Louise Blanchard Bethune

Louise Blanchard Bethune (1856–1913) was the first professional woman architect in the United States. Born in Waterloo, New York, she started her career in Buffalo, where she founded her own firm in 1881, later becoming Bethune, Bethune & Fuchs. Bethune was a strong advocate for women's rights in architecture, rejecting lower-paying residential projects to focus on larger, commercial designs. Her most notable work is the Hotel Lafayette in Buffalo, a Renaissance Revival structure completed in 1904. Bethune also pushed for equal pay for women architects and was an early member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).