Elise Mercur
| Elise Mercur | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | November 30, 1868, Bradford County,Pennsylvania, USA Towanda, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 27, 1947 Ambridge, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Elise Mercur Wagner |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Years active | 1889–1905 |
| Notable work | The Women's Building, Cotton States and International Exposition (1895) |
| Spouse(s) | Karl Rudolph Wagner |
Elise Mercur (Wagner) (November 30, 1868 – March 27, 1947) was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's first woman architect. Among her many architectural achievements is the Woman's Building at the Cotton States and International Exposition, built in 1895. Ms. Mercur designed and supervised the construction of private and public buildings, between 1895 and 1905, many of which have since been demolished. The Elise Mercur designed building is St. Paul Episcopal Church (1896) at 2601 Center Avenue in the Hill District of Pittsburgh is a designated historic landmark.
Elise Mercur (Wagner) was born in 1864 in Towanda to Anna Hubbard Jewett (1832–1901), a poet from Bolton, Massachusetts, and Mahlon Clark Mercur (1916–1905), from Bradford County, a prominent Pittsburgh banker, businessman, and councilman. Ms. Mercur grew up in Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania with her parents and five siblings Robert Jewett Mercur (1854–1929), Helen Mercur (1854-1929), Annie E. Mercur, William H. Mercur, and Hiram Mercur, MD (1861-1918). Ms. Mercur was the niece of Ulysses Mercur, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice (1883-1888). Ms. Mercur was educated in France and Stuttgart, and she studied art, mathematics, languages, and music. Ms. Mercur returned to the United States where she studied design at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1844, the Academy's Board of Directors' began welcoming women artists who "would have exclusive use of the statue gallery for professional purposes" on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, but not until 1860 did women students enrolled in drawing courses. The uniquely exquisite museum building by American architects Frank Furness and George Hewitt most likely inspired the architectural imagination of Ms. Mercur.
The April 1989 issue of Home Monthly introduced Mercur to readers in her role as architect on the job at a construction site:
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