Morgan, Julia (1872-1957), was one of the first prominent American female architects. Morgan designed more than 700 buildings in a variety of styles during her 47-year career. Her best-known work is San Simeon (1919-1939), the extravagant California mountain-top estate of American publisher William Randolph Hearst.
Morgan designed many houses and churches in the San Francisco Bay area. Her designs contributed to the Bay Area style of architecture, which featured low, horizontal shapes and much use of wood, stone, and other natural materials in earth colors. Morgan also designed churches, hospitals, schools, and stores in several historically based styles. In addition, she designed many YWCA club buildings throughout California, and a few in Hawaii and Utah.
Morgan was born on Jan. 20, 1872, in San Francisco and grew up in Oakland, California. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1894 with a degree in engineering. In 1902, she became the first woman to graduate from the noted Ecole des Beaux-Arts school of architecture in Paris. Morgan set up her own office in San Francisco in 1904. She died on Feb. 2, 1957.
