Minerva Parker Nichols in 1893. Portrait published in Woman’s Progress.
Minerva Parker Nichols
Since 2011, Molly Lester has been researching Minerva Parker Nichols (1862-1949), the first woman in the country to practice architecture independently. The project began as a master’s thesis and has expanded to include publications, lectures and events, a podcast, video shorts, and new discoveries related to Nichols’ commissions, clients, and legacy. In 2019, Lester was awarded a fellowship by the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation in recognition of her research.
With support from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Lester is a co-curator for “Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect,” an exhibit at the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania, opening in Spring 2023.