Fay Kellogg

Fay Kellogg
Fay Kellogg in 1913 newspaper photo (detail)
Born	1871
Died	July 10, 1918 (aged c.47)
Occupation	Architect

Fay Kellogg (1871 – July 10, 1918) was described as "the foremost woman architect in the United States" in the early years of the 20th century. She specialized in steel construction.

Kellogg was born in Milton, Pennsylvania. Originally intending to become a doctor, she began studies at Columbian University, now George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. She switched to architecture at her father's urging. She said she had always been handy with tools, and had wanted to build a home for herself, a goal which she eventually realized. She began studying with a German tutor for two years, from whom she learned drawing and mathematics, and then studied for a year at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

She obtained employment with R. L. Davis, where she worked on projects such as the Thirteenth Regiment Armory and the Monastery of the Precious Blood. She then worked at the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings for one year, after which she went to Paris to study at the atelier of Marcel de Monclos. At the time, women were not admitted to the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and Kellogg vigorously fought for the admission of women to that school during her two years in Paris. She was ultimately successful but too late to avail herself of the opportunity to attend.

Upon returning to the United States in 1900, she found work with the established New York architect John R. Thomas, where she helped design or prepare plans for the Hall of Records. She designed the prominent double staircase in that building's atrium and she said it was her idea to place statues of early Dutch governors like Peter Stuyvesant on the building so that they would look out over the modern city. After Thomas's death in 1901, Kellogg set up business for herself, establishing her own office in 1903.

One of her first commissions was the renovation and construction of seven buildings on Park Place in Manhattan for the American News Company. She was soon in charge of all their building and renovation work in the United States. For jobs within 200 miles of New York City, Kellogg would supervise directly. For projects further afield, she would draw plans.