Mary Colter

Mary Colter was an architect and designer who primarily worked in the southwest United States in the late 1800s and the first half of the 1900s. Born on April 4, 1869, she was one of the only female American architects of her time, and she frequently had to fight for her vision in a male-dominated field. Her architecture style continues to hold a large influence, being a blend of the Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival, Native American, and Rustic styles. Her most famous works were done in employment of the Fred Harvey Company, a chain of restaurants, hotels, and other businesses that catered to those traveling on the railroads. Of particular note, she considered her masterpiece to be the Winslow train station and La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona. In addition to her architecture, she occasionally designed furniture, china and flatware, and had a keen eye for pottery and art that she integrated into the design of her buildings. At the end of her career, she retired in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1948, where she lived until her death in 1958.