Being Julia I
By Karen Fiene
n the early decades of the 20th cen-
30, she was the first woman to receive a
tury, women’s issues were at the fore
certificat d’architecture, the school’s second
of public discourse: the suffrage move-
highest degree.
ment was in full swing, and women
She was a woman breaking into a
were also advocating for increased access
completely male-dominated field, but
to higher education, job training, and
her skill and perseverance triumphed
other causes.
over prejudice. El Campanil was built
When El Campanil was built and dedi-
of reinforced concrete, one of the first
cated in 1904, it stood as a beacon of
such structures in California. After sur-
change. For Mills College, the bell tower
viving the 1906 earthquake intact, the
“signaled the institution’s transition from
bell tower was studied by architects and
an almost obsolete frontier finishing
contractors and helped cement Morgan’s
school to a leading women’s college of the
growing reputation.
20th century,” writes Karen McNeill in her
“Not only was she the nation’s most
article “Women Who Build” (California
prolific woman architect, she was an icon
History, vol. 89, #3, July 2012). The
of the New Woman: a highly educated,
Mission-style design, so different from East
independent, and single woman success-
Coast colleges, demonstrated that Mills
fully pursuing a traditionally masculine
was not hindered by eastern standards,
career,” says McNeill. “Her oeuvre provides
but was establishing its own identity.
the most expansive body of architecture
For the tower’s architect, Julia Morgan,
designed of, by, and for women.” Though
it marked the beginning of a remarkable
she shunned personal publicity—preferring
and groundbreaking career. El Campanil
that her buildings speak for themselves—
was one of Morgan’s first independent
Morgan built some 800 buildings, includ-
projects. Shortly after opening her own
ing almost 100 for women’s organizations
office as the first female licensed architect
in California and beyond.
in California, Morgan had been recom-
In addition to El Campanil, she designed
mended for the commission by Phoebe
five more buildings for the College: the
Apperson Hearst, an influential force in
Margaret
establishing major educational and cul-
Cottage; the Gymnasium, which, sadly,
tural institutions throughout the Bay
was demolished in 1960; Alumnae Hall,
Area. The two women were to have a life-
now the Student Union; and Alderwood
long association; with the patronage of
Hall, formerly the Ming Quong Home for
the Hearst family, Morgan would secure
Chinese Girls and now the Julia Morgan
numerous projects, including the 28-year
School for Girls.
undertaking to design and construct Hearst Castle at San Simeon.
Carnegie
Library;
Kapiolani
It is only fitting that Julia Morgan continues to be a presence on the Mills cam-
A San Francisco native, Morgan gradu-
pus. A century later, her example shows
ated from the University of California,
the power of women working together
Berkeley, in 1894 with a degree in civil
and the chance we all have to achieve our
engineering. She traveled to Paris to pur-
greatest goals.
sue an architectural degree at the presti-
The dedication ceremony for Carnegie Hall; the Gymnasium; Morgan’s early sketch of El Campanil. 32
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
gious École des Beaux-Arts, only to find
Mills Campus Architect Karen Fiene
that women were barred from the entrance
developed an exhibit on Julia Morgan
examinations. She waited two years until
and her Mills College buildings as part of
the rules were altered and failed the exams
the statewide 2012 Julia Morgan Festival.
three times—once, she was told, because
The display is on view in the Bender
she was a woman. In 1902, at the age of
Room in Carnegie Hall.