Morrow was born Gertrude E. Comfort in San Francisco, California, and attended Alameda High School in the East Bay. She went on to get her B.A. in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1913 and her master's degree a year later.[3] While still a student, she was "crowned" for her contribution to the design of a poster for the 1913 Partheneia performance, "The Awakening of Everymaid." She also won a competition to design a coat of arms for the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, and her design is still in use by the sorority today.[4]
Architectural career
After leaving the university, Gertrude worked in the office of Henry Gutterson.[5] After she was issued her Architectural License by the state of California in 1916, she opened her own office in 1917 in downtown San Francisco and worked under her maiden name for several years. When her former employer was called into war camp service, he asked Gertrude to handle his duties as the Supervising Architect of St. Francis Wood, which was an emerging residential district. She designed about ten homes in this district, which were traditional in style.[6] During World War I, for example, she was the supervising architect for the development of St. Francis Woods, a middle-class enclave in San Francisco where Ida McCain also built some houses.[7] Other projects of hers include the Women's Athletic Club in Oakland, California, and the music building at the Monrovian Seminary and College for Women in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[8]
In 1920, she married architect Irving F. Morrow, after which she used Gertrude Comfort Morrow as her professional name. In 1922 the Morrows' daughter was born, and around this time the couple set up the firm Morrow & Morrow and collaborated on many architectural projects between 1925 and 1940, in both San Francisco and the East Bay. The most famous of the projects they worked on together between 1930 and 1937 was the design of the geometrically stylized Art Deco towers, walkways, railings, and lighting of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as its famous International Orange paint scheme.[9] Although Irving Morrow is usually given sole credit for these features of the bridge design, the Morrows' daughter stated that her mother had had a hand in it. In addition, there is at least one letter from Irving Morrow discussing Morrow & Morrow's design ideas for the bridge in which the pronouns 'we', 'us', and 'our' are used throughout.[6] Another joint project was the modernist Alameda-Contra Costa County Building for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition at Treasure Island. In the early 1930s, the Morrows designed an International Style house in the Forest Hill area for San Francisco State College professor Olive Cowell (stepmother of composer Henry Cowell) that is cited as the first truly modern house in San Francisco.[6] This house was an exception, however, as most of the houses Morrow & Morrow built were more conventional.
Gertrude closed Morrow & Morrow and retired from architecture when Irving died in 1952, turning her efforts in other directions. She became an award-winning ballroom dancer, and she also painted landscapes in watercolor. She died in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 95.[8] Her papers are part of the Irving F. and Gertrude Comfort Morrow Collection at UC Berkeley, which includes photographs and drawings of her work, together with various other documents and records.
^"Architect Morrow Dies at 95; Burial to be in Oakland". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. October 15, 1983. p. 19. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
^SF Planning Department. "Landmark Designation Case Report" (PDF).
^. Gamma Phi Beta. Archived from the original on 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
^SF Planning Department. "Landmark Designation Case Report" (PDF).
^ abcHorton, Inge Schaefer (2014-08-11). "Daring to Design Modern: Women Architects of Northern California". documomo-us. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
^Starr, Kevin (2010). Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge. Bloomsbury Press. ISBN9781596915343.
^ ab"Irving F. and Gertrude Comfort Morrow Collection, 1914-1958". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
^Langmead, Donald (2009). Icons of American Architecture: From the Alamo to the World Trade Center. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing.
April 05, 2023
gertrude, comfort, morrow, february, 1888, october, 1983, american, architect, frequently, collaborated, with, husband, irving, morrow, bornfebruary, 1888, francisco, californiadiedoctober, 1983, aged, tucson, arizonanationalityamericanother, namesgertrude, co. Gertrude Comfort Morrow February 13 1888 October 10 1983 was an American architect who frequently collaborated with her husband Irving Morrow Gertrude Comfort MorrowBornFebruary 13 1888 1 San Francisco CaliforniaDiedOctober 10 1983 aged 95 2 Tucson ArizonaNationalityAmericanOther namesGertrude E ComfortAlma materUniversity of California BerkeleyOccupationarchitectSpouseIrving Morrow Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Architectural career 3 Partial list of buildings 4 See also 5 ReferencesEarly life and education EditMorrow was born Gertrude E Comfort in San Francisco California and attended Alameda High School in the East Bay She went on to get her B A in architecture from the University of California Berkeley in 1913 and her master s degree a year later 3 While still a student she was crowned for her contribution to the design of a poster for the 1913 Partheneia performance The Awakening of Everymaid She also won a competition to design a coat of arms for the Gamma Phi Beta sorority and her design is still in use by the sorority today 4 Architectural career EditAfter leaving the university Gertrude worked in the office of Henry Gutterson 5 After she was issued her Architectural License by the state of California in 1916 she opened her own office in 1917 in downtown San Francisco and worked under her maiden name for several years When her former employer was called into war camp service he asked Gertrude to handle his duties as the Supervising Architect of St Francis Wood which was an emerging residential district She designed about ten homes in this district which were traditional in style 6 During World War I for example she was the supervising architect for the development of St Francis Woods a middle class enclave in San Francisco where Ida McCain also built some houses 7 Other projects of hers include the Women s Athletic Club in Oakland California and the music building at the Monrovian Seminary and College for Women in Bethlehem Pennsylvania 8 In 1920 she married architect Irving F Morrow after which she used Gertrude Comfort Morrow as her professional name In 1922 the Morrows daughter was born and around this time the couple set up the firm Morrow amp Morrow and collaborated on many architectural projects between 1925 and 1940 in both San Francisco and the East Bay The most famous of the projects they worked on together between 1930 and 1937 was the design of the geometrically stylized Art Deco towers walkways railings and lighting of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as its famous International Orange paint scheme 9 Although Irving Morrow is usually given sole credit for these features of the bridge design the Morrows daughter stated that her mother had had a hand in it In addition there is at least one letter from Irving Morrow discussing Morrow amp Morrow s design ideas for the bridge in which the pronouns we us and our are used throughout 6 Another joint project was the modernist Alameda Contra Costa County Building for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition at Treasure Island In the early 1930s the Morrows designed an International Style house in the Forest Hill area for San Francisco State College professor Olive Cowell stepmother of composer Henry Cowell that is cited as the first truly modern house in San Francisco 6 This house was an exception however as most of the houses Morrow amp Morrow built were more conventional Gertrude closed Morrow amp Morrow and retired from architecture when Irving died in 1952 turning her efforts in other directions She became an award winning ballroom dancer and she also painted landscapes in watercolor She died in Tucson Arizona at the age of 95 8 Her papers are part of the Irving F and Gertrude Comfort Morrow Collection at UC Berkeley which includes photographs and drawings of her work together with various other documents and records Partial list of buildings Edit171 San Marcos Ave San Francisco 1933 70 Santa Monica San Francisco 30 San Leandro Way San Francisco 1651 Portola San Francisco torn down See also EditList of California women architectsReferences Edit U S Social Security Death Index 1935 2014 Architect Morrow Dies at 95 Burial to be in Oakland Arizona Daily Star Tucson Arizona October 15 1983 p 19 Retrieved July 19 2018 SF Planning Department Landmark Designation Case Report PDF Yesterday 1915 Gamma Phi Beta Archived from the original on 2014 12 10 Retrieved 2014 12 04 SF Planning Department Landmark Designation Case Report PDF a b c Horton Inge Schaefer 2014 08 11 Daring to Design Modern Women Architects of Northern California documomo us Retrieved 2014 12 04 Starr Kevin 2010 Golden Gate The Life and Times of America s Greatest Bridge Bloomsbury Press ISBN 9781596915343 a b Irving F and Gertrude Comfort Morrow Collection 1914 1958 Online Archive of California Retrieved 2014 12 04 Langmead Donald 2009 Icons of American Architecture From the Alamo to the World Trade Center Westport Connecticut Greenwood Publishing Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gertrude Comfort Morrow amp oldid 1144084589, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
