Eleanor Manning O'Connor
| Eleanor Manning O'Connor | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 27, 1884 Lynn, Massachusetts |
| Died | July 12, 1973 (aged 89) Mexico City |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Projects | Old Harbor Housing Project, Village of Mariemont |
Eleanor Manning O'Connor (June 27, 1884 – July 12, 1973) was an American architect and educator passionate about the creation of decent public housing for all.
Eleanor Manning O'Connor was born in 1884 to Irish immigrant parents, Delia Josephine Grady and James Manning, a building contractor in Lynn, Massachusetts She attended Lynn Classical High School and she later attended the MIT and graduated with an S.B. degree in 1906. Her thesis was entitled "Design for a Country Residence."
Two years after graduation, O'Connor accepted a position as a draftsman with another woman architect and MIT graduate, Lois Lilley Howe. In 1912 she took an extended leave of absence and traveled in Europe with her associate and classmate Eliza J. Newkirk Rogers, creating watercolors of the buildings she observed. She cut short the trip to accept an offer of partnership from Howe and joined the firm calling themselves Howe and Manning, America's fourth firm of female architects, later Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc. The firm frequently worked on remodeling and renovating outdated structures and O'Connor coined the term "renovising" to describe their work.
In the 1920s O'Connor worked with Lois Howe and other architects on the Village of Mariemont, a planned community in Hamilton County, Ohio.
During this period one of her major works was a commission from WPA for low-cost housing in an Irish neighborhood in South Boston called the Old Harbor Housing Project, constructed 1933-1938. She worked with other architects in a collaboration known as the Seventeen Associated Architects. This project, consisting of three story apartments and two story townhouses was distinguished for its residential appeal as compared to the sterile atmosphere of most public housing. Biographer Doris Cole says that O'Connor was the partner most concerned about social issues and her concerns were reflected the detailing, choice of materials and attention to proportion that contribute to the appeal of the project. Subsequently, O'Connor served on numerous housing commissions and councils at the city, state and national levels.
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