Gertrude Comfort Morrow (1888-1983)

Name

Morrow, Gertrude E. Comfort

Variant Names

Personal Information

Birth/Death:    1888-1983
Gender:    Female
Occupation:    American architect
Location (state):     CA

This record has not been verified for accuracy.

AIA Affiliation

Not a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Biographical Sources

Biographical Directories:
Entry in Sarah Allaback, The First American Women Architects (University of Illinois Press, 2008)
Biographical information:
Contributed by the Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley:
A California native, Gertrude Comfort Morrow was born in San Francisco and attended Alameda High School. She received her bachelor's degree in architecture from UC Berkeley in 1913, and her master's degree a year later. As a student, she designed the Gamma Phi Beta sorority's coat of arms in 1912. She worked for Henry H. Gutterson, supervising work in Saint Francis Wood, and on her own before partnering with her husband, Irving F. Morrow. Gertrude and Irving worked out of their San Francisco office from 1925 to 1940, closing their San Francisco office during the war. Following this closure, they continued to practice from their home in Oakland until 1952. She was the supervising architect for St. Francis Woods, a residential neighborhood in San Francisco, during World War I (under her maiden name, Gertrude E. Comfort). Other independent projects include the Women's Athletic Club in Oakland and the music building at the Monrovian Seminary and College for Women in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Together, Gertrude and Irving Morrow designed the Alameda-Contra Costa County Building for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition at Treasure Island. Gertrude retired from architecture in 1952, when Irving died. She then became an award-winning ballroom dancer and a landscape watercolorist, and died in Tucson at the age of 95.

Related Records

Wife and partner of Irving F. Morrow

Archival Holdings

Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley

Collection Number: 1992-1. Extent: 6 boxes, 2 flat boxes, 2 flat file drawers, 10 tubes. The Morrow collection primarily documents the professional activities and architectural projects of Gertrude Comfort Morrow and Irving F. Morrow, including projects created by the firms of Morrow & Garren and Morrow & Morrow. The collection is organized into four series. Series I, Professional Papers, consists of resumes, awards, student works and clippings relating to both Irving and Gertrude Morrow. It also contains records related to Irving's involvement and membership in professional organizations such as the American Institute of Architects and the Commonwealth Club of California. Series II, Project Records, is Arranged according to creator and chronology. It consists of photographs, correspondence, and drawings from project by Irving F. Morrow, Morrow & Garren, Gertrude Morrow, and Morrow & Morrow. Series III consists of Irving Morrow's Historical American Buildings Survey (HABS) records, including certificates, photographs and catalogs. The bulk of the collection was donated to the archives in 1992, however, the final series contains one drawing that was donated separately, in 1959. Link to online finding aid: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf3k4003sp

Publications