“Ramsey County History – Winter 2011: “‘We Can Do Better with a Chisel and a Hammer:’ Appreciating Mary Colter and Her Roots in St. Paul”

“We Can Do Better with a Chisel and a Hammer:” Appreciating Mary Colter and Her Roots in St. Paul
Author: Diane Trout-Oertel

Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, one of the few women to become an architect in the late nineteenth century, spent most of her first three decades in St. Paul, which she considered to be her hometown. She is virtually unknown here, as her training occurred in San Francisco, and her many designs were for buildings in the Southwestern states, most along the route of the Santa Fe Railroad as it opened up the vast territory to US travelers. Her work combines the designs of the Arts and Crafts movement, Native American arts and crafts, with eight of her building designs in the Grand Canyon National Park. The vehicle for her continuing contributions to that region was the Fred Harvey Company that collaborated with the Santa Fe to promote tourism in the Southwest. As with other prominent architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, her work was not limited to designing buildings and their interiors: she selected the art and furniture, table service including china and artwork; she even designed the uniforms worn by Fred Harvey Company’s waitresses. Several of her buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, yet widespread recognition—especially in her hometown—is long overdue.
PDF of Trout-Oertel article