#womansbuilding — Public Fediverse posts

Sophia Hayden (1868–1953), born in Santiago Chile, was an American architect and the first female graduate in architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1891, the Construction Department of the World’s Columbian Exposition announced a competition for the design of the Woman’s Building, one of the exhibition halls to be constructed for the 1893 international exposition in Chicago. Only designs submitted by women were eligible.

At 21, Hayden's design was chosen out of 13 designs entered, all by women under 25 years of age. She received only the $1,000 prize for the design, while many male architects earned $10,000 for similar buildings.

Sadly Hayden's experiences during the construction of her design were difficult ones. She battled with socialite Bertha Palmer who had been chosen to head the Board of Lady Manager's, and eventually she was fired from the project although she did attend the Inaugural Celebration.

After the frustrating experience of the Chicago Fair, Hayben did not work in Architecture again. She married artist William Bennett in 1990.

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