Julia Morgan Architect of Beauty Hardcover – 15 October 2007

My own reading enjoyment

This is a beautifully rendered book- photos, writing, style and passion for Julia. As the most prolific architect that ever lived (800 buildings), Julia Morgan would be a household name, if only she hadn’t been a WOMAN. Irony duly noted...Buy this gem! It’s outstanding.

I live in Pasadena and after many years of neglect, the YMCA building she designed is about to be turned into a boutique hotel. My mother stayed there when she moved to California and was later on their board of directors. The building became a familiar place to me growing up and it wasn't until I was a lot older that I learned Julia Morgan was the architect.

Julia Morgan was a phenomenon, the first licensed woman architect in California, who built 800 structures in varying styles - houses, churches, YWCA's, women's clubs, the oceanside retreat Asilomar, and the magnificent Hearst Castle on the central coast. This book focuses on her built legacy, less on her as a person, and offers an excellent overview of her many accomplishments as an architect.

I have both this book and Sara Boutelle's "Julia Morgan, architect" ISBN 0-7892-0019-8. I give a slight edge to the Boutelle book for the writing, but both books are excellent and each provides information, images, and insight not in the other. For example, this book shows in detail what a superb engineer Julia Morgan was, which is not something I had gotten from any other source. A must have.