougeron Architecture in San Francisco. Anne’s firm does a variety of residential projects, both single family and multi-family. She has a real heart for designing low-income housing in particular and her firm also does a lot of work with Planned Parenthood clinics as well. From what I have read, her projects tend to focus on natural light and how that interacts with the space, exploring new building materials, and clever uses of structure in a project that can become ornamental.
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This transcript was prepared during the development of the episode.
Final recorded episode may deviate slightly from the content presented below as changes, edits, or improvements may be made during the recording and editing process.
References
Chamme, Ale. “GERTRUDE COMFORT MORROW 1888-1983.” UN DIA | UNA ARQUITECTA 3, 30 Jan. 2018, undiaunaarquitecta3.wordpress.com/2017/10/10/gertrude-comfort-morrow-1888-1983.
“Daring to Design Modern: Women Architects of Northern California.” Daring to Design Modern: Women Architects of Northern California, 11 Aug. 2014, docomomo-us.org/news/daring-to-design-modern-women-architects-of-northern-california.
Erwert, Anna Marie. “Historic SF Home With Architectural Ties to the Golden Gate Bridge for Sale.” SF Gate, 16 Mar. 2023, www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/sf-landmark-forest-hill-home-for-sale-17838878.php. Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.
Firestone, Rebecca, et al. “Anne Fougeron on Women in Architecture | the Architects’ Take.” The Architects’ Take, 15 Aug. 2020, thearchitectstake.com/interviews/anne-fougeron-on-women-in-architecture.
“Firm — Fougeron Architecture.” Fougeron Architecture, www.fougeron.com/firm.
Historic Preservation Commission. LANDMARK DESIGNATION REPORT: The Cowell House. San Francisco Planning Department, 15 July 2015, default.sfplanning.org/Preservation/landmarks_designation/Cowell_Landmark_Report_FINAL.pdf.
Horton, Inge Schaefer. “Gertrude Elizabeth Comfort Morrow.” Early Women Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area, McFarland, 2010.
“Irving F. and Gertrude Comfort Morrow Collection, 1914-1958.” OAC: Online Archive of California, oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf3k4003sp/entire_text.
Reggev, Kate. “‘Business-Like and Up-to-Date’: What’s in a Name? — Madame Architect.” Madame Architect, 1 Dec. 2020, www.madamearchitect.org/in-ink/2020/11/30/business-like-and-up-to-date-whats-in-a-name.
Staff, Dwell. “A Swoon-Worthy 1930s Home by the Architect of the Golden Gate Bridge Seeks $3.7M.” Dwell, 20 Mar. 2023, www.dwell.com/article/henry-cowell-house-morrow-and-morrow-san-francisco-real-estate-52a431ac.
Wikipedia contributors. “Gertrude Comfort Morrow.” Wikipedia, 13 Mar. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Comfort_Morrow.
---. “San Francisco Residence Parks.” Wikipedia, 30 July 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Residence_Parks.
---. “St. Francis Wood, San Francisco.” Wikipedia, 4 Feb. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francis_Wood,_San_Francisco.
“x.com.” X (Formerly Twitter), x.com/CalBearsHistory/status/1757528001070444859.
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