Norma Merrick Sklarek, First Black Woman to Become a US Architect

Born:

April 15, 1928 in Harlem, New York

Name at Birth:

Norma Merrick

Education:

• Hunter High, an all-girls magnate school
• Barnard College
• Columbia University School of Architecture, architecture degree, 1950

Major Projects:

• City Hall in San Bernardino, California
• Fox Plaza in San Francisco
• Terminal One at the Los Angeles International Airport
• U.S. Embassy in Tokyo

Jobs:

• After receiving her degree, was unable to find work at an architecture firm. Took a job at the New York Department of Public Works
• Spent four years at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
• 1960: Gruen and Associates in California. Became the firm's first female director in 1966
• Became a Vice President at Welton Becket Associates
• 1985: Established Siegel, Sklarek, Diamond
• 1989-1992: A principal at the Jerde Partnership

More About Norma Merrick Sklarek:

Norma Merrick Sklarek was born to West Indian parents who had moved to Harlem, New York. Sklarek's father, a doctor, encouraged her to excel in school and to seek a career in a field not normally open to females or to African Americans.

Norma Sklarek's life has been filled with many firsts:

• First African-American woman to be licensed as an architect in the United States (1954 in New York and 1962 in California)
• In 1966, the first woman to be elected Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA)
• In 1985, the first African-American woman architect to form her own architectural firm.

Norma Merrick Sklarek's firm, Siegel, Sklarek, Diamond, is one of the largest firms in the United States to be owned entirely by women.

Quote:

"In architecture, I had absolutely no role model. I’m happy today to be a role model for others that follow."