Smith, Chloethiel Woodard (1910–1992)

American architect and city planner. Name variations: often incorrectly spelled Cloethiel. Born on February 2, 1910, in Peoria, Illinois; died on December 30, 1992, in Washington, D.C.; daughter of Oliver Ernest Woodard and Coy Blanche (Johnson) Woodard; University of Oregon, Bachelor of Architecture, with honors, 1932; Washington University, Master of Architecture in city planning, 1933; married Bromley Keables Smith, on April 5, 1940; children: Bromley Keables Smith; Susanne Woodard Smith.

Became partner in Keyes, Smith, Satterlee & Lethbridge (1951–56); became partner of Satterlee & Smith (1956–63); founded Chloethiel Woodard Smith & Associated Architects (1963).

Born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1910, Chloethiel Woodard Smith was only 12 when she decided to be an architect, simply because she found it fun to see buildings constructed. That childhood decision endured, and she enjoyed a successful lifelong architectural career. In 1932, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Oregon, then went on to earn a master's of architecture in city planning the following year at Washington University.

In 1951, Smith entered into partnership with Arthur H. Keyes, Jr., Nicholas Satterlee, and Francis Lethbridge to form Keyes, Smith, Satterlee & Lethbridge. Five years later, she and Satterlee established a partnership, Satterlee & Smith, which operated until 1963 when Smith established her own architectural firm in Washington, D.C. Her projects ranged from the U.S. Chancery and ambassador's residence in Asunción, Paraguay, to Crown Towers in New Haven, Connecticut. However, she became especially well known for her urban renewal work and community planning projects on the waterfront in Washington, D.C., La Clede Town in St. Louis, Missouri, and a complex of townhouses in Reston, Virginia.

Smith preferred to give her multi-family housing complexes a sense of the past, complete with a main street, and to keep things on a small scale with an abundance of open space. Her designs were sensitive to the needs of families with children as well as commercial enterprise. Although her work was deemed "banal" and "overly cute" by some critics, as noted in Women in Architecture, her success was undeniable. Described by Barbaralee Diamonstein as "a constructor of environments that are thoughtful solutions to human need," Smith consistently delivered tradition-based architecture throughout her career. Elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1960 and considered one of the nation's most successful woman architects, Smith was also honored by her alma mater in 1982 with the University of Oregon Distinguished Service Award.

sources:

Diamonstein, Barbaralee. Open Secrets: Ninety-four Women in Touch with Our Time. NY: Viking, 1970.

Torre, Susana, ed. Women in American Architecture: A Historic and Contemporary Perspective. NY: Whitney Library of Design, 1977.

Kimberly A. Burton , B.A., M.I.S., Ann Arbor, Michigan