Julia Morgan

Hello! My name is Julia Morgan, and I was an architect. An architect is a person who designs buildings. I was born a long time ago, on January 20th, 1872, in a beautiful city by the sea called San Francisco. Even when I was a little girl, I didn’t just play with dolls; I loved to build! I would make little houses and towers out of anything I could find. I knew, deep in my heart, that one day I wanted to build real, giant, wonderful buildings for people to live, work, and play in.

When I grew up, I went to college in California to study engineering, which is all about how to make things strong and sturdy. But my biggest dream was to go to a very famous school for architects all the way across the ocean in Paris, France. The school was called the École des Beaux-Arts. There was one big problem: they had never let a woman study architecture there before! They told me no, but I didn't give up. I studied hard and tried again and again. Finally, in 1898, they said yes! I became the first woman ever to be accepted into their architecture program. It was hard work, but I proved that girls could be amazing architects, too.

After I finished school, I sailed back home to California and opened my very own office in 1904. A couple of years later, in 1906, a huge earthquake shook San Francisco! Many buildings crumbled, but a tall bell tower I had designed for a college stood perfectly still. I had built it with a special material called reinforced concrete, and it was super strong. After that, many people wanted me to design buildings for them. I designed houses, schools, and swimming pools. My most famous project was a gigantic, magical-looking castle for a man named William Randolph Hearst. I started working on it in 1919, and it was like building a dream, with towers, gardens, and even a zoo!

I designed more than 700 buildings during my life. I loved my work so much. I lived to be 85 years old, and many of my beautiful buildings are still standing today for everyone to enjoy. Long after my life was over, in 2014, I was given a very special award called the AIA Gold Medal, which is the biggest prize an architect can get. I was the first woman ever to receive it. I hope when you see a beautiful building, you remember me and know that you can build your biggest dreams, too, no matter what.