Building a Legacy: Architect Julia Morgan

Hearst Castle Neptune Pool

My buildings will be my legacy... they will speak for me long after I'm gone.--Julia Morgan

Legendary Bay Area architect and engineer Julia Morgan's buildings etch the California landscape ranging from the opulent Mediterranean Revival mansion, Hearst Castle to the rustic Arts and Crafts splendor of Asilomar Conference Grounds. We profile Morgan and her legacy in honor of Women's History Month. As the first certified female architect in California, the respectful renegade designed more than 700 buildings throughout her 47-year career.

Julia Morgan in Paris, 1898

The native San Franciscan, born in 1872 and raised in Oakland, grew up affluent and chose education over debutante balls. Because there was no architectural program at nearby Berkeley's University of California, she studied civil engineering. At Berkely, Morgan met Arts and Crafts architect Bernard Maybeck who taught and mentored Morgan and her classmates Arthur Brown, Jr., Edward H. Bennett, and Lewis P. Hobart in architecture. The charismatic Maybeck encouraged his students to study at France’s prestigious École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts.

Julia Morgan drawing for Berkeley Women's City Club 

Although the architecture school had never admitted a woman, Morgan traveled to Paris to prepare for the Beaux-Arts entrance exam. After three attempts, she passed and, at 26, became the first woman to do so. The San Francisco Examiner celebrated her achievement with the headline, "California Girl Wins High Honor." In 1902, upon graduation, she returned to San Francisco to begin her dazzling career. Along with her substantial projects for the Hearst family, her legacy includes many public and private structures benefiting women and girls.